On October 24-25, 2024, Prof. LI Ming, founding director of UNESCO-ICHEI and Secretary-General of the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) Secretariat, and Mr. TANG Xiangzheng, Senior Programme Officer of the IIOE Management Centre, were invited to participate in the "2024 Digital Transformation and Lifelong Learning" international conference hosted by Shanghai Open University, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), and UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE). The conference, with the core concept of "open, intelligent, and creative", focuses on the integration and application of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and metaverse in the field of lifelong learning. It has attracted hundreds of authoritative experts, industry leaders, and academic elites from 24 countries and regions around the world to work together on the digital transformation of education, enhancing the fairness and sustainability of global education.

During the conference, the Global Network for Digitalizaition in Lifelong Learning was officially launched. A total of 18 units from around the world, including UNESCO-ICHEI, will work together through resource sharing to promote the widespread application and innovative development of open education and lifelong learning, contribute to educational equity and inclusiveness worldwide, and strive to narrow the digital divide.

Mr. TANG Xiangzheng, on behalf of UNESCO-ICHEI, gave a speech in the parallel session introducing the IIOE. He invited global users to experience the IIOE platform and actively participate in the IIOE Micro-Certification Project for Higher Education Workforce Digital Competency Building (IIOE Micro-Certification Project). He also introduced another flagship programme of UNESCO-ICHEI, the Smart Classroom project, which is committed to improving the infrastructure construction of partner universities and carrying out online and blended learning through four party cooperation.