During a two-day conference in Vientiane, 70 Lao and 20 international partners from Southeast Asia shared their experiences and expertise in the field of non-formal education. The meeting laid the foundation for future engagement and was also a celebration of DVV's 15 years of work in Laos. Contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal 4, significant progress has been made in establishing and expanding an adult education system which was reflected and shared by the conference participants.
The conference was opened by the Laotian Minister of Education, Prof Dr Phout Simmalavong, who expressed his gratitude for the many years of successful cooperation and support in the development of educational opportunities for disadvantaged young adults. In his keynote speech, Uwe Gartenschläger, Director of DVV and former Regional Director in Laos, emphasized the unique influence of ALE on current global events and crises.
Current political developments in the region were discussed in interactive panels with political representatives from Laos and Cambodia as well as experts from UNESCO's Regional Office in Bangkok, the SEAMEO Centre for Lifelong Learning in Vietnam and researchers from the Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.
During the conference, there was a lively exchange between conference participants on best practices and challenges in implementing lifelong learning, which provided inspiration and discussion of future directions. In the evening, the 15th anniversary of the DVV Regional Office in Laos was celebrated. Together with representatives of the German Embassy and international development partners, we looked back on past successes in adult education in South East Asia.
The second day of the conference focused on the joint study with the regional partners, presenting initial findings on the development and effective implementation of lifelong learning in the respective countries. There was then time for questions and recommendations, before a group of participants visited a local community learning centre and experienced the direct implementation of life skills training.