ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM ON THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION

24 - 26 May 2023, via videoconference

CONCEPT NOTE

Background
The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth educational transformation overnight, resulting
in increased digitalization and the rise of online and hybrid learning. It also brought on
challenges such as inequity in access to education and learning loss. Education inequality
deepened and younger children were among the most seriously and worst affected as they
missed out on critical development opportunities.1 The pandemic also affected the health and
well-being of the vulnerable, including children and adolescents.

The ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education will be convened on 24-26
May 2023, via video conference, to discuss inclusive recovery from the challenges brought
on by the pandemic and explore steps to address and invest in the future of education. This
regional forum also aims to ensure that ASEAN Member States are informed of the ongoing
responses, digitalization initiatives, and opportunities that can help define the future of
education, and enhance the quality, relevance and access to education across all levels.

Investing in the future of education was a critical point identified in the 2021 Paris
Declaration,2 which was reaffirmed by the Bangkok Statement of 2022,3 that aimed to
prioritize safe school reopening, learning recovery, and learning continuity and transforming
education and educational systems. Dynamic societal changes, such as globalization,
digitalization, and climate change, among many others, are predicted to also have bigger
impact on the educational landscape in ASEAN Member States.

Forward-looking ASEAN leaders thus committed to lay the groundwork for the Future
of Education within the region, as embodied in the 2020 ASEAN Declaration on Human
Resource Development (HRD) for the Changing World of Work and Its Road Map, the 2022
Declaration on the Digital Transformation of Educational Systems in ASEAN, and the ASEAN
Community’s Post-2025 Vision that is currently in development.

1
Debora Comini. (18 August 2022). The ASEAN. “Addressing Learning Poverty in East Asia and the
Pacific.” Accessible at https://theaseanmagazine.asean.org/article/addressing-learning-poverty-in-
east-asia-and-the-pacific/.

Paris Declaration: A Global Call for Investing in the Future of Education. “2021 Global Education
2

Meeting.” Accessible at https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380116.

3
Bangkok Statement 2022. “Toward an Effective Learning Recovery for All and Transforming
Education in Asia-Pacific.” Accessible at https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381962.

1
 The changing educational landscape should be seen as a precursor to the Future
Education. For instance, new educational technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the
Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality (AR), digital credentials, CHATGPT and
blockchains, are influencing today’s educational systems and teaching and learning
approaches. They can, therefore, substantially impact the Future of Education. Aside from
technologies, new sciences of learning are also shaping and reshaping the way educators are
planning and implementing educational programs around the world.

To transform education within the region, we need to employ evidence-based

processes, such as conducting research and looking at future trends, to prepare more
responsive policies suited to various contexts. As part of the preparatory work for the forum,
a meta-analysis of studies and reports pertaining to learning recovery plans and responses
to COVID-19 reports from the member states will be conducted, along with key informant
interviews (KIIs) with ASEAN Ministers of Education and ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on
Education. Experts and thought leaders will be invited to share their views on the Future of
Education and the action agenda that can be adapted via the ASEAN Socio-Cultural
Community Research and Development Programme.

Objectives and Expected Outcomes

The ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education provides a platform and an
opportunity to develop regional policies and mobilize actions for and by ASEAN Member
States with their dialogue partners and the broader socio-cultural community.

The forum will shape the Future of Education Flagship Reports and Policy Briefs, which
will include future-oriented insights, recommendations, and pathways for the transformation
of education toward attaining ASEAN Education 2050. Specifically, the Future of Education
Regional Forum aims to:

1. Discuss three thematic issues on:

a. Transforming Education Agendas: Building the Future We Want
b. Teacher Development: Innovations and Best Practices for the Future of Education and
Beyond
c. Inclusive ASEAN 2050: Building Equitable Societies and Learning Cities:
2. Share education plans and forward-looking strategies to support learning recovery and
digital transformation in the post-pandemic era;
3. Discuss innovative solutions to support the transformative education agendas that
contribute to equitable education, greening education and climate action, youth
representation and quality teaching and learning;
4. Gather insights and recommendations to develop ASEAN Education 2050 roadmap; and
5. Gather consensus on building the Future of Education in ASEAN.

Registration and Document Kit

The document kit (containing the Administrative Notes, Programme Updates, Session
Guidelines, and other supplementary materials such as Submission Links) and registration
link are available as follows:

2
 [Registration Link]

URL:
https://bit.ly/Reg-FoE-ASEANForum
(The Zoom Meeting link will be sent to your
specified email address after completing
the registration)

Programme Overview

Thematic Areas
The ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education thematic areas are discussed in
greater depth below.

Theme 1: Transforming Education Agendas: Building the Future We Want

Theme 1 will look at how the education sector developed forward-looking strategies in
response to the call for learning recovery and transforming education agendas. Good
practices for the race toward increased digitalization and waves of scientific and technological
advancements will be shared while enriching ASEAN values. There are three panel sessions
that specifically discuss post-pandemic educational transformation agendas, such as digital
transformation, green education, and youth participation in reforms.

