You are warmly invited to the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning's Webinar: ‘From chalkboards to chatbots: Educating adults in the AI era’ on 3 September 2025. Taking place during 2025 Digital Learning Week, this event is part of our global webinar series, ‘Unlocking the power of lifelong learning’, bringing together stakeholders from across the globe on the first and third Wednesday of every month.

The webinar will focus on the role of artificial intelligence in adult learning and education. It will examine how AI is transforming educational practices, while also raising important ethical, social and pedagogical considerations. The session will highlight inclusive and human-centred approaches to using AI in adult education. During this webinar, we will also launch the new online course Digital Empowerment for Adult Educators in the Age of AI and Other Emerging Technologies. This course is designed to empower adult educators around the world to effectively and responsibly integrate AI into their teaching.

Programme

13:00- 13:15 - Opening Remarks

Moderator: Ms Sofia Chatzigianni, Assistant Programme Specialist, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning

• Ms Isabell Kempf, Director, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning

13:15- 14:25 - Session: Digital Empowerment for Adult Educators in the AI Age

Moderator: Ms Annapurna Ayyappan, Programme Specialist, Digital Learning, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning

• Artificial intelligence (AI), conversational agents, and generative AI: implications for adult education practice and research
  • Ms Marcella Milana, Associate Professor (Dipartimento di Scienze Umane) Università degli Studi di Verona, Italy
• Inclusive Adult Learning in the AI Era: Confronting Inequality, Fostering Critical andAnalytical Skills, and Empowering the Marginalised
  • Ms Rashidat Ibrahim, Doctoral Student, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
• Responsible Artificial Intelligence in education
  • Ms Caitlin Bentley, Senior Lecturer in AI Education, King’s College London, UK and Deputy Chair of the Responsible AI Skills Pillar, and UIL consultant
• How can AI empower education from a lifelong learning perspective
  • Mr Jun Xiao, Director of Digital Learning, Shanghai Open University, China
• Reaching youth with disability and refugees and migrants in East Africa through AI-enabled digital content delivery
  • Ms Claire Mongeau, Co-Founder and Director, M-Shule, Kenya
• Moderated QA and Course Launch

14:25- 14:30 - Closing remarks

• Ms Rakhat Zholdoshalieva, Team Leader, UIL

Further information

Hybrid capacity-building project: Digital Empowerment for Lifelong Learning Teaching and Andragogy (DELTA) Framework