Hosted by
Department of Lifelong Education, Chulalongkorn University in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific University-Community Engagement Network of University Sains Malaysia, East Asia Forum for Adult Education (EAFAE), Lindenwood University at St. Charles, the United State of America, the University of Third Age, Thailand, Office of the Non-Formal and Informal Education in Thailand, Chula Global Network, Chulalongkorn University, Centre of Learning Innovation, Chulalongkorn University, and Center of Lifelong Learning Research and Development for Potential Development of elderly, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University
The 5th International Conference on Lifelong Learning for All 2017 ( LLL 2017 ) “Lifelong Learning towards Inclusive Ageing Society : Intergenerational Challenges ” is initiated by the Department of Lifelong Education, Chulalongkorn University in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific University-Community Engagement Network of University Sains Malaysia, East Asia Forum for Adult Education (EAFAE), Lindenwood University at St. Charles, the United State of America, the University of Third Age, Thailand, Office of the Non-Formal and Informal Education in Thailand, Chula Global Network, Chulalongkorn University, Centre of Learning Innovation, Chulalongkorn University, and Center of Lifelong Learning Research and Development for Potential Development of elderly, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University
The Conference is to provide academics and practitioners with an opportunity to explore, enhance and engage in the concept on lifelong education and learning towards inclusive ageing society : intergenerational challenges through an exchange and sharing of different international perspectives, experiences, and exemplar practices.
The program covers keynote addresses, panel discussions, oral presentation sessions, and poster exhibition with the objectives:
1. to increase and enhance knowledge and understanding on the concept and practices of Lifelong learning through international perspective exchanges and sharing forums, and
2. to encourage international cooperation across all sectors involved in lifelong education promotion, particularly at an ASEAN level, to achieve the actualization of lifelong learning society in Thailand.
The major theme of the LLL 2017 is “Lifelong Learning towards an Inclusive Ageing Society: Intergenerational Challenges ” with the subthemes: 1) Lifelong Education: Adult Education, 2) Learning Society, 3) Human Resource Development, 4) Lifelong Educational Delivery: Approach and Techniques, and 5) Other topics which are related to any of the facets of the conference’s topic.
This year program is held on September 7th- 8th , 2017 at Kingthong Room, Asia Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand, with approximate 127 participants from 9 countries around the world such as Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, and Thailand. Sharing and exchanging of ideas and experience among professionals, academics, practitioners, and those who need to see the better world is therefore crucial. This year’s conference is set as a friendly setting where contemporary issues and research finding relevant to Lifelong education and learning for human security could be shared, learned, and discussed contributing to the attainment of the global goal.
 
September 7th, 2017 : 08.00 a.m. – 5.15 p.m.
Morning Sessions: Opening and welcoming addresses, and Keynote Speakers
Opening and welcoming addresses
The conference starts with an opening remark from Assistant Professor Dr. Pomthong Malakul Na Ayudhaya, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Chulalongkorn University , followed by a reported speech from Associate Professor Dr. Archanya Ratana-Ubol, Head of the Department of Lifelong Education, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, for opening and welcoming addresses for this international conference.
The Lifelong Learning for All Honor and Recognition Ceremony, two presentations of honored individuals and organizations dedicated to supporting lifelong learning for the elderly individual and organization levels are awarded to Miss Natthanee Sitthisaman, a senior entertainer who has been in the entertainment industry for a long time, on the individual level, and at the organization level, to Foundation of Thai Gerontology Research and Development Institute as a corporate Social Responsibility, focusing on promoting lifelong learning and education to develop the potential of the elderly. A surprised congratulation, Prof. Dr. Cameron Richards,one of the hosted committee, announces to meeting to proudly congratulate to Associate Professor Dr. Archanya Ratana-Ubol in order to receive International Adult continuing Education ( IACE) Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017 award. The Hall of Fame honors leaders in the field of continuing education and adult learning and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Archanya will be officially presented this award this October 2017 in South Korea.
