University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Chancellor, Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, gave her take about the status quo of lifelong learning, its risks, and opportunities in her presentation as one of the two speakers in the first session of Asia-Europe Foundation’s (ASEF) 8th Regional Conference on Higher Education (ARC8). The theme of the conference was “Vision 2030: Inclusive and Diverse Higher Education in Asia and Europe.” The first session was held in December 2020, with Dr. Bandalaria standing with the ARC8 Expert Group on Inclusive and Flexible Lifelong Learning Pathways, which discussed the risks and opportunities of the glaring inequality of lifelong learning. They didn’t just give light on the context of adult learning and education but also pushed for the advancement towards the United Nations’s 4th Social Development Development Goal (SDG), among others.
Building on their capacity to develop knowledge by the exchange of information, Dr. Bandalaria provided what her definition of lifelong learning was along with a detailed overview of how it fares in the Philippine context. Listing the potential risks that disrupt its inclusion in the next decade, she also provided ways on how to work around them, and use them as leverage to promote its inclusion. Dr. Bandalaria gave her attention to the insights and realizations that were gained during the course of this pandemic, focusing attention to the fact that open universities are anchored on their mission to provide quality lifelong learning to all.
Written by Keizer Philip B. Ancajas
Edited by Joane V. Serrano and Anna Cañas-Llamas