In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping education, the ASEFClassNet18 School Collaboration is empowering teachers to lead the way.
Recently, the ASEFClassNet Project was prod to be invited as one of the best models for AI Competency Building among teachers at UNESCO’s Regional Seminar for Asia and the Pacific on AI Competencies for Teachers and Students, held virtually on 28–29 April 2025. This high-level seminar, part of UNESCO’s ongoing efforts to localise and implement AI competency frameworks across the Global South, gathered education policymakers, international experts, and regional partners to discuss how to equip educators and learners for the challenges and opportunities of AI in education.
Representing ASEF, Ms Jyoti Rahaman (Project Lead for Education Innovation, Education Department), delivered a presentation titled “From Principles to Practice: The AI Competency Building Journey of ASEFClassNet Teachers.” Her presentation highlighted how ASEFClassNet educators across Asia and Europe are translating high-level AI competency frameworks line UNESCO’s AI-CFT into meaningful, classroom-based practices that foster agency, ethical awareness, and responsible AIED use.
The ASEFClassNet School Collaboration Project is a unique model of peer-to-peer, cross-continental professional learning. Unlike many top-down capacity-building initiatives, ASEFClassNet empowers secondary, high and vocational school educators from across Asia and Europe to co-design and co-lead projects that embed AI literacy, responsible use of digital tools, and pedagogical innovation directly into classroom practice. Over the years, this community-driven approach has fostered an agile and future-focused network of teacher-leaders who are not only adapting to AI in education but also actively shaping its direction.
What makes ASEFClassNet stand out is its emphasis on teacher agency, inter-cultural dialogue, and real-world collaboration. By providing a platform for educators to experiment, reflect, and scale impactful teaching practices, the project ensures that AI integration in education is grounded in human values, context-aware, and inclusive. In an era when education systems are grappling with the ethical, social, and pedagogical implications of AI, ASEFClassNet offers a replicable and scalable model for AI competency-building that is bottom-up, international, and deeply human-centered.
ASEF’s involvement in the UNESCO seminar underscored the urgent need to go beyond technical training and promote transformative professional learning ecosystems. As AI reshapes the global education landscape, initiative like the ASEFClassNet are not only timely but also essential. It demonstrate how empowering teachers with the right skills, networks, and voice can lead to meaningful, sustainable, and ethical AI-driven education transformation.
Learn more about the seminar here!
Learn more about the ASEFClassNet Projects and initiatives in 2025 here!