 
Keynote Speakers
The first Keynote Address is “Moving Thailand toward Ageing Society: Policy and Practice” by Dr. Watanaporn Ra-ngubtook, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Education, Ministry of Education, Thailand. According to the data on the elderly given by Dr. Watanaporn, Thailand first became an ageing society in 2005, and will become complete ageing society by 2025. Challenging situation regarding Thailand’s ageing society, Thailand is facing three major problems on 1) well-being of the elderly people, 2) economic situation of the elderly to live by, and 3 ) medical and health conditions to cope with; therefore, Thailand’s preparedness for its Ageing Society is aimed to focus on the policy and practice.
 
The second keynote speaker is the Founder and Coordinator of University of 3rd Age, Nepal, Mr. Jeevan Raj Lohani, on the keynote address: “Active Ageing: Lessons Learned from Overseas ”. He points out that active ageing can prolong the lifelong learning and life because you can live longer if your brain is still active. And he also adds that 1) it will be prescriptive to say that elderlies need to learn to remain active during ‘graceful’ years, 2) Intergeneration learning and sharing requires open attitude, mutual respect, learning goals, and platforms to communicate and share, and 3) Geriatrics VS. Learning: Looking for formal resources and support and linking to geriatrics is important but it mostly leads to top-down efforts that are beyond respect and understanding of learning.
Afternoon sessions: Panel Discussions and Oral Presentations
Panel Discussions
The Panel Discussion: “ Intergenerational Challenges: the Accountability of Education and Learning”
Chair: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Archanya Ratana-Ubol
Panelists:
- Prof. Dato’ Dr. See Ching May, Consultant at Guan Lye Specialist Centre, Malaysia: Intergenerational Lifelong Learning. She points out the following:
- the Concept of lifelong learning is based on three fundamental attributes: lifelong, life-wide, and focusing on learning with various form of learning: Formal Learning, Non-formal Learning, and In-formal Learning.
- Examples of Intergenerational Lifelong Learning: 1) JOYFLL-Join your grandchildren in Learning a Foreign Language, 2)Japan – Groups of older and younger people come together to undertake outdoor activities, 3) Singapore – promote Grandparenting and Intergenerational bonding by placing various initiatives in community services for senior volunteers who are bilingual in English/Mandarin and dialects to provide basic dialect training to youths from schools and institutions.
- Keys factors to realise intergenerational lifelong learning: 1) Formulate a lifelong learning policy, 2) Provide adequate financial support, 3) Establishment of a quality Assurance Framework, 4) Launch a National Promotional Campaign, and 5) Conduct research and development.
- Role of society to bridge international gap: 1) Bridging the Intergenerational Gap, 2) Provide incentives for private spaces, 3) Community services engaging youth to older generations, and 4) Festival or special event designed to engage people of all ages to promotes understanding across generations and cultures.
- Conclusion : Why Intergenerational Lifelong Learning is needed in the world ? : to prevent generational distancing and segregation, to promote intergenerational understanding and respect, and to provide engagement between and within generations for a better tomorrow. It can contribute to the development of individual competencies for a more inclusive society. (NOBODY SHOULD BE LEFT BEHIND : Bringing Generations Together)
- Emeritus Professor Roger Harris, Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, School of Education, University of South Australia, Australia: “ Intergenerational challenges : The accountability of education and learning.”
- Changes – Intergenerational Learning: Understanding its meaning: Characteristics of intergenerational learning:1) Benefits of IL: positive effects from Intergenerational learning for the younger, the older and for both, 2) Reciprocity within IL: the exchange of knowledge and skills across generations-e.g. traditions, values, new technology, and 3) Empowerment within IL: a process centred in the local community involving mutual respect, critical reflection, coring and group participation, through which people lacking an equal share of resources gain greater access to these resources.
