8th ASEF Regional Conference on Higher Education (ARC8)

The Asia Europe Foundation (ASEF) is pleased to announce the 8^th ASEF Regional Conference on Higher Education (ARC8), on the theme “Outlook 2030: Inclusive and Diverse Higher Education in Asia and Europe”, which will be held online on Friday, 10 September 2021 (09.00-15.00 CET).

The ASEF Regional Conference on Higher Education (ARC) – formerly referred to as the ASEF Rectors’ Conference and Students’ Forum – is the Official Dialogue Partner of the ASEM Education Ministers Meeting (ASEMME) and the only bi-regional multi-stakeholder dialogue platform for university and student leaders, policymakers and ministers to discuss higher education issues and shape the education landscape in Asia and Europe.

This conference is taking place in the run-up to the first Senior Officials meeting (SOM1) that will take place on the 14th and 15th of September and the SOM2 and ASEMME8 taking place in December. As the Official Dialogue Partner of the ASEMMEs, the ARC8 Conference is therefore a unique project example of connecting all ASEM education stakeholders and channelling voices from the civil societies to education policy makers. This event will allow senior officials to exchange with experts from universities, student leaders, representatives of non-governmental education organisations from 51 ASEM partner countries, the European Union and ASEAN.  By creating this opportunity, the ARC8 strongly contributes to the ASEM Education Process as a multi-stakeholder platform, facilitating dialogue and concrete cooperation between Ministries of Education, Higher Education Institutions and civil society organisations. 

The core outcome of the ARC8 is the publication “Outlook Report 2030: Inclusive and Diverse Higher Education in Asia and Europe”, that will be launched at the Conference. The Report makes concrete policy recommendations on how to enhance inclusion by the next decade and serves as a basis for policy dialogues and input to the discussions on the ASEM Education Strategy and Action Plan 2030 during SOM1, SOM2 and ASEMME8.