The World Education Forum 2015 is set to commence on Tuesday in South Korea’s gateway city of Incheon, bringing together education officials from member states of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, U.N. agencies and NGOs to discuss future education objectives.

The forum, being held under the theme “Transforming Life Through Education,” will set education development goals for the next 15 years, according to organizers. It will continue through Friday at Sondgo Convensia in Songdo, Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul.

Education ministers from 97 countries ― including Hwang Woo-yea of South Korea ― and vice education ministers from 34 countries will join the event. Some of the 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.

“The 2015 WEF has a great significance in that education chiefs from all over the world will gather in Incheon and reach a global consensus for the betterment of education,” Kim Young-gon, secretary-general of the WEF Host committee secretariat, said Monday. “South Korea will carry out its role as an education leader, while making sure that (the forum) will leave a lasting, favorable impression on participants.”

Organizations involved in the forum include U.N. Children’s Fund, the U.N. Development Program, U.N. Women, U.N. Population Fund, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and World Bank.

The forum is the largest education-related global conference, and succeeds the World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien, Thailand, in 1990 and World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, in 2000.

The focal point of the two preceding meetings had been the “Education for All” movement, a UNESCO-led drive devoted to providing quality basic education for all children, youth and adults. Initiated at Jomtien, the agenda took a step forward in Dakar when the delegates reaffirmed their commitment to the EFA and identified six goals to be met by 2015. They include expanding early childhood education, providing free primary education for all, achieving gender equality, improving quality of education and increasing adult literary.

Incheon will see how far each country has come in realizing these goals, along with a general evaluation of what has been accomplished in terms of education circles around the globe. In the course of self-assessment, participants will also agree on the new objectives that should be reached prior to the next meeting.

In the EFA Global Monitoring Report published in 2014, UNESCO’s Bokova said it was clear that new education goals set in 2000 would not be achieved by 2015. She urged governments to step up efforts as “Equality in access and learning must stand at the heart of future education goals. We must ensure that all children and young people are learning the basics and that they have the opportunity to acquire the transferable skills needed to become global citizens.”

She also suggested that the new goals must be “clear and measurable” which will allow the necessary tracking and monitoring.

The assessment will play a part in the subsequent discussions that will be conducted throughout the forum.

The subjects to be discussed by the panels include the future global education agenda, education development plans, gender equality in education, post-tertiary education, guaranteeing free quality education for all, vocational training for youth and adults.

The pinnacle of the forum will be the Incheon Declaration, which will be announced at the closing of the WEF 2015. The declaration and the Incheon Framework for Action will present the guidelines for global education until 2030.

The main idea for the declaration will be to provide equal and comprehensive quality education for all, and to promote lifelong education. The five key themes are right to education, equity in education, inclusive education, quality education and lifelong learning.

This is also connected to how technology can play a role in providing equal learning opportunities, such as online courses for the masses.

One of the plenary sessions on the second day of the forum will discuss the essential role education plays in a country’s development. The discussion will be led by Jeffrey Sachs, a renowned economist and a special adviser to the U.N. chief on the Millennium Development Goals.

There, Korean delegates will present how education played a critical part in helping the country achieve rapid economic development in a short period of time.

Another session on the third day will discuss how education can contribute to the post-2015 sustainable development and solving the global issues of today.

The WEF’s outcome will be aligned to the education target of the global development agenda to be adopted at the U.N. High-Level Summit in September to form a single education agenda, according to the organizers.

As part of the event, the organizers plan to hold an exhibition about the country’s education policies, along with education-related policies of other member states and organizations taking part in the forum.

Participants will also be offered a peek at how Korean public organizations and education offices use ICT in their education, vocational training models at high schools, and the country’s role in the global citizenship education.

Global citizenship education is one of the U.N.’s education initiatives that aims to train learners of all ages to become responsible global citizens, by equipping them with values and knowledge based on respect for human rights, social justice, diversity, gender equality and environmental sustainability.

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