Transforming Education for a Shared Global Future
Asia Society | April 2015
In 2016, Asia Society will launch the Asia Society Center for Global Education to bring together the leaders and
institutions of the US, Asia, and the world to tackle one of the most critical education challenges today: how to shift
policy and practice in order to close the opportunity gap and increase upward mobility by educating all students for
employability and citizenship in a global era.
The future depends on not just educating the next generation worldwide, but on creating a shared global future that
brings peace and prosperity to all. A relevant 21st century education is a core component of economic and social
progress, paving the way for unprecedented advancement.
The Challenge
Asia is leading the world in K-12 education. The rise of Asian economies reflects national investment strategies that
recognize the tight link between education quality, economic growth, and upward mobility. As a result, Asia now
leads the world in developing high-quality and equitable education systems. Seven of the ten highest performing
education systems in the world are in Asia, and the leading thinking in K-12 education reform today is coming out of
Asia. Many Asian nations are now transforming their education systems to ensure that all youth develop not only
academic knowledge but also relevant skills needed for employability and citizenship in the 21st century. Asia’s
potential to lead the way on global education reform has only begun to be realized. Asian leaders, perspectives, and
best practices should be at the center of the global education dialogue.
At the same time, there is a critical leadership gap among global education institutions. Due to globalization, the
educational transformation underway in Asia is important for all countries, developing and developed alike.
Transforming education to develop critical thinking, collaboration, empathy, and creativity is essential to achieve
broad-scale upward mobility in the global economy. Most, if not all, global education organizations, networks, and
platforms are focused on supporting universal access to education in order to provide basic skills in literacy and
numeracy. A quality basic education for all is vitally important but ultimately insufficient to deliver on the promise of
education to lift individuals and communities out of poverty. Educational access, quality, and relevance must be
tackled simultaneously, not sequentially.
Asia Society Center for Global Education
In early 2016, we will launch the Asia Society Center for Global Education (ASCGE), an international learning platform
that will build on Asia Society’s decades of work in global education to bring together education systems, leaders, and
institutions worldwide in order to educate all students for employability and citizenship in a global era. An
independent, non-partisan global network focused on transforming education to close the opportunity gap and
increase sustainable well-being for all, the long-term goal of the ASCGE is to shift policy and practice in education
systems worldwide to better meet the needs of employers and communities in a global 21st century.
In order to achieve this goal, the ASCGE will convene stakeholders, support best practice sharing, and mobilize
momentum across sectors. Asia Society is planning a series of “pre-launch” activities over the next year, including 1) a
series of high-level roundtable dialogues to engage key leaders and stakeholders in Asia, the US, and worldwide; 2) a
set of reports and publications to engage a wider public audience; and 3) a research study on the integration of 21st
century competencies in Asian education systems.
1) Series of Roundtable Dialogues
Asia Society plans to initiate a series of roundtable dialogues in Asia, the US, and elsewhere in order to find common
ground, identify key challenges and issues where the ASCGE can catalyze movement, and develop a collaborative
agenda. High-level participants will be leaders in education, policy, business, philanthropy, and the NGO communities,
including key partners among national and international education organizations.
1
We plan to host and/or facilitate dialogues across six “pre-launch” events over the next year:
1. April 2015 in Durban, South Africa: Building Future Learning Systems will be jointly hosted by the Global
Education Leaders’ Partnership (GELP) and OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation.
2. May 2015 in Incheon, Korea: The World Education Forum will be convened by UNESCO and the Korean
Ministry of Education in partnership with UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women, UNFPA, and the World Bank to mark
the closing of the 2000-2015 global education agenda and the launch of the post-2015 agenda.
3. September 2015 in New York, USA: The first ASCGE dialogue will be a high-profile event held on the occasion
of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly, the First Ladies Dialogue on Global
Education in an Interdependent World at Asia Society New York. The event will be chaired by Sarah Brown,
the Executive Chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education and wife of Gordon Brown, UN Special
Envoy for Global Education and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
4. November 2015 in Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Foundation brings together decision makers, influential experts,
and practitioners at an annual World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) to explore groundbreaking
innovations and share insights on significant improvements to global education.
5. November 2015 in Hong Kong, China: The next ASCGE dialogue will convene education, business, and policy
leaders from Asia at the Forum on the Future of Education in Asia at Asia Society’s Hong Kong Center. To
ensure global competitiveness, many countries in Asia will need to shift from a manufacturing-based to a
knowledge-based economy driven by innovative, entrepreneurial workers. The approach Asian nations take
to transform their education systems to meet this challenge will provide profound lessons for other nations
grappling with the educational implications of globalization.
6. Spring 2016 in Mumbai, India: This ASCGE dialogue will be focused on the promise of education to ensure
upward mobility in low- and middle-income countries at the Dialogue on Education, Employment, and
Citizenship held at Asia Society’s Mumbai Center.
2) Public Engagement Activities
Asia Society also plans a set of public engagement activities that aim to expand the audiences and inputs that go into
the collaborative agenda setting for the ASCGE. Our objectives are to identify, document, and disseminate effective
policies and best practices shared through the roundtable dialogues, and build and document public demand through
high-profile and newsworthy features that educate and raise awareness. Over the next year, we plan to document
the conversations from the dialogues described above by engaging an official rapporteur to synthesize discussion and
recommendations, produce related reports, website articles, and blog posts, and develop a comprehensive plan for a
worldwide poll of students, teachers, and members of the general public on the perceived value of global learning
and opportunities and obstacles for developing global competencies.
3) Research Study on 21st Century Competencies
As one of the first research projects of the Asia Society Center for Global Education, Asia Society is planning to
commission research on the definition and/or integration of 21st century competencies in Asian education systems.
Asia Society will identify a research partner to undertake a literature review, collect data and conduct interviews with
key informants, and analyze and synthesize the findings. Preliminary findings will be discussed at the series of
roundtable dialogues described above, and in conjunction with major global education conferences and meetings,
and disseminated through articles, blog posts and presentations.
2