First Meeting of the CONFINTEA Advisory Group Hamburg, Germany

The Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) was held from 1 to 4 December 2009 in the Northern Brazilian city of Belém do Pará. Under the leadership of UNESCO and hosted by the Government of Brazil, it brought together more than 1,000 participants from 150 countries, among them representatives of international agencies, non-governmental organisations and learner associations, as well as over 70 ministers and deputy ministers.

Resulting from two years of regional and national mobilisation and debate among stakeholder networks, CONFINTEA VI closed with a clear public statement on adult literacy and adult education as enabling and empowering tools for hope and change. The Belém Framework for Action adopted by the Conference testifies to the consensus and determination of the international community to craft a new course of action for adult learning. As spelled out in the document, the Conference participants committed “to take forward, with a sense of urgency, and at an accelerated pace, the agenda of adult learning and education”.

In order to follow up this commitment and to obtain support in providing the necessary back-up for implementing the recommendations of the Belém Framework, UNESCO is setting up an international, multi-stakeholder CONFINTEA Advisory Group.

The CONFINTEA Advisory Group will have the task of guiding and supporting UNESCO in the design and implementation of the CONFINTEA VI follow-up process., precisely to:

• maintain and reinforce the political momentum created by CONFINTEA VI in favour of adult literacy and adult education as critical elements within comprehensive lifelong learning policy frameworks;
• help to shape and regularly update, on the basis of the Belém Framework for Action, a concrete CONFINTEA VI Follow-up Plan with recommendations to initiate, accelerate and monitor progress in relation to policy development, gender equality and better provision and participation in adult literacy and adult education;
• advocate for increased resources for adult literacy and adult education; and
• act, in support of the above, as an institutionalised advocacy group for adult literacy and adult education at the international level and vis-à-vis national stakeholders.

The CONFINTEA Advisory Group will be composed of two categories of members: UNESCO Member States (in particular the hosts of the CONFINTEA VI regional preparatory conferences) and international key stakeholder organisations (including civil society organisations and learners’ associations). The Group will meet once a year in order to take stock and to review, adapt and fine-tune the strategic follow-up plan.

The first meeting of the CONFINTEA Advisory Group will take place from 22 to 23 March 2010 at the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. In addition to constituting the Group, the main objectives of the meeting will be to assess the achievements of CONFINTEA VI and to discuss and finalise the CONFINTEA VI Follow-up Plan on the basis of the Belém Framework for Action. The Follow-up Plan will include immediate follow-up activities for 2010-2011 as well as a long-term strategic plan.