The 2025 World Digital Education Conference will be held in Shanghai, China on 14-16 May 2025, co-hosted by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO and the People’s Government of Hubei Province.
1. Background
The digital technology has become the leading force of the world’s scientific and technological revolution as well as industrial transformation in today’s era, which increasingly integrates into various areas and whole process of the economic and social development, profoundly changing production methods, lifestyles, and social governance, and brings new challenges and opportunities to education. The advantages digital education brings forth, such as equity, inclusiveness and openness, provide new paths for education to better serve modernization and foster the holistic development of individuals.
The United Nations, along with countries worldwide and international organizations, are taking active measures in advancing digital transformation in education. The United Nations Transforming Education Summit has identified digital transformation in education as one of the five Thematic Action Tracks, emphasizing that the digital revolution should benefit all learners. In September 2024, the United Nations Summit of the Future released the Global Digital Compact, highlighting the importance of digital skills and lifelong learning opportunities for digital education. It proposed to establish and support national digital skills strategies, optimize teacher training and education curricula and support quality and inclusive education and research on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Many countries have developed digital education development strategies, injecting new impetus into promoting the innovative integration of digital technology and education, improving learning quality, promoting educational inclusion, and addressing global challenges.
In this context, the Ministry of Education of China hosted the World Digital Education Conference in 2023 and 2024, producing a series of practical outcomes including the establishment of the World Digital Education Alliance, and the Smart Education Platform, the Global Digital Education Development Index (GDEI), etc. During the 2024 Conference, representatives from more than 70 countries and regions gathered in Shanghai to share their latest policies and best practices on digital education transformation.
2. Objectives and Theme
The conference, which will embody the characteristics of pioneering, globality, and inclusiveness, aims to join hands with governments, universities, primary and secondary schools, relevant international organizations and non-governmental organizations, enterprises, and other stakeholders to explore the development of digital education in all process of “Teaching—Learning—Management—Assessment—Research”, promoting the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
With the theme of “Education Development and Transformation: The Era of Intelligence”, the 2025 WDEC aims to respond to the United Nations’ initiatives on global education transformation and to call for joint efforts to promote the development and transformation of education in the era of intelligence.
3. Participants
The conference plans to invite 600 representatives, including:
State leaders and education ministers
Ambassadors to China and diplomats
Heads and representatives of UN agencies
Heads and representatives of international organizations and non-governmental organizations
Representatives of digital technology experts and international digital enterprises
Representatives of relevant ministries and departments
Presidents and scholars from universities
Principals and teachers from TVET schools
Principals and teachers from primary and secondary schools.
