Moving Forward in the Global Community: Reflections From CONFINTEA VII

Personal Reflections on CONFINTEA VII

Halfway through my first day of CONFINTEA VII, I found myself engaged in an animated policy discussion with adult educators from around the world at the Civil Society Pre-Conference Forum. It struck me that while our ideas differed, there was unanimous dedication to the mission of facilitating quality adult education and lifelong learning programming. As I looked around the table, I felt tremendously excited, proud, and slightly overwhelmed at the impending prospect of participating in CONFINTEA VII. Throughout the week, I attended panel discussions from global leaders and continued to observe this unwavering enthusiasm for what would be unanimously ratified by 140 countries, the MFA. As the memories of the grandeur of CONFINTEA VII fade, I find my thoughts returning to that discussion and wondering what the next steps should be as we deepen our engagement with our international colleagues to implement the MFA. What can individuals and organizations do to ensure that the tenets of the MFA guide our national and international efforts in adult education and learning?

Prior to deciding to travel to Marrakech, I was woefully unaware of the longstanding, pivotal role of UNESCO’s International Conference on Adult Education. After searching the UNESCO Web site, I learned that this historic event was the seventh in a series of international meetings that started after World War II and has been the forum for guiding worldwide efforts in adult education for decades. As a practitioner-turned-academic with no experience of attending conferences of this nature, I worried I would not fit in. To add to my worry, the U.S. non-voting observer status in UNESCO gave me pause as I wondered how I would be received as the only member of the U.S. delegation able to attend in person. It was this mixture of emotions that I carried with me to the Civil Society Forum, a pre-conference organized by the ICAE. To my relief, the atmosphere was welcoming and inclusive of voices from a broad range of backgrounds and positions. My worries gave way to delight as I met colleagues from around the globe with whom I held more passionate discussions about the urgent needs of the field.

Themes from CONFINTEA VII: My Perspective

The importance of the MFA cannot be exaggerated. As had been identified in CONFINTEA VI and reiterated in CONFINTEA VII, strategies to address such global issues as sustainability, gender equity, or citizenship education should be addressed through actions in the following five areas: policy; governance; financing; participation, inclusion and equity; and quality (UNESCO, 2022). Faced with such a wide-reaching framework, I initially found it challenging to identify intersections between my work and the many priorities identified in the MFA. I offer my initial understanding in the form of five themes that resonated with me throughout the conference:

1. This is a pivotal time for adult education. We have the opportunity to transform current practice, illustrated by a recurring refrain heard throughout CONFINTEA VII, “We need to forge a new social contract together.”

Themes from CONFINTEA VII: Dr. Katarina Popovic’s Perspective

Following CONFINTEA VII, I asked Dr. Katarina Popovic, Secretary General of ICAE and for her reactions to CONFINTEA VII and the process of negotiating and ratifying the MFA, specifically looking at ways to broaden support for the MFA in the United States.

Dr. Popovic holds a unique position in the ALE community. Among her many responsibilities, she works to “transfer the voices, messages, experiences at the local level to the highest levels” (K. Popovic, personal communication, October 30, 2022) and views herself as not only an advocate for global ALE efforts, but also as a researcher, an approach that offers a unique perspective on international meetings such as CONFINTEA VII. As the largest organization representing the global ALE community, Dr. Popovic and colleagues worked tirelessly with UNESCO to ensure diverse voices participated in Marrakech. She admitted feeling satisfied with the results of CONFINTEA VII and the enjoyment of seeing so many different countries sharing a “common language, common agenda, and common goals” (K. Popovic, personal communication, October 30, 2022). She noted the need to push for more members of civil society to be invited to CONFINTEA VII, yet conversely how much easier it was to participate directly in the revision of the MFA for civil society organizations than had occurred in the past. When looking to the future, however, she noted some anxiety about the future of ALE, noting what she described as a “normalization of the feeling of crisis,” which runs the risk of pushing ALE into a reoccurring reactive role that could impede strategic planning.

As the global ALE community begins to work on meeting the goals of the MFA, I wonder how the U.S. ALE community will respond. As of the publication date of this special issue of Adult Learning, the United States remains outside of UNESCO membership. I am struck by how this reality creates more obstacles for global collaboration by the United States. Dr. Popovic’s initial recommendations reinforced the importance of working with global civil society organizations such as the ICAE. She believes that the message for all stakeholders is that achieving the goals of the MFA is in the self-interest of the U.S. as it will have a positive outcome for all countries, which in turn will have a positive impact at the local levels. Further recommendations included more dialogue and collaboration between civil society and academia at the national level, specifically focused on the MFA, as has been proven successful around the world. She also urged the U.S. ALE community to look outward and engage with adult educators from other regions. She believes that such an action would help alleviate the misunderstandings held on all sides, possibly leading to a greater understanding of the common challenges and issues all ALE communities face.

Concluding Thoughts: What’s next?

I feel incredibly privileged to have been a part of CONFINTEA VII. The experience of “rubbing elbows” with adult educators from across the globe has easily been one of the highlights of my career. However, the work has just begun. It is imperative that the U.S. ALE community explore the myriad of ways the MFA should guide practice. Adult educators in the U.S. need to engage in global conversations about successful programming and public policy for ALE. The first step is to get involved in national organizations with established international partnerships such as the American Association of Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) or the Coalition of Lifelong Learning Organizations (COLLO). The next step is to learn from colleagues around the world and perhaps most importantly, to experience the shared unbending belief in the role that adult education and learning must play in facing the world’s most pressing issues.