A recently published report, Lifelong learning in transformation: Promising practices in Southeast Asia, featured below, sheds light on promising lifelong learning practices in 11 countries in the region. The report comprises three main sections: a reflection on lifelong learning in international and national documents, a collection of good practice drawn from the countries’ national reports, and a set of common recommendations across these countries. It is hoped that these recommendations followed by guiding questions will stimulate policy dialogue in the region.

Southeast Asian countries have made great progress – with varying size and context – in improving their citizens’ access to lifelong education and learning opportunities, from formal to informal learning. Highlighting the critical factors that support the promotion of lifelong learning for all, the report elaborates on a set of good practices tackling various fields ranging from national education systems to teacher development, from online learning to open school programmes, from community learning to skills-based individual development. Each practice provides insights into implementing actions and noteworthy achievements, and the government policies or institutional frameworks that supported such practices.

Despite positive developments in the region, challenges remain in ensuring ‘inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ (Sustainable Development Goal 4, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Therefore, in order to better tackle these challenges, Southeast Asian countries need to learn from one another and continue expanding the provision of rich and diversified learning opportunities for all.

The publication is part of a larger collaborative project, ‘Towards an ASEAN Lifelong Learning Agenda’, developed by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Lifelong Learning (SEAMEO CELLL), which will run until 2018.

The full country reports and key reference documents are available from the Southeast Asian Lifelong Learning Portal, which was produced as part of this project.

The report is a continuation of a series of publications on lifelong learning policies and strategies; these include:

Key issues and policy considerations in promoting lifelong learning in selected African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda and Tanzania

Building a learning society in Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore

The role of higher education in promoting lifelong learning