Confintea VI - Observations and Analysis from ASPBAE: A Civil Society Debriefing Paper

CONFINTEA VI Preparatory Conference for Asia and the Pacific, Republic of Korea, 6-8 October 2008

A. Background

CONFINTEA VI, the International Conference on Adult Learning and Education, to be convened by UNESCO, will be held on May 19-22, 2009 in Belem, Brazil with the theme “Living and Learning for a Viable Future: the Power of Adult Learning”.

This event will be preceded by five Regional Preparatory Conferences. These are programmed in relation to the overall thematic focus, and adapted to the respective regional specificities. The regional conferences are envisaged to discuss and validate the respective Regional Synthesis Reports (drawing on national reports on the state and development of adult learning and education since CONFINTEA V), identify the key issues on adult learning and education (ALE) in the region, and put forward recommendations and benchmarks for commitments in CONFINTEA VI.

The Regional Preparatory Conference for Asia and the Pacific was held from 6 to 8 October, 2008 in Seoul, Korea. The theme of the Conference was “Building Equitable and Sustainable Societies in Asia and the Pacific”. It was organized by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong learning (UIL) in cooperation with the Korean National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE) on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Korea, the UNESCO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, the UNESCO Office in Beijing and the Korea National Commission for UNESCO. Each of the 48 Member States of UNESCO in the Asia and Pacific Region was invited to send a three member delegation.

B. Key Sessions of the Conference

Within the broad theme and objectives of the Conference, the three- day programme was organized around the following main discussion areas:

Keynote Address: delivered by Ms. Khuning Kasama Varavarn from Thailand which focused on the challenges in building equitable and sustainable societies in the region and the role adult education should play in this regard.
Presentation of Asia Synthesis for GRALE report: Manzoor Ahmed from Bangladesh, the writer of the report presented the Regional Synthesis, highlighting the key contextual issues, challenges of and implications for ALE in the region, particularly in the five key areas which will be addressed by CONFINTEA VI: policies, financing, monitoring, inclusion, and participation. He cited as a constraint in the development of the regional synthesis, the absence of reports from several members states in the region and the uneven quality of national reports received.
Sub-regional discussions around the Report: after the presentation of the GRALE Asia Pacific Synthesis report, delegates divided into 4 sub-regional groups (South Asia, Southeast Asia, East and Central Asia, and the South Pacific). Informed by the main observations of the Synthesis Report, each of the groups deliberated on the key issues, trends and challenges of adult education specific to their sub-regions and contexts.
Panel Discussion and Workshops on key thematic areas: Plenary sessions on ‘Policies, Governance and Financing’ and ‘Participation and Inclusion for Equity and Sustainable Development’ were organized drawing panelists from governments and civil society organizations. Four (4) parallel panel discussions also took place on:
1. Panel 1: Quality and relevance of adult education in the learning society
2. Panel 2: Literacy and other key competence to build equitable societies and promote sustainable development
3. Panel 3: Improvement of delivery mechanism for lifelong learning
4. Panel 4: Assessment, accreditation and equivalence
Discussions on the Outcomes document of the Conference: Workshops and plenary discussions were organized around the draft Outcomes document prepared by the Drafting Committee, focusing on Recommendations, Strategies and Benchmarks.

The Chair of the Conference was Minister of Education, Science and Technology of Korea, Mr. Ahn Byong-Man and the Vice Chair was the Minister of State for Human Resource Development of India, Ms. D. Purandeswari.

Dame Lady Carol Kidu, Minister for Welfare and Social Development of Papua New Guinea was elected Chair of the Drafting Committee. The other members of the Drafting Committee were government delegation members from Korea, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Manzoor Ahmed, the synthesis report writer and Maria Khan of ASPBAE were elected as advisers to the Committee, along with R. Govinda of NIEPA, India.

C. Participation

There was no official directory of participants circulated during the Conference but based on the programme country listing, 32 of the 48 UNESCO member countries in Asia and the Pacific attended the Conference. Around 14 Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Secretaries of State were part of the delegations. The country delegations consisted mainly of government officials, with rare exceptions where civil society representatives were also included (e.g. Philippines, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia, New Zealand).

Civil society representation was however strengthened by the 19 member combined delegation from ASPBAE, the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) and DVV International, coming from 12 countries in the region. NGOs accredited by UNESCO also attended (SIL International , Dhaka Ahsania Mission, EWG and BRAC). Additionally, there were also some CSO resource persons in the Conference.

There was however a conspicuous absence of any bi-lateral or multilateral donor and other UN agencies apart from UNESCO – provoking apprehension of the low priority accorded this process by key partners. One key lesson from CONFINTEA V was that the adult learning sector needs strong support from the donors to turn rhetoric into action. Participation of key donors could have promoted that agenda. However, this remained an untapped potential of this conference.

