THE DEPARTMENT of Education highlighted the importance of shared responsibility in promoting lifelong learning in the Eighth ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting.

DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan expressed the agency’s commitment to the vision of the ASEM Education 2030 Strategy and Action Plan, particularly Strategic Objective 2: Promoting Lifelong Learning, Including Technical and Vocational Education and Training.

Malaluan recognized the cross-cutting roles of communities, industries, and institutions in nurturing lifelong learning that transcends formal education and, consequently, advancing the learning ecosystem’s adaptive development.

“Learning opportunities can best thrive if we regard learning spaces, physical and virtual, formal and non-formal, as habitats for learners, where learners learn and become adaptive,” he said.

He added that these are critical factors in attaining the objectives of the Strategy and Action Plan and ensuring a sustainable future for all. This aligns with the ASEMME8 theme “ASEM Education 2030: Towards more resilient, prosperous and sustainable futures.”

Malaluan cited the gains attained amid the pandemic, such as innovations in learning delivery and multi-setting learning spaces.

“We need to provide learning opportunities not only in formal education but in numerous settings, including the workplace, the home, and in socio-economic settings within and beyond national borders, to facilitate continuous learning, upskilling, and reskilling throughout life,” the official said.

The ASEMME8, which was virtually held on December 15, 2021, provided the Ministerial-level platform for the 53 ASEM partner countries and institutions to fortify transregional cooperation in the Asian and European education sectors by setting the direction and plotting the actions needed to implement the ASEM Education 2030 Strategy and Action Plan.

The meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Education of Thailand.

The ASEM is an informal intergovernmental forum for policy dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe.