International Conference on More and Better Investment in Global Education – Tuesday 14 June in Seoul, Korea

The International Conference on More and Better Investment in Global Education was co-organized by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and the Education Commission and sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Education. The conference’s aim was to share global education research and evaluate outcomes within the context of sustainable development.

KDI is a research partner of the Education Commission and is part of its global initiative to improve education opportunities across the globe. Specifically, KDI has shared relevant lessons from Korea’s diverse experience in education policy and economic dividends growth borne out of investment in human capital, as well as the importance of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and educational Official Development Aid (ODA).

The conference presenters and participants in Seoul, Korea

The conference presenters and participants in Seoul, Korea

The International Conference on More and Better Investment in Global Education was designed as an outreach activity to help unite forces studying the under-financed state of global education and to explore how Korea’s experience in education can provide policy lessons for other states. In addition, the conference served as a dynamic platform to discuss the implications of the Korean experience with human capital formation, technical and vocational education, and educational development aid. Coming out of the conference, the consensus hope was to develop useful knowledge partnerships with peers from around the world with the aim of tackling the challenges obstructing the provision of equal education opportunities for all.

The welcoming remarks at the conference were presented by Joon Kyung Kim, President of KDI and Young Lee, Vice-Minister of Korea’s Ministry of Education. Also in attendance were experts, prominent scholars and practitioners from various regions and disciplines that shared their knowledge and views for improving both the quantity and quality of global education through new and better investment avenues.

Presenters:

  • Michael Kremer, Professor, Harvard University
  • Miguel Urquiola, Professor, Columbia University
  • Ju-Ho Lee, Professor, KDI School of Public Policy and Management; Former Minister of Education, Korea
  • Hyeok Jeong, Professor, Seoul National University
  • Boo Yuel Kim, Professor, KDI School of Public Policy and Management

Participants:

  • Dankert Vedeler, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Education and Research, Norway
  • Kostadin Grozev Kostadinov, Former Vice-Minister, Ministry of Education and Science, Bulgaria
  • Kaba Urgessa, State Minister, Ministry of Education, Ethiopia
  • Justin W. van Fleet, Director, the Education Commission; Chief of Staff, UN Special Envoy for Global Education
  • Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Head of Office, UNESCAP East and North-East Asia Office
  • Michel Welmond, Program Leader for Human Resource Development Unit, The World Bank
  • Ee Ling Low, Head, National Institute of Education, Singapore
  • Soo Hyang Choi, Director, Division for Inclusion, Peace and Sustainable Development, UNESCO
  • Glenn Alexander Withers, Professor, Australian National University
  • Teopista Birungi Mayanja, Commissioner, the Education Commission
JvF with Teopista Birungi Mayanja and Ju-ho Lee

Commissioner Teopista Birungi Mayanja, Commission Director Justin W. van Fleet and Commissioner Ju-ho Lee at the KDI Conference.