• PANEL 1: LEADING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, REFORMS, AND INNOVATIONS

IN ASEAN: The pandemic left a lingering educational crisis, leading to educational
transformation to address the crisis and ensure the inclusion of excluded children and
youth as an urgent concern. The ASEAN Member States will be called upon to collaborate
to address the digital divide while promoting accessible education via technology-based
learning to build more resilient and inclusive education for all ASEAN learners.

• PANEL 2: GREENING EDUCATION AND CLIMATE ACTION: TAKING ON 21ST-

CENTURY CHALLENGES: This session will discuss the urgent call to address climate
change and global warming through green education for sustainable development, green
accreditation, and promoting sustainable lifestyles. Expert panelists will share success
stories about enhancing curricula toward green education, switching to a renewable
energy-based ASEAN economy, integrating education for sustainable development (ESD)

3
 into curricula, and strengthening or enhancing the effectiveness of curricular content
through a green curriculum audit.

• PANEL 3: ADDRESSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND EXCLUSION FOR

DISADVANTAGED LEARNERS: GOOD PRACTICES: This session will showcase the
effective GCED sensitization models, a GCED survey conducted via a learning
management system (LMS), and national platforms to promote GCED action agendas on
peace, sustainable development, human rights, environmental protection, and the rise of
learning cities.

Theme 2: Teacher Development: Innovations and Best Practices for the Future of
Education and Beyond
Teachers are the so-called the “heart of education.” As such, we will look at how governments
can support teachers navigate the evolving education landscape in the region and the world.
This session will also delve into the competencies and skills necessary to prepare in- and pre-
service teachers for the future. It will also cover ways to make the region’s teaching workforce
more competitive by exploring worldwide trends and innovations in the teaching profession.
This session will cover three subthemes discussed in more detail below.

• PANEL 1: REIMAGINING TEACHING STANDARDS IN ASEAN: A POST-PANDEMIC

REFORM AND RECOVERY ROADMAP: Much of the success of any education system
depends on teachers. As such, how teachers in the region are developed should be a matter
of great concern. This session will look at the best teacher education and training policies
and practices in the region, ranging from teacher preparation in teacher education
institutions (TEIs) and induction programs to teacher professional development programs.
• PANEL 2: THE FUTURE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING: This session will explore the
impacts of the developments in the educational technologies brought about by the 4th
industrial revolution on the future of education in the region. The concepts will be connected
to practical implications for teaching in the future and amid the new normal. Teacher
education experts and on ICT and will be invited to define the connection between learning,
teaching, new education goals, and employability.
• PANEL 3: INTRA-ASEAN TEACHER MOBILITY AND TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION
(TNE) PATHWAYS: This session will explore state-of-the-art teaching standards, ASEAN
teacher hiring processes, teacher reward and recognition initiatives, and teacher
exchange programs with cross-border teaching stints, along with how they can be
enhanced and lead to obtaining intra-ASEAN teacher credentials that will ultimately benefit
the region’s learners.

Theme 3: Inclusive ASEAN 2050: Building Equitable Societies and Learning Cities
Theme 3 will discuss what skills individuals and, consequently, the society will need to thrive
in the future. We will look at the holistic development of learners and how they will match the
future needs of industries and economies. This session has three subthemes discussed in
greater detail below.

• PANEL 1: GEARING UP FOR AN INCLUSIVE AND HIGH-QUALITY ASEAN

EDUCATION ECOSYSTEM: This session will look at the national policies and strategies
that provide education for all. It will explore innovative strategies that will equip learners

4
 with 21st-century skills. The panelists will share about new science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) trends, artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of
things (IoT), and the role of multimedia in reaching marginalized and disadvantaged
sectors.
• PANEL 2: YOUTH EMPLOYABILITY AND MOBILITY AND RESILIENCE IN THE
DIGITAL AGE: This session will look at the prospects of the ASEAN youth who will
become the future ASEAN. It will gauge their readiness to thrive in the digital age. The
session will also determine how we can hone the skills of the youth, particularly the
marginalized and vulnerable, to acquire soft skills, digital literacy, and competencies
digitally oriented jobs require.
• PANEL 3: ASEAN 2050: CONNECTED, DIGITAL, AND TRANSFORMED 21ST-
CENTURY COMMUNITY: This session will explore the new educational transformation
concept of building a 21st-century ASEAN community and learning cities that promote
Global Citizenship Education (GCED)—pathways that will lead to attaining the ASEAN
transformative education agenda. It will look at how students, researchers, and extension
professionals can support ASEAN regional integration by and through technology usage
and connectivity.

Participants
The ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education will involve high-level officials from
ASEAN Member States, dialogue partners, education experts, members of the academe, and
thought leaders from intergovernmental and multilateral organizations, regional bodies, and
ASEAN Entities.

Schedule
The ASEAN Secretariat will host the virtual ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of
Education on 24 to 26 May 2023, at 09:00 – 12:30 hrs Jakarta time (GMT +7)