A CALL FOR ACTION
The High-Level Policy Forum in Pretoria, October 17, 2015, is focused on the timely theme of “Higher Education for the Sustainable Future We Want”. This is a direct link to the recent declaration at the United Nations of the Sustainable Development Goals to 2030 agreed in New York.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outline 17 goals and 169 associated targets focused on poverty, hunger, equity, the environment, security and education, with Goal #4 calling on all nations to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. The targets associated with this goal give emphasis to access, equity, quality, affordability, skills for employment, literacy, and the skills to promote sustainable development – for all levels of education from pre-primary to university and includes both formal and informal approaches to education. It is clear that “business as usual” and “more of the same” are not what is intended here. To meet the commitments and the expectations they give rise to, education systems are challenged to think differently and much more inclusively about their future.
The achievement of the demanding SDGs and targets reflects the second component of the theme of this High-Level Policy Forum – The Way Ahead for Online, Open and Flexible Learning Opportunities and Actions – and demands a creative and focused response from every one of us attending the Forum. We need to develop and implement imaginative responses to the question: How can online, open and flexible learning support sustainable education and the Sustainable Development Goals?
Read on in the PDF.
