UNITED NATIONS GIRLS EDUCATION INITIATIVE

ASPBAE was established in 1964 by a group of adult educators, inspired by the idea of promoting adult education in the region.

Today, ASPBAE has grown to a network of organizations and individuals involved in formal and non-formal adult education, working with and through NGOs, community organizations, government agencies, universities, trade unions, indigenous peoples, women's organizations, the media and other institutions of civil society across the Asia-Pacific.

ASPBAE'S fundamental purpose is to defend and advance the rights of adults throughout the Asia-Pacific Region to learn throughout their lives in order to gain control of their destiny.

Through a process of sub-regional consultations held in 2000, culminating in the Third General Assembly, the ASPBAE membership reasserted its belief in the enabling, empowering and transformative potential of adult education and set itself to pursue a new set of priorities and strategies to better fulfill its mission.

Programme areas

ASPBAE's major program areas are:

• Adult Literacy for Social Justice and Empowerment
• Education for Women’s Empowerment
• Education for Peace and Conflict Prevention
• Citizenship Education
• HIV/AIDS Education
• Indigenous Education
• Education for Displaced Peoples

ASPBAE plays a key role in promoting interest and action in relation to these areas: organizing dialogues and learning exchanges; initiating research; developing a resource database on adult learning; conducting training; lobbying and policy advocacy.