The 3rd Asia-Europe Meeting of Ministers for Education was held in Denmark on 9-10 May 2011. The ministerial meeting gathered 160 participants from 40 ASEM member countries to discuss plans for strengthening Asia-Europe education partnership in four thematic areas: quality assurance and recognition, university-business cooperation, mobility balance, and lifelong learning. Three new member countries: Australia, New Zealand and the Russian Federation, were also admitted on this occasion.  

The ministers put forth several proposals to proceed with the ASEM Education Process. These included implementing the UNESCO/OECD Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-border Higher Education, linking the ASEM University-Business Forum to the EU University-Business Forum, exploring the usefulness of a promotion strategy for the ASEM Education Area, and sharing research findings in lifelong learning between ASEM countries and other international organisations.     

ASEM was inaugurated in the late 1990s to allow for informal meetings between heads of state from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the EU with the purpose of strengthening cooperation between the two regions. The ASEM education secretariat currently resides within the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with the financial support of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). With the addition of new members, the ASEM member network covers more than 45 countries from both Asia and Europe.    

Asia-Europe Meeting of Ministers of Education – Conclusions by the Chair

Danish Ministry of Education – press release of ASEM Meeting