The world's largest gathering of education and skills ministers

16–19 May 2027
London, UK

The Education World Forum (EWF) is the world’s largest annual gathering of education and skills ministers, offering a unique, peer-to-peer, invitation-only platform for open and candid dialogue. This safe, confidential space allows ministers and their teams to engage deeply, share insights and collaborate on solutions to the most pressing challenges in education.

By bringing together key representatives from the private sector, international NGOs and education funders, EWF enriches the conversation, ensuring a holistic approach to addressing the evolving needs and opportunities in global education.

With more than 20 years of history, the forum has earned a reputation for trust and authority, establishing itself as a leading platform for transformative dialogue and action in education.

Education systems around the world are operating in a context of profound and accelerating change, raising fundamental questions about the purpose of education itself. AI is transforming the skills and knowledge that will matter most in the decades ahead, while conflict, social fragmentation, climate disruption, widening inequalities, changing demographics and tightening fiscal constraints are placing increasing strains on education systems and the resources needed to sustain them.

As the international education community looks beyond 2030, the Education World Forum 2027 asks a fundamental question:

What is education for?

Access, quality and relevance remain as urgent as ever, but the context in which they must be achieved has changed significantly. New imperatives demand a renewed commitment to values that equip learners with the skills and competencies essential for the future of work and economic growth, and the ethical grounding and shared responsibility required to navigate a fractured world, safeguard our endangered planet and retain what makes us human as we embrace AI.

Among education’s most urgent challenges are building resilience, embracing innovation, supporting the capacity of systems and learners to adapt and recover from shocks, and a willingness to reimagine pedagogy and delivery, including more flexible learning pathways to support learning across the life course.

The forum offers space to step back and consider what we are asking education to deliver, and how to ensure it is resourced to do so.

The EWF Conversations podcast is a series of talks that extend these conversations beyond the forum itself, engaging the wider international education community throughout the year. Featuring ministers, former ministers and senior leaders from ministries, multilateral organisations, civil society, foundations and industry, the series offers fresh perspectives on the critical issues shaping the future of education worldwide.