Dear ICAE members, partners, colleagues, activists, experts and friends of ALE around the globe!

UNESCO has announced that the CONFINTEA VII conference with the theme ’Adult learning and education for sustainable development – a transformative agenda’ will be held from 15 to 17 June 2022 in Marrakech, Morocco.

This is a preliminary announcement to one of the key events that will precede CONFINTEA VII is the Civil Society Forum (CSF) that is being organised by the ICAE.

PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT

Civil Society Forum

Adult Learning and Education – Because the future cannot wait

on Tuesday 14 June 2022 from 10 AM to 5 PM (Morocco time). Venue: TBC

The Civil Society Forum will be a hybrid forum to be held in person in Marrakech and virtually, with no limit on the number of participants.

Civil society organisations from across the globe will come together to review the latest developments in adult learning and education, globally and across the regions, discuss problems and priorities, launch ICAE Spotlight Report and adopt a Global ALE Manifesto that will inform the final set of civil society recommendations for CONFINTEA VII and the Marrakech Framework for Action.

The Forum will provide a platform for discussions on the crucial challenges for ALE today and identify priorities for the coming years, including:

• Transformative ALE and its role in Agenda 2030

• ALE and the New Social Contract

• ALE as the core of the lifelong learning process

• Securing the right to adult learning and education

• Priorities areas of ALE from the civil society perspective

We will also launch the 50^th Anniversary of ICAE!

The following is the PRELIMINARY Registration link for the Civil Society Forum:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSforkRLicM0mLeAgGgaa92YHOPFGaXPSCGQA0Pm5FM9eK8Lqg/viewform

Through this link you can indicate if you are planning to participate on-site or online. We will be sending a full registration form to follow-up this Preliminary Registration in early May 2022, as well as the invitation letters.

The main language of the Civil Society Forum will be English. We are continuing to explore having interpretation in Arabic, French and Spanish. This will depend on the number of participants and our own limited funds.

Please be aware that participation in Civil Society Forum doesn’t guarantee participation in the main CONFINTEA VII Conference, which is by UNESCO invitation only!

The ICAE is working closely with UNESCO and our local hosts to explore the possibility that civil society participants who are not able to take part in the main CONFINTEA VII conference, will have opportunities to follow the conversations via live streaming of the sessions and arrange “CONFINTEA VII chats” – to exchange and discuss what is happening in the conference.

Aside from engaging with the CONFINTEA VII proceedings, there will be several other civil society events on 15-17 June, such as the re-launch of the ‘Convergence’ journal, an exhibition on ALE and civic education, meetings on various ALE-relevant topics, opportunity to network with local civil society organisations and learn about their work in ALE. So, there a many more reasons to join us in Marrakech!

Participants at the Civil Society Forum will have to cover their own travel and accommodation costs, while ICAE covers other costs related to the Civil Society Forum. We will provide you with a list of recommended hotels and travel information, as well as the detailed programme of CSF and accompanying events.

We remind you to check for the latest travel requirements, for example, will you need a visa to enter Morocco. Please make sure you also check the COVID-19 related travel requirements!

Preliminary registration will close on May 15^th, 2022. Don’t miss it!

We are looking forward to seeing you in Marrakech!

Yours

International Council for Adult Education Belgrade, April 2022