It was a successful, productive week in Bucharest, Romania for the back-to-back ASEM Education 1st Senior Officials’ Meeting and ARC10 Policy Dialogue on Reimagining SDGs and Education Post-2030!
Advancing Dialogue and Cooperation between Asia and Europe
The ASEM Education 1st Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM1) took place on 18-19 November 2025 in Bucharest, Romania with the theme “Connecting Education. Fostering Collaboration between Asia and Europe.” Hosted by the Ministry of Education and Research (MOER) of Romania, the meeting brought together 70+ senior officials from 27 ASEM partner countries and 8 key stakeholders to advance dialogue and cooperation across the Asia-Europe education community.
Mr Sorin Ştefan DECĂ, Deputy Secretary General at MOER Romania; Mr Adrian GEORGESCU, Head of the Romanian Erasmus+ Agency, and Dr Luca LANTERO, Head of the ASEM Education Secretariat (AES) opened the meeting with forward-looking prospects for continued collaboration and emphasised the value of the ASEM Education Process in influencing the education landscape and agenda of the two regions.
ASEF is proud to continue serving as a key stakeholder in this process. Ms Cleo CACHAPERO, Lead for Higher Education Projects at the Education Department, presented updates on ASEF’s ongoing activities, projects, and initiatives that strengthen educational cooperation between the two regions. We were also pleased to co-present the latest achievements of the ASEM Expert Group on SDGs and Education, which ASEF co-chairs together with the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority and the Ministry of Education, Thailand.
A key highlight of the SOM1 is a presentation by Dr Michelle AGUILAR-ONG, Commissioner at the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED), which announced the concept and plans for the 10th ASEM Education Ministers Meeting (ASEMME) taking place in late 2026 in Palawan.
Reimagining the Future of Education
Following the successful conclusion of the ASEM Education SOM1, ASEF had its 10th ASEF Regional Conference on Higher Education (ARC10) Policy Dialogue on Reimagining SDGs and Education Post-2030 on 20-21 November 2025 at the National School of Political Studies and Public Administration.
The two-day dialogue was formally opened through welcome messages from Prof Remus PRICOPIE, Rector of SNSPA; Ms Cleo CACHAPERO, Lead for Higher Education Projects at ASEF; Ms Vera LUCKE, Deputy Head of the ASEM Education Secretariat; and Ms Elmira CHENGIALI, Director for European Affairs at the Ministry of Education and Research, Romania. Building on a strong partnership established in a previous ARC edition, they reaffirmed the value of the ASEM Education Process, ASEF’s sustained contribution in it, and SNSPA’s commitment to advancing sustainability through education.
Incorporating the first onsite session of the ASEM Education Expert Group on SDGs and Education as its first segment, the meeting set a solid intellectual tone for the policy dialogue through a series of thought-provoking keynotes:
- Dr Ligia DECA, Secretary-General of the Romanian National Commission for UNESCO and Vice-Rector at SNSPA, urged a shift beyond incremental progress and shared her vision of having universities as transformative, regenerative hubs driving inclusive, tech-enabled and sustainability-centred education.
- Prof Zainal SANUSI, Director at the Sejahtera Centre for Sustainability and Humanity, International Islamic University Malaysia, challenged institutions to move away from WEIRD models and embrace WISER, whole-institution approaches that reposition universities as moral, societal and imaginative engines shaping humanity’s future.
- Dr Thérèse ZHANG, Deputy Director for Higher Education Policy at the European University Association, presented evidence of strengthened sustainability strategies across European universities, while highlighting the need to transition from fragmented greening to truly transformational and balanced approaches.
- Dr Jonghwi PARK, Head of Innovation and Education at the Institute of the Advanced Study of Sustainability, United Nations University, called for a radical reorientation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) towards action-oriented, community-based and transformative learning that bridges the gap between awareness and change.
The afternoon featured a series of lightning talks from participants representing Cambodia, India, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Malta, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Their contributions highlighted shared and context-specific challenges in sustainable development, alongside innovative practices and policy frameworks shaping national education systems.
The second day opened with an incisive panel discussion on revisiting the SDGS and looking beyond Agenda 2030 moderated by Dr Doria ABDULLAH (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia):
- Ms Duriya AMATAVIVAT, Centre Director at SEAMEO SEPS and Advisor for European Affairs at the Ministry of Education, Thailand, highlighted that a post-2030 education vision must move beyond access to embrace quality, equity, culture, ethics, and learners as agents of change who bear key values and pursue international cooperation.
- Ms Christelle AGUSTIN, Programme Officer at SEAMEO RIHED, shared that higher education’s future lies in brave, collaborative, impact-driven regional action that prioritises trust, relevance, equitable access, and long-term development beyond shifting SDG buzzwords.
- Prof Seamus O’TUAMA, Director of ACE at University College Cork, emphasised that education must confront the climate crisis by asking harder questions, amplifying marginalised voices, and using crisis as a catalyst for collective renewal and action-oriented learning.
- Mr Yiannis STAMATONIKOLOS, Regional Focal Point for Europe at UN SDSN Youth, called for a shift in institutional culture where youth co-create solutions, SDGs are lived organically, and AI governance is guided by consistency and ethics.
Throughout the day, participants joined in intensive brainstorming workshops and open discussions facilitated by Dr Abdullah, Mr Mark Andrew ELEPAÑO (Aarhus University / Coventry University), and Dr Anh PHAN (University of Kent) to work on an output that will carry the group’s visions for the next education agenda after 2030.
During the discussions, various key themes took centre stage including access and equity in education, AI and digital transformation, as well as governance, leadership, and system alignment, among others.
It was an incredibly productive dialogue, and we look forward to finalising the ARC10 Policy Dialogue output—an incoming contribution to the 10th ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting in 2026.
We extend our sincere appreciation to our participants, facilitators, EG1 co-chairs, and co-organisers National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, the Ministry of Education and Research of Romania, and the ASEM Education Secretariat for their unwavering support in bringing this timely and impactful dialogue to life.
