Morocco will host the Seventh International Conference on Adult Education

Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, and Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, Morocco, announced on Thursday that Morocco will host the Seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII), co-organized with UNESCO, from 15 to 17 June 2022 in Marrakech.

Under the motto ‘Adult learning and education for sustainable development – a transformative agenda’, this conference will bring together stakeholders from across the globe to shape the future of adult learning and education over the next decade.

Signing the conference host country agreement on 24 March 2022 in Rabat, Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, underlined: ‘Adult education is key to transforming our future. Given technological and social changes, the right to education must mean enabling each person, throughout life, to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to realize their potential and live with dignity. The Seventh International Conference on Adult Education will be a key moment. I thank the Kingdom of Morocco for its outstanding support for UNESCO's work.’

At CONFINTEA VII, over 1,000 conference participants will examine – in person and online – the challenges and achievements that have taken place in adult learning and education since CONFINTEA VI (2009). The Fifth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE 5), to be launched on the first day of the conference, will provide the basis for discussion of effective lifelong learning policies, within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. As a conference outcome, participants will adopt a new framework for action, which will guide countries’ efforts to promote adult learning and education over the next decade.

Promoting adult education has been a priority for the host country of Morocco. Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, explained at the signing ceremony that Morocco ‘has placed the reform of the education system at the top of its priorities and at the heart of its societal project. The new development model, the result of a national consensus, has established lifelong learning as an important lever for development. It is an honour for the Kingdom of Morocco to host CONFINTEA VII. This confirms the Kingdom’s resolution to open its doors to the international community and reaffirms its commitment to adult education and lifelong learning.’

CONFINTEA VII will encourage UNESCO Member States to put in place policies, incentives, regulatory frameworks and institutional structures and mechanisms to contribute to human rights, social justice, international solidarity and sustainability. In recognition of continuing advancements in artificial intelligence, special attention will be paid to using information and communications technologies to promote inclusive access to adult learning and education.

About CONFINTEA

The International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA) is a UNESCO intergovernmental (Category II) conference for policy dialogue on adult learning and education and related research and advocacy. CONFINTEA has taken place every 12 to 13 years since the late 1940s. The first conference was held in 1949 in Elsinore (Denmark), followed by Montreal (Canada) in 1960; Tokyo (Japan) in 1972; Paris (France) in 1985; Hamburg (Germany) in 1997; and Belém (Brazil) in December 2009. In 2009, CONFINTEA VI led to the adoption of the Belém Framework for Action (BFA) which recognizes the critical role of lifelong learning in addressing global educational issues and challenges. Participating countries committed to making progress in five key areas of adult learning and education: policy; governance; financing; participation, inclusion and equity; and quality.