Asia Pacific Region National Education Coalitions COVID-19 Zoom Conference

As the impact of the coronavirus pandemic was taking hold, flights ceased, and national borders were closed, ASPBAE convened the first all-in Zoom online meeting of the national education coalitions in the Asia Pacific region. Thirty-one participants from 18 coalitions joined: Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Samoa, along with ASPBAE coalition capacity support staff.

The purpose of the meeting was to gain a sense of how respective government measures regarding the coronavirus are impacting on education, how coalitions have been able to respond, and the key education issues that are being raised in each country (ASPBAE Statement on COVID-19). The meeting was also an opportunity for ASPBAE to update the coalitions on initiatives by global education organisations such as the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and UNESCO, and on SDG processes in relation to COVID-19 especially.