A folksy saying favoured in my ‘other Sydney’ out West is that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. This fits the mood as this Bulletin goes to press. The going always seems tough to those working in adult learning and education (ALE): poor cousin, Cinderella, little money, no recognition, left out of the global planning of MDGs and all but out of the SDGs, and so on.

As COVID-19 continues spreading in many countries of the world, how to keep learning in disruption has become a major challenge to the global education community. As stated by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay: “We are entering uncharted territory and working with countries to find hi-tech, low-tech and no-tech solutions to assure the continuity of learning.”

A record number of children and youth are not attending school or university because of temporary or indefinite closures mandated by governments in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. Considering the deterioration of the situation, globally, it can be expected that coping with the crisis will increasingly constitute a major challenge for cities, including in education.

Two webinars have been organized by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning to support members of the GNLC at this difficult time. By participating, cities can share and learn about measures taken at different stages of the emergence of COVID-19. The agenda for the first webinar on Thursday can be found in the attached (English only).