Closing the Skills Gap: Policymaker Roundtables

The Education Policymakers Network was established in May 2021. It is a network of 31 policymakers from 31 countries who all have responsibility for the education of 3-12 year-olds in their respective locations. All of them share a strong interest in education reform that will expand the kinds of skills young people can develop to build the skills and flexibility needed in the 21st century. 

The policymaker roundtable discussions have been designed to cater to policymakers and government officials interested in, or working on, implementing holistic skills development in their education systems. It will consist of two 2,5-hour sessions, both similar in set up and content in order to allow participants from all around the world learn from peers, become part of the discussion, and share their own experiences. 

The first session will be held on January 27, 2022, from 8:00 to 10:30 CET, while the second will take place the same day between 18:00 and 20:30 CET.

Each session is built around two collaborative 50-minute blocks of Amplify – Exchange – Influence – Catalyze roundtable discussions. The first block will focus on the themes of the learning circles of the Education Policymakers Network and provide the space for interactive and open discussions on the following topics:

Breadth of Skills Assessment
Join this discussion to amplify, exchange, influence, and catalyze the opportunities and challenges arising from breadth of skills assessment, what an assessment framework could and should include, and how it can be mainstreamed.

New Approaches to Early Years Education
Join this discussion to amplify, exchange, influence, and catalyze new and existing approaches to early years education, such as learning through play, and opportunities and challenges arising in its implementation.

Innovations in Distance Learning
Join this discussion to amplify, exchange, influence, and catalyze the impact of distance learning on the development of students, and the opportunities and challenges that arise from it.

Post COVID Education Purpose and Priorities
Join this discussion to amplify, exchange, influence, and catalyze how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced people’s understanding and expectations of education systems and holistic skills development, and what learnings education policymakers need to draw from it.

Towards a Global Breadth of Skills Curriculum
Join this discussion to amplify, exchange, influence, and catalyze what a global breadth of skills curriculum could and should look like, what it should aim to achieve and what limitations there are to it.

The second block of roundtables will vary slightly between the first and the second session and will consist of case studies and real life-practices presented by members of the Education Policymakers Network. All of the roundtables will be discussion based and highly interactive.

Session 1 – 8:00 to 10:30 CET

Preparing the Ground for Reform: Insights from Scotland

Education Reform in Vietnam

Unpacking Delhi‘s Happiness Curriculum: From Policy to Practice

Session 2 – 18:00 to 20:30 CET

Build Back Better: Universal Early Care and Education in the United States

Education Reform in Portugal

Education Reform in Columbia (Spanish with English translation)
 

Through the roundtable discussions the Education Policymakers Network seeks to:

• Increase the attention to and salience of the importance of holistic skills development within education systems.
• Provide room for education policymakers who are tasked with reforming their education system to deliver 21st century skills to engage with other policymakers on how to do so effectively.
• Shape the debate and advance thinking and policy around breadth of skills and education reform.
• Provide a means to draw upon cutting edge insights from Education Policymakers Network’s work.
• Produce a set of advocacy focused essays from conference contributors to be published by Salzburg Global and Diplomatic Courier. After the third conference, all essays will be collated into an e-book.
   

Both sessions are open to anyone but are specifically designed for education policymakers, other government representatives and advisors, and educators working on education reform and interested in holistic skills development. Participants who join the program should work on at least one of the following areas at a regional or national level as it relates to three- to twelve-year-olds:

• Education strategy
• Breadth of Skills (21st century, social, emotional, creative, physical and cognitive) skills
• Teachers’ professional development (pre-service, in-service)
• Pre-primary / primary curriculum design
• Assessment
• Early years’ education