Suwon City Showcases Excellence in Lifelong Learning on Global Stage in Morocco

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Suwon City participated in the '7th World Adult Education Conference' held in Morocco as part of the South Korean delegation, demonstrating excellence as a 'Global Lifelong Learning City.'

The city announced on the 4th that it participated in the UNESCO 7th World Adult Education Conference (CONFINTEA VII) held in Marrakech, Morocco from the 13th to the 20th of last month as part of the South Korean delegation.

The South Korean delegation consisted of officials from the Ministry of Education, the National Institute for Lifelong Education, and Suwon City, with Suwon City being the only local government included as a participant, thus gaining recognition of its status as a global lifelong learning city.

The 7th World Adult Education Conference, attended by over 1,000 adult education professionals from 140 countries worldwide, held thematic sessions on sustainable adult learning development and discussed various regional best practices and roles.

At this event, Suwon City, together with officials from the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), reviewed the implementation of the 'Suwon-Osan Declaration' adopted at the interim conference of the '6th World Adult Education Conference' held in Suwon in 2017, and shared the contents of the 7th World Adult Education Conference.

Additionally, Suwon City proposed a lifelong education cooperation agreement through exchange with Marrakech, Morocco. On the 17th, the city met with Abd Samaha Mahmud, Director of the Literacy Eradication Center under the Office of the Prime Minister of Morocco, and handed over a white paper on the 6th World Adult Education interim conference held in Suwon in 2017. The city then introduced exemplary cases and advanced models of Suwon's literacy education and explored the possibilities of a cooperation agreement.

In addition, Suwon City officials visited educational institutions including Morocco's National Holt School Group in a Berber indigenous village and the National Marrakech Arab Studies University, engaging with related officials. Suwon City disseminated cases of lifelong education linking schools and communities, proposing measures to revitalize lifelong education, while introducing cases and systems of lifelong education linked with universities and explaining the effects of universities' contributions to the community.

The city plans to review the pursuit of a cooperation agreement to enable continuous exchange with Marrakech, Morocco, as a result of this visit, while also promoting collaboration with other global learning cities.

Kim Tae-hee, Deputy Head of the Lifelong Learning Team at Suwon City, said, "It was a valuable opportunity for Suwon City as part of the South Korean delegation to understand trends and share information in global lifelong learning cities," and added, "We will reflect the content of the conference in policies and support measures for activating global learning cities, and make efforts to maintain continuous exchange with Marrakech."