World Trends And Issues In Adult Education On The Eve Of The Twenty-First Century

The forces of globalization today seem to have overwhelmed the historical political-cultural mission of adult education. Both in the North and the South, adult education is asked to contribute directly to productivity and thereby to competitiveness in the global market. The social component that survives is expected to help in coping with globalization. Voices of conscience and sanity have been raised at world summits in Rio (1992), Cairo (1994), Copenhagen (1995), Beijing (1995), and elsewhere. However, policies, plans and practices have not matched the declarations and agendas from the summits. The programs spawned by the Education for All conference of 1990 side-lined adult education, and so did the Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century (1996). The Fifth International Conference on Adult Education held in Hamburg during July 14–18, 1997 was marked by renewed commitment and solidarity. However, challenges of problematizing globalization, democratizing development, and socializing humanity for life together in the new century remain.