- Who is taking responsibility? , and “ Missing links ”: 1) Findings in cognitive ageing and neuroscience about how the brain works in the learning process at different life stages, 2) Ensuring cultural sensitivity, 3) Training for facilitators and teachers dealing with different generations, 4) Practitioners lacks skills to design and implement activities, and few tools available, and 5) Lack of adequate quality control and quality assurance mechanisms to ensure quality of IL activities
- Societal/familial barriers: Challenges for family literacy/ learning program: 1) Learning together across generations, and 2) Indigenous Intergenerational Learning
- Differences between generations: 1) Traditionalists 1945 and before: hard work, respect authority, sacrifice, adhere to rules, 2) Baby Boomers: 1946-1964: Workaholics, competitive, personal fulfilment, question authority, desire quality, 3) Generation X: 1965-1976: Tenacious, entrepreneurial, tolerant, self-improvement, goal-oriented, optimistic, balance, and 4) Generation Z: 1996 and after: Most technology-literate, may appreciate more virtual work
- Implementation is slow: 1) Field extremely complex, scattered-very limited data, 2) Concept only partially understood, at policy and practice level, 3) Policy-driven concept, rather than bottom-up, 4) Only partially implemented-not fully understood by practitioners, 5) Most projects run by NGOs, rarely by adult education providers, 6) Only ‘border generations’ seem to be bought into contact, 7) Publicly funded, limited duration-a very short lifetime, and 8) Impact often beyond project objective, is incidental and unplanned
- Ending with Pope Francis’ quotation: “Intergenerational solidarity is not optional, but rather a basic question of justice, since the world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us.”
 
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Juree Vichit-Vadakan, Faculty of Public Administration, The National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand:
- Dr. Juree gives two important points on 1) what to fill the education gap 2) how problems to be solved: 2.1) High instruction of education alone cannot reach the youngsters, so education people needs to think of the cohesion of the thinking and the mindset, and 2.2) The kind of one-way teaching and learning should be changed into more two-way of learning: very few eager to learn, more pragmatic educating themselves.
- Dr. Juree agrees with the intergenerational challenges, and believes that intergeneration is the key to the answers: 1) Because in Thai society, the respect of older people is still there, especially among women. The notion of family is important for Thai culture; look at Songkran Festival, for instance, Thais go back to see their families, grandparents and parents in the countryside even though it takes days to get there because of the traffics. It is the strong bond in Thai family although we have many problems, including economic one, and 2) Values structure is still valued, so building the understanding between the young and the old is needed: build the understanding in the school, encourage young children. Children need to appreciate with the grandparents, and at the same time, grandparents need to adapt themselves: no complaining every single thing children do.
- What need to be done ?, who should do the programs / activities ? : 1) ‘Mindset’ needs to be changed, 2) ‘Value’ should be more in time, more in line, not too structure, but flexible, 3) Educational institute / school should do the programs / activities : assist by school and utilize to the community as well- let grandparents join the activities of their grandchildren, 4) Programs / TV programs should produce the behavior series of parents, children, grandparents who live together: sharing examples of problems and happiness, and 5) The place that the retire person can go, can be and can join should be available enough in the community.
September 8th, 2017 : 08.00 a.m. – 5.15 p.m.
Morning Sessions: Keynote Speakers
- The Keynote address is “Sustaining older workers’ competence: Informing policy and practice”, by Prof. Dr. Stephen Billett, Professor of Adult and Vocational Education, School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. Dr. Billett points out the following:
- Globally, workforces are ageing; in 2010; no country had median age at 45, but by 2050, according to projected median age( selected countries,2010 and 2050), six of the countries will.
- Older workers and work: for instance, Australians are expecting and expected to work longer. Retaining these workers in the workforce and sustaining their workplace competence is essential to 1) secure national economic and social goals, 2) enterprises’ viability, and 3) personal need (health, finance). So how can we sustain and develop older workers’ employability?
