UNESCO Bangkok and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea co-organized Asia Pacific Ministerial Forum on ICT in Education (AMFIE) on 11-12 May 2017 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The theme of the event was “Shaping Up ICT-supported Lifelong Learning for All”. The Forum gathered together Ministers of Education and high officials in the field of education technology from 45 UNESCO Member States across the Asia-Pacific region, together with global and regional experts and key stakeholders to revisit and refine the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in achieving the Education 2030 agenda. Specifically, it aimed to reach a high-level agreement on Asian-Pacific regional strategy (Regional Strategy) to unleash the potential of ICT to facilitate the fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4. As Director of UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) Tao Zhan participated in the Ministerial Forum and had a number of discussions within its framework on future collaborations with the regional office and the Member States.
The main objective of the Ministerial Forum was to explore country-level support towards providing ICT-enhanced education opportunities and services that value inclusion, innovation, and empowerment, especially by identifying how ICT can address issues related to access, diverse needs, and lifelong learning. Facilitating educational innovation and transformation of education through ICT, as well as fostering a favorable ICT-supported learning environment to empower citizens were the other two important topics for policy discussion. The Forum promoted bilateral and multi-lateral collaborations and other forms of partnerships within the region towards the efficient and effective use of ICT in education.
At the AMFIE, international experts and education policymakers had the opportunity to deliberate and endorse the Regional Strategy, taking into account regional education priorities vis-à-vis diverse contextual realities among Member States. The Regional Strategy aims to promote a more systematic and coordinated stakeholder engagement in aligning ICT in Education policies, programmes, and initiatives with regional and sub-regional educational targets. The AMFIE 2017 demonstrated the commitment of Member States in the region to the promotion of ICT in technical vocational education and training, teacher development, inclusion and equity of education, as well as education management systems.
More information about the Forum is available on the website of UNESCO Bangkok.
Concept Note of the AMFIE 2017
