Advocacy on Youth and Adult Learning and Education within Lifelong Learning
With the traditionally low priority accorded by governments to youth and adult learning and education (ALE), ASPBAE continues to amplify its advocacy for youth and adult learning and education within a lifelong learning framework.
A major terrain for advancing ASPBAE’s advocacies on youth and adult education are the SDG and SDG 4 processes at country, regional and global levels.
However, with the UNESCO Seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII) being convened in 2022, participation in this important policy process for adult learning and education has been a priority of ASPBAE in the period. ASPBAE steered CSO participation and input in the sub-regional and regional policy processes, its policy recommendations informed by the findings of CSO Spotlight Reports on ALE that it developed with its members in 12 countries (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan). The Spotlight Report recommendations also supported the advocacy efforts on the Volunteer National Reviews (VNRs), to specifically ensure attention to ALE.
As one of the CSO representatives in the CONFINTEA VII Global Advisory Committee and the Conference Drafting Committee, ASPBAE was in a vantage position to influence the processes and content of CONFINTEA VII deliberations and outcomes. The Conference outcomes document, the Marrakech Framework for Action reflects several of the CSO advocacy recommendations. ASPBAE will track implementation of the CONFINTEA VII agreements as part of its ongoing ALE advocacy work.
To deepen ALE advocacy efforts, ASPBAE coordinates and supports country-level advocacy actions of its members in at least 9 countries (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan), in their efforts to strengthen their country’s ALE policies.
ASPBAE continues to develop and promote Gender Just Skills Education (GJSE) as a holistic framework for skills education for decent work of marginalised women.
It sustains its membership in the Bureau of the Global Alliance on Literacy (GAL) and supports the efforts of the GAL, especially in its advocacies reinforcing the value of youth and adult literacy in meeting the SDG4 and overall SDG agenda, and for greater monitoring and financing of SDG 4.6 on achieving youth and adult literacy and numeracy.
