MOJA

Call for applications to join the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC): 15 May to 15 June 2025

As the call for applications to join the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) is now open from 15 May to 15 June 2025, we invite cities/communities committed to promoting lifelong learning to seize this opportunity and become part of a vibrant global community dedicated to inclusive, sustainable, and innovative learning.

To support finalizing your application we invite you to an online Q&A session (for 35 min) next week on 5 June 2025 at 12 EAT (at 11h Germany time). We would appreciate if you could share this invitation within your network.

Please register here: https://unesco-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/o9r94IA-R3atlfVimyon1Q

All application details are available on our UIL website.

Should you not be available on that date and time, please inform Ms Angela Owusu-Boampong at a.owusu-boampong@unesco.org and Learning Cities learningcities@unesco.org for an alternative session opportunity.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

GNLC Coordination Team

Join us to continue discussions on how to advance the regional work of Scholarship in Action: Advancing Socially Engaged Research in East and Southern Africa

Date: 30 May 2025

Time: 14:00 – 15:30 (SAST)

15:00 - 16:30 (EAT)

PARTICIPAR NO DEBATE

Apresentações de webinars

• REFLECT no Contexto Angolano - Associação Angolana para Educação de Adultos (AAEA) – Angola
• Alfabetização e Empoderamento das Mulheres - Tenderness And Love (TAL) - Moçambique

Data: 22 de maio de 2025

Tempo: 14h00 (Horário da África do Sul) / 13:00 – 14:30 (WAT)

Through practical case studies from several Pamoja Education countries, the panelists will present the emergency education situation in their respective countries. The discussions will help formulate concrete recommendations for all stakeholders concerned with education.

A travers des cas pratiques provenant de quelques pays de Pamoja Education les panélistes présenteront la situation de l'éducation en urgence de leur pays. Les discussions qui s'en suivront permettront de formuler des recommandations concrètes à l'endroit de toutes les parties prenantes de la chaîne éducative.

Inscrivez-vous dès maintenant en cliquant sur le lien ci-dessous:

Join us on 7 May 2025!

You are warmly invited to the webinar 'Lifelong learning for older adults: Bridging the grey digital divide' on 7 May 2025.

This webinar, organized by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the Institute for the Future of Education at Tec de Monterrey, will explore innovative digital learning initiatives that cater to the unique learning needs of older adults through accessible, inclusive and empowering provision.

Background

Limited digital skills, inaccessible technology and ageist stereotypes often exclude older people from opportunities to learn, communicate and participate actively in society.

Educational executives, experts and practitioners from different regions will share insights on effective digital skills programmes, policy environments that foster lifelong digital learning, and strategies that combat ageism by recognizing the active part that older adults can play in the digital era.

The discussion will highlight the ways in which inclusive digital learning can help older adults bridge the digital divide, integrate into today’s fast-evolving digital landscapes, and actively participate in and contribute to society.

Findings presented during this webinar are part of a UIL research project on reskilling & upskilling, intergenerational learning and digital learning for older adults, which is being implemented with the support of Shanghai Open University. Drawing on ongoing research, UIL will shortly be releasing a series of research reports, strategic policy recommendations and institutional guidelines for lifelong learning tailored to older adults.

Webinar information

Date and time

7 May 2025, 13.00–14.00 hours CEST

Programme

Welcome

• Ms Mo Wang, Programme Specialist / Project Lead on Lifelong Learning for Older Adults, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning

Expert inputs

• Redefining aging in a digital world: From retirement to reinvention
  Professor José Escamilla, Associate Director of the Institute for the Future of Education, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico
• The role of Geragogy in digital learning
  Ms Carol Ma, Head (Gerontology Programmes) & Senior Fellow (CEL) | S R Nathan School of Human Development, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore
• Harnessing the power of technology to change the way we age
  Mr Alex Glazebrook, Vice President, Programs, Senior Planet and Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) from AARP, United States of America
• Intelligence technology benefiting older adults: Digital learning makes life better!
  Ms Yuan Wang, Associate Research Fellow, Shanghai University for the Senior, People’s Republic of China

Discussion

Summary and closing
Mr Raúl Valdés Cotera, Chief Programme Coordinator, UIL

Moderator: Ms Mo Wang, Programme Specialist, UIL

More information

Between 2020 and 2022, as part of an international research project initiated by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) in cooperation with Shanghai Open University (SOU) on the engagement of higher education institutions (HEIs) in lifelong learning, a study was conducted to ascertain the response of HEIs to the learning needs of ageing societies. The study, which focused on several thematic areas, was able to identify some of the main challenges that older adults face in accessing lifelong learning opportunities.

Building on these findings, UIL will carry out three thematic analyses – on reskilling and upskilling, intergenerational learning and digital learning for older adults – as part of its second agreement with SOU, which runs from 2023 to 2025. The aim of this research is to explore a broad range of institutions offering learning opportunities for older demographics, including beyond traditional HEIs, and will serve as not only a continuation of the original study but as an expansion of it.

Further information
Research project 'The benefits of lifelong learning for older adults'

Register for the next webinars in UIL's Global Webinar Series!

PIMA-IACEHOF WG2 Joint Webinars

Higher education supporting the development of adult learning and education

Held in Zoom, 5 May 2025 and 10 June 2025

RoundA - for 5 May, 2025 in zoom in between 2.00pm and 4.00pm CET

moderator: Balázs Németh, PIMA ExCo member

Welcome words by Shirley Walters as PIMA president

Zan Chen: Research on the professionalisation of adult teachers and educators for the digital

futures

Maja Maksimovic: Adult learning for democracy and activism at HE institutions

Pascal Paschoud: ULLL for skills and society

Catherine Lido: Empowering Learning Cities with novel approaches to evaluation and to the

psychology of environmental sustainability

Closing thoughts by Heribert Hinzen as PIMA Vice-President

Time: May 5, 2025 02:00 PM Budapest

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/8371...

Meeting ID: 837 1110 0637

Passcode: 602533

…………………………………………………………………………

Round B - for 10 June, 2025 in zoom in between 2.00pm and 4.00pm CET

moderator: Balázs Németh, PIMA ExCo member

Welcome words by PIMA president

Larissa Jögi: Enhancing Adult Learning through AI Partnerships at the University

Christy Rodes: Examining Adult Educator Preparation in the US with Broad focus on

teaching, program planning, assessment, and research

Borut Mikulec: Specific roles of universities in the developopent of ALE in Slovenia

George Zarifis: Navigating AI Integration in Higher Education: Insights from Focus Groups

on Ethics, Pedagogy, and Lifelong Learning

Closing thoughts by Heribert Hinzen as PIMA-member

Topic: PIMA Webinar - RoundB on HEIs supporting the development of ALE

Time: Jun 10, 2025 02:00 PM Budapest

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/8239...

Meeting ID: 823 9566 3320

Passcode: 12989

Webinar Invitation: Transforming Knowledge for Just and Sustainable Futures

Research has long been shaped by Western and Northern epistemologies, often benefiting dominant interests while sidelining diverse knowledge systems. A shift toward transdisciplinary, co-created research is essential to address complex challenges like unsustainable development.

Join the Transforming Knowledge Research Project and Canon Collins Trust for the first webinar in a new series exploring how equitable knowledge co-creation can transform research and higher education. The discussion will focus on rethinking teaching, research, civic engagement, and university governance and the role of governments, civil society, and multilateral organisations in reshaping the knowledge ecosystem.

📅 Date: April 9, 2025

⏰ Time: 12:00 – 14:00 SAT

📍 Online

This webinar is open to researchers, policymakers, and those invested in the future of higher education.

Register now to be part of the conversation.