The surging wave of artificial intelligence is profoundly reshaping the production and living styles of humankind. As global education stands at a critical juncture of historic transformation, we must seize the boundless possibilities in the intelligent era in order to ride the tide to advance. To accelerate the implementation of the Global Digital Compact adopted at the United Nations Summit of the Future and to advance the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal for Education, this World Digital Education Conference, focusing on transformation, development and governance, calls on the international community to join hands to foster a global ecosystem for AI applications in education.
To this end, the Conference proposes the following initiatives:
I. Jointly Uphold People-oriented Education and Enable Education to Transcend Traditional Boundaries
We advocate the people-oriented education and “Health comes First” concept adhere to the nature and value of education. We call for giving full play to the advantages of AI technologies to enlighten minds and nurture hearts, effectively stimulate human agency, empathy and creativity, so as to serve people’s all-round and sustainable development. We call for the integration of intelligent technologies with all elements, processes and scenarios of education, and extending its application from school education to a society-wide lifelong learning system, thereby providing strong support for the building of a learning society.
II. Jointly Promote Inclusive and Equitable Education and Ensure that Development Benefits Every Teacher and Learner
We advocate that all people should equally enjoy the outcomes of AI development. We will fully leverage the role of smart education platforms to share high-quality resources and intelligent tools, and bridge the global digital divide. We call for the establishment of a global network for professional development and training to systematically enhance teachers’ AI capacity. We further call for greater care and support for children with special needs, and for the development of an inclusive education system. We support UNESCO’s leading role in using digital technologies for restoring Education after Emergencies, with particular support for girls and women, while strengthening the resilience of education systems.
III. Jointly Create Future-oriented Educational Paradigms and Inspire Innovation to Flourish
We advocate developing future teachers, future classrooms, future schools and future learning centers with intelligent technologies, building students’ capacity of finding problems, exploring possibilities and making solutions, fostering their Sci-Tech spirit and humanistic sentiment, and facilitating personal development. We will try to establish international cooperative network and platform for scientific and technological talents, carry out major science breakthrough together, build an ecosystem for knowledge co-creation, promote cross-discipline integration and promote research paradigm transformation driven by AI.
IV. Jointly Discuss Collaborative Governance and Ensure that Technology Safeguards Educational Development
We advocate that technology should serve human growth and development, and that AI should be used for good. We call for international collaborative research on social experiments in AI education, and scientific evaluation of the impact of technology on human beings. We will work together to build a general AI education at various stages of education and for society as a whole, guiding learners to use technology in a scientific and appropriate manner. We call for building ethical consensus on AI education, developing norms and standards for the applications of AI in education, and protecting rights and interests of teachers and learners.
V. Jointly Build an Ecosystem for Integrated Development and Promote Cross-border Cooperation and Exchange
We advocate working together to build an international strategic framework and carry out regular high-level dialogue. We will continue World Digital Education Conference, further develop the World Digital Education Alliance and the Artificial Intelligence Open Alliance, and give full scope to bilateral and multilateral mechanism to deepen cooperation with international organizations. We call for the creation of a high-level international think tank on AI and for strengthened academic exchanges in digital education. We will promote collaboration among education, science and technology, and industry, build an open-source and inclusive ecosystem, and underpin the sustainable development of education.
Editor：Fang Yiran