- Older workers: a view from the literature – workers are unlikely to get support for learning from employers. Older workers’ capacities: 1) reliability, punctuality, productivity, problem-solvers, 2) are less likely to leave than younger employees, 3) respond well to retraining, and can quickly improve skills that have not been practiced, and 4) experience decline in muscle strength, sight speed of perception and response, but develop competence to judge, sense of responsibility.
- Means to achieve sustained employability are founded in policies and practices for: 1) changing society sentiments about older workers- society values and practices, 2) inclusive workplace practices- workplace values and practices, 3) continuing education and training addressing older workers’ needs, aspirations and subjectivities,- curriculum intents and enactments, 4) learning across working lives being supported by broader considerations of curriculum and pedagogic practices- CET practices, and 5) promoting and supporting the agency, intentionalities and capacities’ required for effective practice- individuals’ personal epistemologies.
 
Afternoon sessions: Panel Discussions and Oral Presentations
Panel Discussions : The Panel Discussion: “ Different Generations in the Same Society: Approaches to the Happiness”
Chair: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Archanya Ratana-Ubol
Panelists:
- Prof. Dr. Hsiu Mei Tsai, Dept. of Adult and Continuing Education, The National University of Chung Cheng, Taiwan: “The Development of Senior and Intergenerational learning in Taiwan.” She gives points out the following:
- Taiwan is “one of the fastest- ageing society in the world.” The challenges of an ageing society: 1) Economic-pension Scheme reform, 2) Family-intergeneration relationship, and 3) Health- need of health and care.
- Ways to promote senior learning and intergenerational learning: 1) Senior learning Center: Three steps to Senior Active Learning: 1.1) Senior Learning- Participate in Learning, Change, and empower, 1.2) Autonomous learning – be an autonomous learning group, and 3) Service-making the service plan and do the service, and 2) Grandparents’ activities in Taiwan: since 2008, there have been grandparents’ activities carried out by schools, and since 2010, Taiwan celebrates “ Grandparents’ day ” on the last Sunday in August each year.
- Seniors as teachers: life-history activation project through school activities; the seniors in the community are invited to participate program in telling their life history. They learn together, and they learn from each other.
- Age-integrated community: young people learn from senior people and then they work together to do community building projects such as traditional grass-weaving in Miaoli County.
- Conclusion: 1) the trend of more and more people brings great challenges to the society, 2) we need a new strategy about how to transform senior people into resources and treasures in the society., and 3) one way to do it is to provide seniors’ lifelong learning with the idea of ‘Active Ageing’.
- Mrs. Akiko Tsukatani, President of Age Concern, Japan: “Intergenerational Cooperation: Social innovation for universal designed multi-generation exchange” She gives Japan’s view points on the elderly:
- Global and Japanese ageing trends: 1) Japan has a drastically falling birthrate (1.46 in 2015) and the greatest life expectancy ( women: 87.5 and men: 80.79 in 2015) globally. It currently has the fastest rate of ageing anywhere in the world, 2) Japan already entered into an ultra ageing society where the number of people at the age of 65 years and over now amounts to 34.61 millions occupying 27.3% against the total population of 126.95 millions in 2016. It is expected that its present rate of increase will reach at 36.12 millions, 29.1% in 2020.
- Japanese-style University of third Age are U3A that: 1) have already improved ways of addressing the needs of an ageing society, 2) offer avenue for the elderly to undertake activities as respected members of society, 3) form bonds with universities and local governments, that root out regional problems and find solutions to them.
- Age Concern Japan: 1) investigates success stories in various areas, and examples of failure, and then gives publicity to its findings on national and global basis, 2) investigates instances of success and failure throughout the world and introduces into Japan the results of its findings, and 3) serves in Japan as window to global network of Universities of Third Age.
