Yanbu hosts first Regional Convention for Learning Cities

RIYADH: The Royal Commission in Yanbu is hosting from Wednesday the first Regional Convention for Learning Cities at the King Fahad Cultural Center in Yanbu Industrial City.

Organized by the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States, in partnership with the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, the two-day event aims to encourage cities to develop their own strategies and improve the practice of long-term learning life by promoting a culture of peer learning involving all stakeholders.

The convention also aims to present the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities and its working groups and motivate more Arab cities to join the network. The aim is emphasize the importance of lifelong learning in Arab cities, and to support them in providing a comprehensive and flexible learning environment that seeks to empower their residents.

It further aims to empower local communities, exchange international and regional experiences and practices in order to strengthen relations and channels of communication between cities. In addition, the focus is also to facilitate discussion on developing a regional network of learning cities in Arab countries and reach an agreement — notably the Yanbu Regional Declaration of Arab Learning Cities.