Theme: Breaking Boundaries and Reshaping Futures: Open and Intelligent Global Education

The Global MOOC and Online Education Conference builds upon the outcomes of the Beijing Declaration of MOOC Development (2020), which called on UN agencies, international and regional organizations, governments, universities, and online education institutions to deepen global collaboration, enhance communication infrastructure, and promote the openness and sharing of online education resources. In recent years, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, especially generative AI, higher education has entered a new phase of digital and intelligent transformation. AI technologies are reshaping how knowledge is created, delivered, and assessed, offering new possibilities for personalized learning, intelligent tutoring, and inclusive education. At the same time, they raise important questions about pedagogy, ethics, and governance that call for global dialogue and joint action.

In this context, co-organized by Global MOOC and Online Education Alliance and UNESCO IITE, 2025 Global MOOC and Online Education Conference will be held in Mexico City, from 2 to 4 December 2025. The conference will continue the spirit of the Beijing Declaration while exploring how AI can empower higher education and promote an open, integrative, and resilient global education ecosystem.

Background

Education 2030, UN SDG 4, UNESCO Futures of Education initiative

Education remains a cornerstone of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. While the Education 2030 Incheon Declaration and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) map out a vision for inclusive, equitable, and high-quality education that supports lifelong learning for all, it is increasingly clear that meeting these commitments requires a continued re-examination of what education can and must become. As the 2030 horizon approaches, the urgency grows not only to fulfill existing goals, but also to anticipate the evolving role of education in shaping human development, societal resilience, and collective futures.

Generative AI opens new horizons and challenges for education

With its unique mandate in leading international efforts to ensure that science and technology develop with strong ethical guardrails, UNESCO produced the first-ever global standard on AI ethics – the “Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence” unanimously by its Member States, prioritizing safety, inclusion, diversity, transparency, and quality. In response to the rapid rise of generative AI technologies, UNESCO convened the first-ever Global Meeting of Ministers of Education on May 25, 2023, to examine both the immediate implications and long-term opportunities, challenges, and risks that AI poses for education systems worldwide.

Education systems worldwide are confronting shared challenges triggered by the rapid disruption caused by generative AI. These include determining how to redesign educational structures to keep pace with technological change, integrating AI into curricula, teaching practices, and assessment systems, and addressing inherent risks such as misinformation, bias, and algorithmic errors. Discussions during the ministerial meeting indicated that governments across the globe are actively developing or refining policy responses to this evolving landscape, including national AI strategies, data protection policies, and broader regulatory frameworks.

Digital learning is the way forward to the future of higher education

Digital transformation has become a defining force in shaping the future of higher education, fostering more connected, student-centered, and lifelong learning experiences. The 2022 UN Transforming Education Summit emphasized the urgency of rethinking education to align with evolving professional competencies, digital fluency, and collaborative problem-solving. In response, UNESCO has continued to convene global dialogues with policymakers, educators, EdTech leaders, and civil society stakeholders, providing strategic guidance through policy frameworks, competency standards, and capacity-building initiatives to promote equitable and innovative digital learning worldwide.

UNESCO’s Digital Learning Week has become a landmark platform for shaping the global digital education agenda. In 2024, discussions explored the intersections of AI, sustainability, and ethics, addressing issues such as algorithmic bias, environmental impact, and regulatory adaptability. The event also introduced AI Competency Frameworks for educators and learners, advancing digital literacy grounded in human dignity, privacy, and autonomy. Building on this momentum, Digital Learning Week 2025 continued to champion inclusive and ethical AI adoption, reinforcing the importance of resilient, future-ready education systems that preserve human-centered values in teaching and learning.

Global MOOC and Online Education Conference 2020-2024

Building on the momentum of the 2020 conference and the Beijing Declaration, the Global MOOC and Online Education Conference evolved into a key platform to explore how digitalization reshapes higher education.

In 2021, under the theme “Together for a Shared Future — Leading Higher Education Innovation in the New Digital Era,” the conference emphasized deep international collaboration and the co-construction of open, high-quality online learning ecosystems.

In 2022, the conference advanced the global dialogue under the theme “Digital Transformation of Education for the Future,” releasing the landmark report Unlimited Possibilities: Global Report on the Digitalization of Higher Education, which outlined global trends and proposed a preliminary framework for evaluating digital readiness in higher education.

In 2023, hosted at Politecnico di Milano under the theme “Reconstruction of Future Universities and Education Driven by Artificial Intelligence,” the conference had firmly placed AI at the center of higher education transformation, launching The Digital Development Index of Global Higher Education 2023 and signaling a shift toward data-informed, AI-enabled educational innovation.

In 2024, under the theme “Reimagining the Future of Higher Education in the Intelligence Era,” the conference was held at Queen Mary University of London from December 11 to 13. With more than 340 attendees and speakers representing 135 universities, online education platforms, international organizations, and government agencies across 32 countries and regions, GMC continued to advance digital transformation of education through collective global educational forces.

Aims

The 2025 Global MOOC and Online Education Conference aims to accelerate global higher education transformation toward openness, integration, and resilience in the era of intelligent learning. Building on digital innovation and international collaboration, it seeks to advance human-centered and future-oriented educational paradigms that serve diverse learners worldwide.

• Advance innovation in educational philosophy, pedagogy, and faculty development through digital intelligence and industry collaboration.
• Foster open and sustainable global knowledge ecosystems through equitable access to high-quality digital resources.
• Strengthen ethical and responsible AI governance to ensure trust, transparency, and learner agency.
• Promote quality, equity, and lifelong learning by expanding access to resilient and student-centered higher education.
• Build a shared global education future through deeper international cooperation and co-created visions for intelligent, borderless learning.

Expected Outcomes

The Conference will deliver forward-looking outcomes that guide the development of intelligent, equitable, and open higher education systems worldwide.

• Adoption of a global declaration calling for collective action to advance digital and intelligent transformation in education, emphasizing learner-centeredness, equity, quality, and shared responsibility.
• Release of strategic reports and analytical frameworks offering global insights and benchmarks for the sustainable and intelligent development of higher education.
• Promote collaborative initiatives and joint research projects on AI-enabled teaching, responsible technology use, and new cross-sector partnerships.
• Strengthen global networks and multilateral cooperation among GMA members, platforms, international organizations, and regional partners.
• Promote shared accountability and long-term partnerships to build open, inclusive, and sustainable global knowledge ecosystems.

Target Audience

The audience for this Conference will be leaders, instructors, researchers, experts, policy makers and practitioners in MOOC, online education and AI from around the world. Around 150 in-person attendees are expected.

Introduction of Global MOOC and Online Education Alliance (GMA)

Global MOOC and Online Education Alliance (GMA) is a dynamic and diverse group of 18 world-leading universities, 6 online education platforms and 1 research institute from across 18 countries, 6 continents. It was initiated by Tsinghua University in 2020, and current members include Cornell University, LPI (Learning Planet Institute), edX, Mongolian University of Science and Technology, Nanyang Technological University, Peking University, Politecnico di Milano, RWTH Aachen University, Saint Petersburg University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Thai MOOC, Tsinghua University, University of Auckland, University of Chile, University of Manchester, University of Nairobi, XuetangX, Zhejiang University, FutureLearn, Indonesia Cyber Education Institute, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Edraak, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Vietnam National University Hanoi, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.

GMA serves as a mechanism for exchange and cooperation, providing leadership of global higher education efforts to address digital education challenges and to implement practical policies in local communities and around the world. Key activities include: