APEC moves to enhance education cooperation
With the vision by 2030, APEC will have a strong and cohesive education community characterized by inclusive and quality education that supports sustainable economic growth, social wellbeing and employability of people in APEC economies.
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Pham Chi Cuong, Deputy Director General of the International Cooperation Department under Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training, made the statement at a Workshop on Action Plan of APEC Education Strategy which opened in Hanoi on May 11 afternoon.
Cuong expressed his hope that the workshop would provide a platform for APEC economies to discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation in education and training, and that many new initiatives, projects and programmes would come out.
The official also affirmed that this was a chance of Vietnam to share experience in education and training with APEC economies.
For APEC economies, education is an important driver in preparing a population with technical and soft skills to be highly productive and capable of facing the challenges posed by rapidly changing regional and global economic environments.
Lifting the participation since early childhood through higher education and lifelong learning, especially those from disadvantaged groups, will enable APEC’s citizens to adapt to the structural changes in member economies.
The action plan will be developed by all economies and for all economies, aiming to achieve a common understanding of the role that education will play in economic growth and integration across the APEC region.
It will identify the objectives and targets of education development by 2020 with a vision to 2030; synthesize lessons from previous APEC work on education; propose actions to take in each priority area; and recommend implementation levers, in particular, projects and initiatives for the APEC Education Strategy.
The action plan will also help better links the APEC Education Strategy with education policies in specific APEC economies through relevant domestic projects and initiatives.
In her interview with Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondents, Wang Yan, Education Network Coordinator of the Human Resource Development Working Group, said the APEC Education Strategy was adopted at the 6th APEC Education Ministerial Meeting in Peru last year.
The orientations for APEC education cooperation in the next four years are the main topic of discussion at today’s workshop. The main task right now is to translate visions and objectives of the APEC Education Strategy into achievable targets and concrete projects and progammes.
Education research is the focus of APEC economies now. Firstly, it focuses on aligning competency of individuals with society and second is accelerating innovation. Education cooperation contributes to economic growth in the APEC region, she noted.
Education cooperation is the responsibility of the APEC Education Network, which now has the participation of all the 21 member economies. Established in 1992, the network has two new initiatives, including granting innovation prizes to outstanding students, lecturers and researchers in the APEC region.
