APEC Symposium

A: The Symposium is an official APEC project co-sponsored by China, Peru, and the United States. It will bring together experts to develop recommendations for the APEC Education Ministers with a broad focus on building 21st Century Competencies and Skills for All from January 15-17, 2008 in Xi’an, China. Sessions will focus on four priority areas of education reform that can help students achieve the skills they need for the 21st century. These four Symposium priority areas are:

Using Information Communications Technologies (ICT) for Systemic Reform;

Learning Each Other’s Languages;

Stimulating Learning in Mathematics
and Science; and

Mastering Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Q: What are the expected outcomes of the Symposium?

A: The Symposium will result in concrete recommendations in each priority area to be presented at the 4th APEC Education Ministerial Meeting, June 10-13, in Lima, Peru. Specific analyses that will be undertaken and presented at the Symposium include:

Identifying the core content knowledge and skills in math, science, languages, and career and technical education all students must master through a content standards analysis;

Presenting policy trends from surveys administered to Economies on the four sub-theme areas and the overarching theme of 21st Century competencies and skills;

Presenting case study promising practices in each of the four sub-theme areas and the overarching theme of 21st Century competencies and skills; and

Identifying the tools (ICT) and policy supports (new ways of teaching, assessment and accountability) necessary to ensure 21st Century Skills for All.

Q: What is the Agenda of the Symposium? What will happen?

A: The Symposium is a three-day meeting:

The following is an overview of the symposium agenda. For the official agenda, please click the Agenda link above.

Each of the five plenaries will include:

Day One is devoted to setting the agenda for the day and three panel discussions on:

Day Two continues with two panel discussions on:

In addition, Day Two will include four concurrent breakout groups ̶̶ one for each priority area ̶ that will meet to develop the future program of activities for projects and policy. The small breakout groups will be chaired by the Economy Leads.

Day Three will include a brief session of the four concurrent breakout groups to identify key points of information and recommended actions to share with the Education Ministers. The small group sessions will be followed by the concluding plenary session which will include a report-out on the recommendations for future EDNET projects and policy activities, as recommended by the sub-groups.

Feel free to download the Draft Agenda (DOC|PDF).

Q: Will there be any follow-up to the Symposium?

A: Yes. The Symposium will be followed by a one-day meeting of the Symposium organizers who will summarize recommendations and write up strategic plan documents to be provided to the Ministers. Also, the research synthesis will be revised for publication in an on-line journal, the Asia Pacific Cybereducation Journal, and all of the Symposium materials will be made available in the Knowledge Bank of Education Policy and Practice (www.apecneted.org/knowledgebank).

Q: Who should attend the Symposium?

A: Ideally, each economy will send teams of no more than six ̶ their APEC EDNET representative(s) and a specialist in each of the four priority areas. Funding is available for two representatives from the 11 travel eligible APEC economies. Funding for airfares and per diems is available on a reimbursement basis. Please send your nominations to SHEN Yubiao of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China at shenyb@moe.edu.cn. We will then notify the APEC Secretariat of the approved funded travelers and their tasks. The APEC Secretariat will ask you to submit airfare quotes (based on restricted economy class fare) for their approval. You will also need to sign an APEC travel undertaking, which sets out your tasks, and travel entitlements, prior to travel. Do not make any bookings without approval from the APEC Secretariat.

Q: What are the roles of participants?

A: Symposium participants will be key in developing recommendations to present to APEC’s Education Ministers in Peru in June 2008. Symposium participants will carefully review and analyze research and policy syntheses. Participants will discuss the implications of this information for reform in their own economies, as well as the potential for joint activities among APEC members to build on the strengths of specific members in the area. Finally participants will be asked to identify areas where further information would assist them in implementing reforms.

Q: Who are the Economy Priority Area Leaders?

A: Economy Priority Area leaders identified themselves through the results of a survey questionnaire created and disseminated by the EDNET Coordinator, Dr. YoungHwan Kim of Korea. They are:

Australia and Korea – Using Information Communication Technologies for Systemic Reform

Chinese Taipei and To Be Determined – Learning Each Other’s Language

Japan and the United States – Stimulating Mathematics and Science

China and Philippines – Mastering Career and Technical Education

In addition, Peru and New Zealand will serve as the Theme Leaders for Education to Achieve 21st Competencies and Skills for All.

Q: What are the roles of Economy Theme/Priority Area Leaders?

A: Economy Leaders have agreed to gather and present information about policy trends and promising practices from around APEC. More specifically, Economy Leaders have been asked to:

Prepare a survey of APEC members and prepare results at least 10 days before the Symposium.

Participate in panel discussions on Day One and Day Two of the Symposium.

Chair Sub-theme breakout sessions on Day Two and Day Three of the Symposium.

Stay after the Symposium with the Co-sponsors and EDNET Coordinator for a day to summarize results for the Ministerial.

Prepare presentations for the Ministerial and write a final strategic plan for the priority area, including recommended projects and activities.

Q: Who are the Priority Area Chairs?

A: Chairs are the priority area Co-Leaders. Every priority area has two Economy leaders. They are Ministry (or affiliate organization) representatives from an APEC member Economy with substantial experience with the priority area issue.

Q: What is the Role of the Chairs?

A: Chairs have been invited to briefly summarize the topic area to the Symposium members and to pose questions to panel members on the challenges and benefits of implementing reform in the specific area. At the end of the priority area plenary session, the chairs have been invited to reflect on the information gathered by the researchers and in the policy surveys prior to the Symposium.

Q: Who will be presenting the Policy Analyses?

A. The priority area Leader who does not serve as the chair of the priority area plenary session will present the findings from the policy survey, contrasting information from the 2004 surveys with new information from 2008.

Q: Who organized the Symposium?

A: The Symposium is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, the Ministerio de Educación de Peru, and the United States Department of Education with the participation of the EDNET Coordinator on behalf of APEC's Education Network.

Symposium Preparations have been made by a Planning Committee of representatives from each of the co-sponsoring APEC members:

For China: Zhang Yun and Shen Yubiao

For Peru: Sol Garcia-Belaunde and Cesar Uribe

For the USA: Adriana de Kanter and Brian Fu

EDNET: Dr. YoungHwan Kim

Q: May we bring relevant documents and reports to share with colleagues?

A: We encourage you to submit your reports electronically to the Knowledge Bank (www.apecneted.org/knowledgebank). There will be a sharing table at the Symposium where you may place 100 copies of relevant material as well.

Q: How does the Symposium relate to EDNET's current projects?

A: Many current EDNET activities support the Symposium because it builds on the past themes and priority areasof the EDNET organization. The Symposium will also help set the direction for collaborative activities EDNET may want to undertake in the future.

"Education to Achieve 21st Century Competencies and Skills for All: Respecting the Past to Move Toward the Future" is co-sponsored by Ministerio de Educación República del Perú, the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, and the United States Department of Education on behalf of APEC's Education Network.