The Education Ministry on Thursday unveiled plans for the World Education Forum 2015, a gathering of education authorities, experts and high ranking personnel from education-related international organizations.

At the event slated for May 19-22, some 1,500 participants from 154 member states of the United Nations such as education ministers and vice ministers are expected to attend, according to the organizers. The most prominent participants include U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim; UNESCO director general Irina Bokova; and Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned, the mother of Qatar’s current emir.

Education ministers from 97 countries ― including Hwang Woo-yea of South Korea ― and vice education ministers from 34 countries will also take part in the event.

The main theme of the forum is “Education for All,” which is a UNESCO-led global movement for meeting the learning needs of children, youth and adults. It succeeds the World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990 and World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal in 2000.

The forum will adopt the Incheon Declaration and Incheon Framework for Action, which will “show the direction and strategic plan for global education for the next 15 years,” according to officials.

The framework includes goals such as: ensuring opportunities for equal primary and secondary education, increasing the number of adults with occupational skills, eradicating gender discrimination in education, and supplying affordable and accessible higher education.

The World Education Forum 2015 will be held in Songdo Convensia in Incheon, west of Seoul. During the event, an exhibition about South Korea’s education policies will be held, along with the education-related activities of participating nations, UNESCO and other international education organizations.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)