Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Rita Süssmuth died on the 1st of February 2026 at the age of 88 years. She has been the President of the German Adult Education Association (DVV) from 1988 to 2015, and then because of all her achievements became the first Honorary President. Prof. Süssmuth was an important, well …
Transition preoccupied our thinking and actions in 2025. Transitions will continue to guide our work in 2026. It is important to acknowledge that we recognise that for the ICAE, these transitions are not a single event, but have in reality manifested as multiple transitions. For most of us, the main transition was the significant leadership …
Read moreTransitions – 2025 to 2026 – by Jose Roberto ‘Robbie’ Guevara ICAE President
The International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE), and the Institute for International Cooperation of the Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband e.V. (DVV International) convened a Think Tank Meeting of Education Stakeholders on “Transforming Youth and Adult Learning and Education (ALE) in the Era of Digitalisation, Algorithms and Artificial …
ICAE co-facilitates the Capacity-building workshop for GRALE 6 for the Asia and the Pacific region, Shanghai, China, 15 – 16 October 2025 As part of the preparation for the publication of the Sixth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE 6) in 2027, UIL has offered a range of capacity-building opportunities, including regional workshops and …
Read moreCapacity-building workshop for GRALE 6 for the Asia and the Pacific region
by Peter Waite, Vice President- North America Our United States members are continuing to work on the elements of the GRALE report under the leadership of COLLO (Coalition of Lifelong Learning Organizations) and other ICAE members. While not an official member of UNESCO the group has obtained focal point status with UNESCO and plans to submit …
by Elarbi Imad – ICAE Vice-President for the Arab Region ICAE had the privilege of representing civil society at the “Strengthening Educational Systems from a Lifelong Learning Perspective, 2025” workshop, which concluded this week. The initiative was organised by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) in collaboration with the Open University of Shanghai, bringing …
(text by Elarbi Imad, ICAE Vice-President Arab Region) On 18 December 2025 ICAE and the Moroccan Center for Civic Education signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the African Foundation for Lifelong Learning (FA-ATLV) This partnership agreement is a direct response to the global call for action issued at the Seventh International Conference on Adult …
Read moreICAE signed MOU with the African Foundation for Lifelong Learning (FA-ATLV)
Farrell William Hunter, born and raised in Cape Town, has dedicated more than three decades to the field of adult education, combining grassroots practice with leadership at national and international levels. His career reflects both the history of South Africa’s democratic transition and a deep engagement with global debates on education. Farrell began his professional …
Read moreFarrell William Hunter is the new Interim Secretary General starting January 2026
Dear Members and Partners, The Education and Academia Stakeholder Group (EASG) is one of the constituencies under the Major Group and Other Stakeholders (MGOs) and is an official UN stakeholder group. Every year, each constituency is invited to submit a sectoral paper to present the key issues, policy recommendations and political positions related to the …
One of my best memories of Paul happened in Denmark following the triumph of the Hamburg CONFINTEA UNESCO Conference on Adult Education in 1997. A group of us had travelled to Elsinore, site of the first world conference on adult education in 1948, to share reflections on what had just taken place in Hamburg. A …
Read morePassing of Paul Bélanger – March 19, 1939 -January 31, 2025 – a tribute by Budd L Hall