The General Assembly meets every fourth year back-to-back the World Assembly.
The ICAE World Assembly is the main civil society event that brings together youth and adult
educators, along with learners from around the world, every four years. It is a celebration of the
importance of adult education for the construction of just and equitable societies and it is open to
all members, partners, and friends and also to all those networks and organizations or individuals
that work or are linked to the adult education movement.
The World assembly meets at a key moment – weeks after the World Education Forum has
brought to a conclusion four years of debate on what should follow Education For All, and two
months before the UN General Assembly agrees Sustainable Development Goals for 2015-2030.
We know from experience since 2000 that global agreements can be hard to translate into local
practice, and that civil society plays a key role in advocacy, monitoring and innovating as we work
for the right to education for all, and for democratic engagement in creating a shared and
sustainable future. At the Assembly we will share experience, and design strategies for the work of
ICAE and its members to ensure that ‘equitable, inclusive quality lifelong learning for all’ means
ALL adults, with no one left behind.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN OBJECTIVES?
- To provide a collective space to strongly affirm the right to education and lifelong learning for
all and its key role in enabling citizens to build more democratic, inclusive, just and
environmentally sustainable world. - To review priorities for lifelong learning and education, and to develop strategies for action at a
global, regional and local level.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN THEMES?
- Right to education and lifelong learning for all, beyond 2015 - identifying strategies to
turn global targets to be agreed in the World Education Forum in Korea and UN Summit on
Sustainable Development in New York in 2015 into practical local action, and the
contribution of civil society organisations to that process. Finding ways to secure universal
adult literacy, and the role of civil society in delivering and monitoring provision. - Capacity building for advocacy - identifying skills needed, and mechanisms for sharing
experiences; drawing on civil society organizations’ practices around the world, reflecting
on CSO advocacy strategies and identifying priorities for local, regional and global
advocacy; and how best to bring out local experience effectively to regional and global
advocacy. - Role of adult learning and education for sustainable development thematic priorities
to respond to multiple crisis at local, regional and global level in the context of a globalizing
world marked by rapid changes in the economy, governance, labour market and climate;
reflecting the need for a paradigm shift in setting alternative agenda. - Adult learning and education, power relations and community engagement
Reviewing educational strategies that work to secure decent work and gender equality,
challenging realigning power relations in order to end all forms of discrimination at the level
of families, communities, workplaces and governance. - Quality inclusive education for all: capacity building and preparation of teachers/
facilitators in adult education for transformation; the enhancement of quality provision;
improvement of curricula; and participatory teaching and learning strategies and methods,
for every human being to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to
shape a sustainable future.
During the assembly, these themes will be developed through keynote speeches, panels,
roundtable discussions, workshops and side-events. Plenary sessions will have translation into
English, French and Spanish. Workshops will, where possible, be bi- or tri-lingual, and the
language of sessions will be clearly identified in the final program.
June 11 – Opening of ICAE World Assembly
June 12 & 13 – ICAE World Assembly
June 14 – ICAE General Assembly for ICAE members