Adult Learning Australia ran a forum in partnership with ASPBAE, WAVE and the RMIT European Union Centre to provide feedback on the replacement for the Education for All Goals and the replacement for the Millenial Development Goals.
The Lifelong Learning and Education for Sustainable Development Forum was part of Melbourne Knowledge Week. Heribert Hinzen, Director, DVV International, Regional Office South and Southeast Asia, argued that EFA remains an unfinished agenda, in particular around issues of access, equity, and quality.
He identified emerging global trends around the shift from a focus on teaching to learning; no more boundaries between learning, working and living; greater emphasis on foundational skills; less distinction in the transition from school to work, and a continued emphasis on employability. These trends have a significant impact on what will become relevant education and skills development in the future. He concluded that the current education goals proposed in the Muscat Agreement and that of the Open Working Group, though slightly different, do recognise and address these trends.
Sally Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Adult Learning Australia (ALA), translated the global trends to an Australian context where there is equally a greater focus on the formal at the expense of the non formal and informal learning settings; an emphasis on learning for work, rather than learning for life; where learning is only valued if recognised or accredited.