Participation and Engagement of Civil Society

CSO representatives in Korea were well-organised and coordinated. A CSO Strategizing Meeting for CONFINTEA VI Preparatory Conference for Asia and the Pacific was convened by ASPBAE on October 5, a day prior to the formal start of the Conference.

This meeting aimed to (a) orient and update on the conference (b) agree or common lobbying points for the Conference (c) map out space/opportunities for lobbying during the event and agree on CSO lobbying strategies and (d) define modes of CSO coordination during the event. Adama Ouane, Director of UIL addressed meeting and updated on the Conference goals, the key issues, and mechanisms. He mentioned that a slot on the drafting committee was available for CSOs, as an adviser.

A discussion and policy paper from ASPBAE for this occasion was presented in this meeting (attached as a separate document). Based on the inputs offered in this meeting, key points were distilled into a concise two page document (annex 1) outlining the agreed priority lobbying points. This served as the main lobbying document for the CSOs and was circulated widely to all delegates in the Conference.

CSO delegates were convened by ASPBAE daily to take part in coordination meetings to update strategies according to the conference situation and plan effective ways to influence the meeting outcomes.

CSOs lobbied actively and substantively participated in plenary, group discussions and the drafting process. Some government delegations, e.g. Bangladesh, assigned their CSO delegate in Rapporteur roles and as their representative in the Drafting Committee. Several CSOs were panelists or moderators in the parallel workshops. However, spaces in plenaries (as panelists or speakers) were more restricted: only two CSOs were invited by UIL for speaking roles in plenary sessions. ASPBAE, while considered a co-organiser and key partner of the event, was not invited to speak in the Opening or Closing sessions of the Conference as other partners were.

CSOs had the opportunity to participate actively in all the sessions of the Conference until, unexpectedly, only heads of delegations were allowed to speak in the very important final plenary sessions debating the outcomes document. This was met with great concern by the CSOs since UIL had always maintained that CONFINTEA 6 will always strive to maintain and promote the high level of CSO participation of the earlier CONFINTEA 5, and that the accredited NGOs accorded observer status in this inter-governmental meeting will only be distinguished in participation from the official delegates in their inability to vote if such is called. The bar on CSO participation in the crucial sessions was a clear departure from the earlier CONFINTEA 5 practice and UIL’s pronouncements. Indeed, it is a troubling move backwards from the norm of CSO participation in various international policy processes that UNESCO steers apart from CONFINTEA 6.

In preparations for Belem and the succeeding regional preparatory conferences, ICAE and its CSO partners should remind UNESCO that given the creditable track record of CSOs in adult education work and CONFINTEA processes over the last decade – a fact which UNESCO publicly recognizes and cites frequently - CSOs find no reason for UNESCO to aim short of the high benchmark in CSO participation it had earlier set. UNESCO should therefore strive to maintain its own high tradition in facilitating CSO participation in the policy processes it leads.

The CSO experience in the Asia Pacific preparatory conference also underscored the importance of working closely with the government delegates: for testing and cementing longer term partnerships in in-country AE work; and in preparation for lobbying in Belem in 2009. It will be important to recall that in Seoul, the most effective means CSOs advanced their advocacies was by working with and through government delegates. For example, the strong language favouring women and various disadvantaged groups came persistently from the Indonesian and New Zealand government delegations, as the incessant lobbying for stronger language on aid to adult literacy, from Pakistan.

CSOs need to work harder on lobbying in Belem and the succeeding regional preparatory Conferences as there are, after all, further advocacy points CSOs need to secure especially in clearer timelines, measurable targets and quantified benchmarks by which CSOs can hold all stakeholders more accountable.

D. Outcomes : Analysis of the Outcomes Document

There are several outcomes that may be outlined of a Conference of this nature – the lessons learnt, the ties built by the coming together of delegates from different countries and sectors - but this report will focus mainly on the formal targeted outcome of the Conference: the Outcomes Document, the Conference record of the agreed Recommendations, Strategies and Benchmarks for CONFINTEA 6.

The Conference was presented with four sections of the Outcomes document: 1) a Preamble, b) a set of Recommendations, c) a set of Strategies along the recommendations; and d) Benchmarks. The Conference approved the Preamble and all the Recommendations. It also approved strategies and benchmarks related to the recommendations on financing. The Conference read and discussed all other sections on strategies and benchmarks but could not approve these in the current form. UIL announced it will work further on the language of these sections and will undertake to correct glaring editorial (grammatical) errors in the whole document. They will circulate a cleaned-up document in due course. (A copy of the Final Draft of the Outcomes document is available, on request, with ASPBAE. All delegates to the Conference would also have a copy.)

