The World Digital Education Conference 2024 opened in Shanghai on 30 January under the theme “Digital Education: Application, Sharing, and Innovation.” The World Digital Education Alliance was officially established during the conference. Liu Limin, then President of the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), explained the background to the Alliance’s creation and its proposed development on behalf of the founding organizations.
Liu described educational digital transformation as an increasingly shared undertaking in global education reform and an innovative route to transforming learning and improving educational quality. At the 2023 World Digital Education Conference, CEAIE and other institutions in China and abroad had jointly proposed creating the Alliance, attracting support and responses from multiple stakeholders. The Alliance’s launch report stated that 104 universities, international education organizations, research institutions and enterprises from 41 countries and regions had joined at that point. These figures describe the launch period, rather than current membership.
Responding to the United Nations Transforming Education Summit and UNESCO’s SDG 4–Education 2030 High-Level Steering Committee, the Alliance seeks to provide an international platform for stronger dialogue, practical cooperation and high-quality digital education. With educational digital transformation as its central task, it proposed a lasting mechanism for international cooperation that would encourage contributions from all stakeholders and advance more equitable, inclusive and high-quality education for everyone.
Its launch plans focused on serving members through a high-level dialogue platform, sharing digital education resources, disseminating successful practices and extending the membership network. They also envisaged bringing together quality resources worldwide, participating in global digital education governance and developing an international public-service platform with broad influence. This account retains the historical context and plans described at the time of establishment.
Original link: https://aiedchair.bnu.edu.cn/wdea-official-establishment-2024-en/
