Ministry of Education and National Institute for Lifelong Education Hold Training for Regional Lifelong Education Vitalization Support Project

The Ministry of Education and the National Institute for Lifelong Education held a training session for officials involved in the 2026 Regional Lifelong Education Vitalization Support Project for two days starting August 26 at Cheongju OSCO in Cheongju, Chungbuk. Approximately 150 officials from local governments and metropolitan/provincial lifelong education promotion agencies nationwide attended to share experiences and achievements in implementing regional projects.

This training was organized with the aim of expanding field understanding and cooperation so that necessary competencies can be developed through regional lifelong education amidst rapid changes in the social environment, such as artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and changes in population structure, and so that each region can independently lead lifelong education policies suited to its characteristics and resident demands.

On the first day, the 26th, expert lectures were held on topics such as the government's national policy direction, the new role of regional lifelong education, and performance management for lifelong learning cities. Subsequently, major cases of the 2026 Regional Lifelong Education Vitalization Support Project were introduced, specifically covering the program operation achievements that reflect regional characteristics and resident demands, centered on the lifelong learning intensive promotion district-type projects in Chungbuk and Gyeongnam, and the regional specialized projects in Jeju and Busan.

On the second day, the 27th, participants attended the 1st Korea Literacy Education Policy Exhibition to examine the achievements of literacy education policies and field cases, and discussed ways to link and cooperate between regional lifelong education and literacy education. The two-day schedule, which reviewed regional-level project cases and literacy education sites together, is noteworthy in that it covered not only the direction of policy but also specific methods of cooperation at the implementation stage.

The Ministry of Education and the National Institute for Lifelong Education stated that they plan to reflect the best practices and field opinions from this training to support all citizens in continuously learning and utilizing the competencies required by social changes regardless of where they reside, and to strengthen the cooperation system between the state and regions.

Kim Wol-yong, President of the National Institute for Lifelong Education, stated, “As the social environment changes rapidly, such as through artificial intelligence and digital transformation, the competencies required of citizens and the ways of learning are also changing. Since regional lifelong education is an important foundation that provides necessary learning and growth opportunities in the places closest to where citizens live, we will cooperate more closely with regions so that any citizen can learn the necessary competencies in their region and apply them to their lives.”