On January 30, the 2024 World Digital Education Conference held a parallel session on "Education Digitalisation and Learning Society Construction" in Shanghai. More than 240 representatives from educational departments, universities, and research institutions from 35 countries and regions attended the conference. The conference focused on the theme of "Digital Education: Application, Sharing, and Innovation," and delved into theoretical and practical aspects of building a learning society in the digital age from various perspectives."
Wu Yan, Deputy Minister of China's Ministry of Education, pointed out that building a learning society is an important topic of international concern. With the increase in the level of higher education accessibility, especially due to the rapid development of information technology, the vision of "learning anytime, anywhere, and by everyone" has become a reality. In recent years, China's Ministry of Education has implemented a strategy for digital education, establishing a national smart education platform to create a digital foundation for a learning society. China has been continuously promoting the construction of learning cities, learning communities, and learning enterprises, encouraging everyone to have a passion for learning. With the world's largest scale of digital education, China is serving the world's largest learning population. China is willing to strengthen cooperation with relevant countries and international organisations to build an all-weather digital learning platform, a comprehensive digital learning space, and a fully covered digital education community, contributing to the construction of a digital education community."
Madam Camélia NTOUTOUME-LECLERCQ, Minister of National Education and Civic Training of Gabon, and Erica, Minister of Education and Immigration of New Zealand, introduced their respective countries' policies and measures in promoting digital education and lifelong learning. Mohamed, Commissioner for Education, Science, and Innovation at the African Union Commission, presented the African Union's coordination of lifelong learning practices in African countries. Isabel, Director of UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, introduced UNESCO's concepts and initiatives for building a lifelong learning society and achieving inclusive digital learning. Torunn Gautesen, Secretary-General of the International Council for Open and Distance Education, emphasised that digitisation is crucial for building a global learning society, with quality and inclusiveness being of paramount importance. The Asian Association of Open Universities and the African Distance Education Association shared their new ideas and strategies for a learning society. Macau University of Science and Technology, Korea Lifelong Learning Institute, Anadolu University of Turkey, Moscow City Pedagogical University, and The Open University of the United Kingdom shared practical cases and successful experiences in driving a learning society through digitalisation in their respective countries and schools."
Chinese and foreign participants generally believe that the rapid development of digital technology and the wave of digitalisation will bring about profound changes in education. It requires countries and international organisations to share high-quality resources and effective solutions, while also strengthening global governance in the field of digital education to address the deep challenges posed by technologies such as artificial intelligence to education and humanity. Governments, schools, and businesses worldwide should enhance cooperation and jointly create an all-weather digital learning platform to provide round-the-clock, 24/7 learning support for global learners. They should also collaborate in creating a comprehensive digital learning space, developing more intelligent and portable learning devices, enabling learners to initiate their "learning journey" with just one click, regardless of their location. Together, they should build a fully covered digital education community, establish robust mechanisms for data security, digital ethics, and privacy protection, and provide learners with more personalised and user-friendly learning services, thus ushering in a new era of a learning society."