The draft Outcomes Document - while, falling short of the robustness the CSOs were aiming for in both substance and form - undoubtedly codifies some very important recommendations and agreements. Even just a quick comparison of the 2 main CSO lobbying documents in Seoul with the approved/agreed sections of the Outcomes document will indicate the extent by which CSOs have influenced the agreements.

The language of the recommendations are more definitive, concrete and a step-up from the broad statements that characterised the earlier CONFINTEA 5 formulations. These also build on the earlier Latin American CONFINTEA 6 Prepcom recommendations ( http://www.unesco.org/uil/en/UILPDF/nesico/confintea/mexico/Mexico_FinalDocument_English.pdf ):

There was strong language on a rights-based premise and thus on government accountability for AE;
A strong pro-poor, gendered emphasis characterized the approved recommendations especially on financing and planning;
There was agreement on the benchmark of 6% of GNP allocated to education; and 6% of education budgets allocated to adult education with 3% for adult literacy, where needed;
While failing to indicate more concrete targets for development partners on over-all ODA to basic education, the document does call concretely for the expansion of ODA for adult literacy and education; for development partners to fulfill their EFA promise and meet at least the $2.5 billion financing gap to secure the EFA adult literacy targets (deemed a significant underestimation by some government delegates). It also calls for the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) to include adult literacy and adult education components of EFA in its financing framework;
There were approved recommendations targeting the enactment of legislation on adult education within the framework of lifelong-learning; the development of actionable and resourced AE plans integrated within national development, anti-poverty and education sector-wide plans. We need to strive however for clearer timelines for these targets, aiming as we proposed for 2012;
The document also had concrete recommendations on monitoring the CONFINTEA 6 commitments and agreement to set in place national monitoring mechanisms to aid good policy and practice.

The uncertainty over the fate of the final Outcomes document left many of the CSOs therefore, worried and frustrated. There is a concern that the progressive sections of the outcomes document get watered down in its final form, given the tentativeness over agreements on some of its other sections.

CSOs in the next regional conferences (Africa, Europe & North America, Arab region) and indeed, in Belem need to strive hard to reiterate the agreements made in Asia and Latin America, and indeed to move further ahead:

While ambitious, it is critical and realistic to aim for CONFINTEA 6 to conclude with agreements on concrete strategies and benchmarks to facilitate greater accountability and inspire concrete action, for instance, in:

Clearer benchmarks on ODA to basic and adult education
Benchmarks on quality adult education and learning need to be agreed to. Quantifiable benchmarks and targets to ensure quality adult education can be drawn from the GCE-AAI Benchmarks on Quality Adult Literacy for lobbying. Indeed CSO should lobby to seek endorsement of thee benchmarks.
Clearer timelines and targets for legislation, planning and financing need to be categorically defined.
Concrete strategies to increase the profile of adult literacy and adult education in the main global policy arenas – such as the MDGs need to be proposed and agreed to. ASPBAE recommended that UNESCO lead the effort to lobby that adult literacy be considered an official MDG indicator for MDG 1 on poverty eradication.

There is enough reason to be optimistic that the remaining preparatory conferences will incrementally accumulate the lessons from the earlier ones and lead to an action-oriented outcome document in Belem, with in-built accountability and monitoring mechanisms to reach the elusive but worthwhile vision of securing the right of all to learn throughout life.

Annex 1: CSO Statement Emerging from the Stratetgizing Meeting on October 5

Enforcing the Right to Quality Adult Education and Learning:

A Need for Bold Action Now

We, members of the Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE) and various civil society organizations from the Asia-Pacific region, negotiating the road to CONFINTEA VI, agree with the plea of UNESCO for this Conference to decisively close the gap between rhetoric and action, between lofty promises and actual achievements, and ensure education for all and the right of all people to learn throughout life.

The promise of CONFINTEA V back in 1997 was to stem the massive loss of human potential by recognizing adult education and learning as more than a human right – in fact, as key to the 21st century. The low priority accorded adult education means we are losing out on a powerful tool that could enable people to mitigate against the impacts of the numerous global and regional crises and more importantly, to meaningfully and effectively participate in defining the development course that guarantees freedom from hunger and degradation, and give people the power to transform their lives.

Despite a succession of mandates from the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, through to the 2000 Dakar Framework for Action defining specific goals for 50% improvements on adult literacy and for addressing the basic learning needs of youths and adults, a staggering 774 million adults lack even basic literacy skills, the first barrier to learning. Half of that number resides in South and West Asia alone, the sub-region where we also find the lowest literacy rates in the world (59%). In fact, more than three-quarters of the world’s illiterates live in only 15 countries, five of which are in Asia.

