LETTER OF INVITATION     31 July 2008

Asia-Pacific Conference on International Education

18-20 October 2008, Shanghai, China

International Education for National Development：

Policy Guidance, Teaching-Learning Quality, Innovative Partnerships

Dear Sir/Madam:

I take great pleasure in extending a cordial invitation to you to participate in the Asia-Pacific Conference on International Education, which is co-sponsored by UNESCO and its Asia-Pacific Network for International Education and Values Education, the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO, Shanghai Municipal Government Education Commission, and East China Normal University, to be held on 18-20 October 2008 in Shanghai, China.

The Conference is taking place in the broad context of UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and in light of UNESCO’s central mission in promoting quality education for human development and a more harmonious peaceful world.

Internationally, the worldwide policy shift onto imperative quality improvement in Education for All (EFA) requires countries to go beyond their national borders and learn from educational innovations from wherever they derive. International education, which aims to promote the interplay of ideas, the flow of teachers/students, the transfer/sharing of knowledge, the dissemination of successful research/experiments, the formulation of innovation networks, and the cross-cultural learning of human civilizations, has never been so vital to the solution of globalized education problems in the 21^st century. In leading/coordinating EFA as a highest priority, UNESCO has been enhancing international cooperation in higher education, including standards-based teacher education, to contribute to EFA. It is promoting “international education for everyone at all levels of formal and non-formal education” in achieving EFA goals.  UNESCO and World Economic Forum have also jointly initiated “Partnership for Education” (PfE) Programme in light of EFA and Millennium Development Goals.

Nationally, many UNESCO Member States have placed International Education high on their national development agenda and developed relevant IE policies. Some countries have made huge investment in IE as a tool of mobilizing quality education resources for their nations’ global economic competitiveness. Others are focusing more on IE for turning out internationally-minded ‘world citizens’ in increasingly multi-cultural societies. Following its “Reform and Open-door policy”, China has also been actively promoting IE as a significant means of improving quality in education at all levels aimed at ‘human-centered development’ and ‘harmonious society’.

Locally, there have been growing demands for quality IE on the one hand and diversifying innovations/experiments in IE on the other. In the Conference host city of Shanghai, International Education has been vigorously promoted in view of the municipal government’s goal of developing a ‘world-class internationalized city’, and in preparation for the 2010 EXPO on a central theme of “Better City, Better Life”. International education is expected to make the city life more multicultural and more harmonious as the quality of life much depends on the quality of education.

In view of the above, the central theme of the Conference is defined as “International Education for national Development and World Harmony: Policy Guidance, Teaching-Learning Quality, and Innovative Partnerships”. The objective of the Conference is three-fold: a) to promote policy dialogue on key issues in International Education for quality EFA; b) to share national/local innovative practices in International Education for sustainable development; and c) to strengthen international cooperation in building partnerships and innovation networks in quality education for a more harmonious world.

For participants’ adequate deliberations, Forum/Roundtable/Panel sessions will be organized on relevant sub-themes.

In view of your rich experiences in international education, I am cordially inviting you to attend and contribute to the Conference by either organizing/chairing a Panel, or presenting your research findings, or just taking part in the Forum/Roundtable/Panel discussions.

For registration and other information, please feel free to contact the Conference Secretariat (mailing address at Ganxun Bld. 413, East China Normal University, Zhongshan Road (N) 3663, Shanghai 200062; Fax at 86-21-6223-7101 and Email at icte@admin.ecnu.edu.cn). Online registration will be available very soon.

I do hope you will accept my invitation and join the significant gathering.

Cordially yours,

Zhou Nanzhao, Ph. D.

Vice Chairman, Conference Organizing Committee

President, UNESCO-APNIEVE and APNIEVE-China

Advisor, Chinese National Commission for UNESCO

Address: (Beijing Secretariat):北京北三环中路46号           (Shanghai Secretariat): 上海中山北路3663号

China National Institute of Educational Research,                  East China Normal University, Zhongshan Road (N)

46 Beisanhuan Zhonglu, Beijing 100088                             3663, Shanghai 200062.

Tel/Fax :( 86-10) 62379170                                                   Tel/Fax: (86-10)62237101

Website: www.unesco-apnieve.org                                         Email: icte@admin.ecnu.edu.cn