International Education ministers head to London for Education World Forum

More than 80 International Education Ministers will gather in London next week for the UK-led Education World Forum. The forum, which runs from 19-22 January 2014, is the internationally recognized ministerial forum for sharing and debating policy developments in education, and the 2014 event brings together ministers representing the majority of the worlds population.

The event will be an opportunity for ministers to discuss the recent OECDs PISA league table, launched by Andreas Schleicher last month. Leading international education stakeholders will speak at the Forum, which will be opened by the Rt Hon Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, and HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, UNESCO Special Envoy on "Literacy for Development" on Monday 20 January 2014.

Other key-note speakers will include, HE Paulo Sacadura Cabral Portas, Deputy Prime Minister of Portugal, Andreas Schleicher, Deputy Director for Education and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy to theOrganisation for Economic Co-operationand Developments (OECD) Secretary-General will reflect on the linkages between economy and education from national and commercial perspectives. On Tuesday, Dr Elizabeth King, Vice President for Human Resource Development and Director of Education at the World Bank, will set out the Banks future education plans. In total than 60 leading international education experts will take part in presentations discussions and debates during the course of the three-day forum.

Highlighting the importance of the Education World Forum at last years event, Education Secretary, Michael Gove, said; This Forum demonstrates our shared belief that we can educate our children to ever higher standards and achieve the levels of fairness and social mobility that have long eluded us.

The Forum is supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Department for Education (DfE), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the British Council and the EWF industry partners. It is hosted by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) and its strong organizing team. It will bring together Ministers and delegates from more than 80 countries. The forum is supported by industry partners including HP, Intel, JP Sa Couto Microsoft, Pearson, Promethean as well as AirWatch, Cambridge International Education, Encyclopedia Britannica, Lego, Macat and Oxford University Press.

The event runs from 19 to 22 January 2014, and overlaps with Bett, the worlds leading showcase of learning technologies, on its final day. For more information, please visit www.ewf2014.org.

Supporting information:
The Education World Forum is the largest gathering of education and skills ministers in the world and is the internationally recognized ministerial forum for debating future practice in education. The event is by official invitation only.