Under these circumstances, the Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE) and our civil society members and partners urge:

Real money to back commitments.
Significant financial investments are needed to meet the diverse and complex learning needs of Asia-Pacific’s citizens. Governments must calculate the full cost of quality education and learning for all, based on their specific contexts and budget /finance targets for adult literacy and education should be agreed upon. Governments should allocate at least 6% of the Education Budget for adult education, half of which (3% of national education budget) be reserved for adult literacy programmes where this is required. ODA for adult literacy and education should be increased in the framework of the EFA goals and targets. Donors should allocate at least 15% of ODA allocation to education with a priority to basic education, allocating at least 60% of education aid for primary education, adult literacy and life skill programs for adult and youth of good quality. The EFA Fast Track Initiative (FTI) should include adult education, non-formal and literacy components, and ensure efficient and prompt delivery of financing support. Aid should become more responsive, transparent, participatory and untied - without conditionalities.
Assert adult education as integral to anti-poverty programmes and the achievement of the MDGs
641 million people in the Asia-Pacific live in extreme poverty – representing more than 60% of world‘s poor. Illiteracy rates are highest in the countries with the greatest poverty, a link observed even down to the household level. Adult education and learning is the glue that can hold all the MDG goals together in beating poverty and no sustainable development is feasible without it – yet the MDGs remain silent about adult education’s importance. The majority of young people living in poverty are in South Asia alone. Investing in young people through literacy, youth education, learning and life-skills provide powerful means to fight poverty. We urge governments to integrate adult education, for both old and young, in poverty reduction programmes and include the EFA goal 4 target as one of the indicators to be tracked within Goal 1of the MDGs: that of halving poverty by 2015.
Empower women through adult education:
Two-thirds of the world’s adult illiterates are women. This situation has not changed in the last 20 years and will remain so based on latest projections for 2015. Women are being left behind in all aspects of life as indicated by their low participation in education and learning activities and in decision-making processes. These impact most especially on family and reproductive health, the education of children, livelihood and poverty. It is imperative, therefore, to provide adult education and literacy programmes that are flexible, participatory and appropriate to women to improve their life-skills, reproductive health and livelihood; strengthen their participation and leadership in the public sphere; and ensure gender justice through equal access to adult education and life long learning processes.
Develop fully costed and resourced adult literacy and adult education plans and targets
To counter political inattention and inertia, governments need to develop adult literacy and adult education plans and targets by 2012 and implement them as part of their CONFINTEA VI commitments, EFA and education sector-wide plans and over-all poverty eradication plans. The plan should provide for adult education and learning of high quality that is attentive to the needs of the disadvantaged in extreme poverty, the difficult circumstances of forced migration due to conflicts and disasters, the special needs of women confined to the least protected and least paid jobs, the needs of indigenous people and the use of mother tongue where appropriate, and all excluded groups because of caste, religion or political affiliation.
CONFINTEA VI to set the pace for strong and effective monitoring in adult education
Developing inclusive and just policies and translating them into efficient programmes is difficult, if not impossible, without an accurate assessment of reality on the ground. A global monitoring mechanism on adult education policy should be put in place, interacting and complementing other mechanisms such as the EFA Global Monitoring Report. The Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE), should form part of an ongoing regular monitoring and tracking mechanism. Regular monitoring of CONFINTEA VI targets needs to be committed to by Governments, along with a plan for a substantial Mid-Term Review, which will coincide with the EFA and MDG timeline of 2015. Glaring data gaps and misleading assessment methods like self-reporting in adult literacy need to be set right. Quality adult education should be defined more meaningfully in favour of learners. In this regard, we ask governments to endorse the Global Campaign for Education-ActionAid Benchmarks on Quality Adult Literacy, which has already been endorsed by the 2007 Abuja High-Level Workshop on Adult Literacy and adapt these to country contexts, as a means to set concrete quality standards on adult literacy.
Achieving synergy among stakeholders.
To effectively translate policy into action, a strong multi-stakeholder approach is crucial. National level multi-stakeholder structures need to be convened – all relevant ministries, donors, CSOs, learners, facilitators, unions, universities, and private sector – to mobilize public support to sustain adult education and learning. Civil society needs to be accorded a legitimate space for participation in the policy processes to promote adult education in a truly collaborative manner. UNESCO needs to attain coherence and coordination among UNLD, LIFE, and CONFINTEA initiatives, as well as with EFA and MDG processes.

CONFINTEA VI needs to be used to best advantage to develop strong agreement on a core agenda for commitment and for bold action that will decisively secure the right of all to have access to learning opportunities throughout their lives.