11th IConGCED

Overview

Global Citizenship Education in a World Falling Apart:
Re-centring Human Values in the Age of AI

26 – 27 August 2026 I Seoul, Republic of Korea
(On-site & Live-streaming | GMT+9)

Co-organized by

Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU),
Ministry of Education & Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea

In partnership with

UNESCO Headquarters,
UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), and
Chungnam National University BK21 Four Center for GCER

Background

The world today is falling apart in ways that no single crisis can explain. Across regions, longstanding geopolitical tensions have escalated into open conflict, while multilateral institutions built to sustain global cooperation are increasingly strained. Democratic norms are eroding as polarisation deepens, trust in public institutions declines, and political discourse is captured by fear, exclusion, and division. Meanwhile, the climate emergency is accelerating beyond projections, exposing the profound inequalities between those who have contributed most to ecological breakdown and those who bear its heaviest consequences. These crises do not exist in isolation—they feed and amplify one another, creating a compounding fragility that threatens the foundations of peaceful, just, and sustainable societies. Underlying all of this is a deeper fracture: a crisis of values, solidarity, and shared humanity.

Into this already fractured world comes the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI)—a force of transformation that carries both extraordinary promise and profound risk. Generative AI is reshaping knowledge production and decision-making processes through big data-driven algorithms, while AI chatbots now provide instantaneous, definitive answers that often bypass the need for deep subject mastery. Yet these efficiencies come at a cost. The use of AI in military operations, autonomous battlefield targeting, and deepfake propaganda is deepening the very conflicts and instabilities that already threaten global peace (UNESCO, 2018; 2024). The growing dominance of a few AI models risks further homogenising global knowledge systems, silencing the diverse epistemologies and cultural perspectives that sustain human solidarity. The environmental footprint of AI—from the extraction of raw materials to energy-intensive data infrastructures—adds new pressure to an already strained planet. And as these technologies operate without the nuance of human empathy or moral judgment, they do not merely reflect our fractured world—they risk accelerating its unravelling. What was already falling apart is now falling apart faster.

Global citizenship education (GCED) serves as a critical framework for navigating these compounding crises by re-centring human values at the heart of learning—values that no algorithm can generate, and no technology can replace. Grounded in the holistic pedagogy of the three domains of learning—cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural (UNESCO, 2015)—GCED acts as a catalyst for systemic change. It equips learners with the critical thinking skills needed to interrogate AI-generated information, understand the ethical dimensions of technological systems, and recognise how power shapes what counts as knowledge in an increasingly algorithm-driven world. At the same time, it provides the socio-emotional foundation necessary to address social fragmentation and polarisation—cultivating empathy, solidarity, and respect for diversity that algorithms cannot replicate, and fostering a sense of belonging not only to a shared humanity, but to a shared planet. Importantly, GCED empowers learners with the agency to act—to translate values into ethical and responsible choices at local, national, and global levels, in response to the profound opportunities and risks of our time. In doing so, GCED asks us to reimagine what it means to be human in a more-than-human world: a world shared with other species, ecosystems, and now, intelligent machines.

Key issue areas to be considered at the conference sessions include:

  • How can GCED re-centre the values of justice, solidarity, and shared humanity in the face of compounding crises — geopolitical, ecological, and technological?

  • How should GCED evolve in practice to cultivate not only the capacity to navigate uncertainty, but the courage, conscience, and agency to act upon it?

  • In a world shared with other species, ecosystems, and intelligent machines, how can GCED deepen our sense of responsibility and belonging — to one another, and to the planet we share?

Objectives

  • To examine emerging challenges and opportunities facing GCED in a rapidly changing world

  • To share transformative pedagogies and innovative practices that strengthen the implementation of GCED across diverse contexts

  • To foster solidarity and deepen collective commitment among GCED stakeholders toward more peaceful, just, and sustainable societies

Format

The conference will be primarily held as an in-person event in Seoul, Republic of Korea, with invited speakers and registered participants attending on-site. To enhance accessibility, the keynote speeches and plenary sessions of the Conference will be live-streamed via Zoom for virtual participants.

Working Languages

The official working languages of the Conference will be English and Korean, with simultaneous interpretation provided between the two languages.

Meeting Venue

Lotte Hotel Seoul Crystal Ballrooom 2nd floor (Seoul, Republic of Korea)

Participants

More than 300 participants are expected to attend the Conference on-site, including:

  • Educators, youth, parents and individuals interested in GCED

  • GCED experts, leaders and practitioners

  • International/regional/national organizations and civil society organizations

  • Policymakers and professionals in the field of education

  • Representatives from the private sector

References