Luxembourg, 02/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - "Education for the Knowledge Economy" is the subject of the conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, 2 and 3 May, in Luxembourg, sponsored by the Asia-Europe Foundation and the Government of Luxembourg, with the support of the European Commission. The Foundation brings together political, economic and educational leaders from Asia and Europe as a forum for sharing experiences and discussing projects. Participating in this conference are Mrs Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Education, Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Chen Zhili, Minister for Education of the People's Republic of China, and Nobel prize winner Iliya Prigogin.
"My passion is adapting education to the new information society, with all that that means in terms of challenges and possibilities, both for the personal development of persons of all ages, as well as for making full use of the opportunities provided by the knowledge economy", declared Viviane Reding in her remarks to conference participants. She explained: "If we want Europe to be open to the world, it is also at school that the conditions of its opening must be met, by encouraging all young citizens -but also the less young 'lifelong learners'- to widen their horizons and to see the world as their natural environment." Based on the observation that education is changing in Europe, the Commissioner noted that Europeans are starting school increasingly early (pre-primary education is becoming more professional) and that students are becoming more mobile. In short, she observed, the current sittuation is that "education is becoming more international, becoming more open to the new technologies that are playing an increasingly important role in our lives". In this context, "education must serve the economy, competitiveness and employability, but also citizenship and social cohesion".