- Mr. Suphajon Klinsuwan, Faculty of Journalism and Mass communications, Thammasat University, Thailand: He starts with 1) His experience from doing TV program show- ‘English Breakfast’ for many years gave him the idea of flexibilities and adaptation. Learning does not have to be formal; information can be anywhere, can be learned at any circumstance-with or without your neck-tied on, 2) There are always the little gap of lacking understanding in the family; the older generation people don’t get what the younger do; on the other hand, the younger never accept the beauty of the old’s. The gap between generations makes the community confusing. People who live in the same society don’t respect that each individual is interested in different things at each level, at each situation, and at each generation. There are rapid changes in the society around the word; People have more channel of media; therefore, Human behavior, human touch and individual mindset need to be changed, and 3) He brings some points of how to bridge the gap among generations: to learn from one another, to be familiar with differences; Learn to: segregate, be “ each of your own”, respect, forget, find something in common i.e. interest, enemy, goal, stop judging/ stop prejudice, and become familiar with differences / adapt if needed. Mr. Suphajon ends his talk with a good wording “There are three kinds of people: those who see; those who see when they are shown; and those that do not see.” ( Leonardo Da Vinci )
Closing remark
Associate Professor Dr. Archanya Ratana-Ubol, Head of the Department of Lifelong Education, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, gives a closing and appreciation remark to all honourable speakers, collaegues, friends and students in attending this 5th conference on Lifelong Learning and on Intergenerational Challenges. She adds that this will enrich each one who attends and be of mutual benefit to his/her own self and the community, society and even across boarders.
 
 The 5th International Conference on Lifelong Learning for All 2017 ( LLL 2017 ) “Lifelong Learning towards Inclusive Ageing Society : Intergenerational Challenges ” is initiated by the Department of Lifelong Education, Chulalongkorn University in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific University-Community Engagement Network of University Sains Malaysia, East Asia Federation for Adult Education (EAFAE), Lindenwood University at St. Charles (USA), the University of Third Age, Thailand, Office of the Non-Formal and Informal Education in Thailand, Chula Global Network, Chulalongkorn University, Centre of Learning Innovation, Chulalongkorn University, and Center of Lifelong Learning Research and Development for Potential Development of elderly, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University.
 Group photo of EAFAE Members and Speakers.
 EAFAE Members at ‘The 5th International Conference on Lifelong Learning for All 2017 (LLL 2017)’
7th September 2017
 Prof. Emeritus Gary Confessor, EAFAE International Advisor proudly congratulated Associate Professor Dr. Archanya Ratana-Ubol for being awarded the International Adult and Continuing Education (IACE) Hall of Fame Class of 2017. The Hall of Fame honors leaders in the field of continuing education and adult learning, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Archanya will be officially presented with this award in October 2017 in South Korea. We at EAFAE are proud of her achievement.
 Susie See on the Panel Discussion on ‘Intergenerational Challenges: the Accountability of Education and Learning’.
8th September
 Hsiu Mei Tsai on the Panel Discussion on: ‘Different Generations in the Same Society: Approaches to the Happiness’.
 Thomas Kuan on his oral presentation on ‘U3A (University of 3rd Age) Concept of Intergenerational Learning’.
 Angie Ng on her oral presentation on ‘The Learning Needs and Preferences of Older Malaysian Adults: A Case of Kampung Takang’.
EAFAE 1ST EX-CO MEETING 2017-2019 AT ASIA HOTEL, BANGKOK THAILAND
 At table from left to right: Thomas Ng (Macau), Thomas Kuan (Singapore), Angie Ng (Malaysia), Gary Confessore (USA), Hsiu Mei Tsai (Taiwan), Susie See (Malaysia), Carol Kuan (Singapore) and Rafiz (Singapore).
From left to right: Susie See (Malaysia), Thomas Ng (Macau), Archanya (Thailand), Angie Ng (Malaysia), Weerachat (Thailand), Rafiz (Singapore), Hsiu Mei Tsai (Taiwan), Thomas Kuan (Singapore) and Gary (USA).
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