Gulu University Hosts Global Dialogue on Lifelong Learning Amid Growing Education Crisis

A group photo of the Second Prof. Peter Jarvis Memorial Lecture participants.
Gulu University has convened local and international education actors to confront what experts describe as a deepening global crisis in education, marked by shifting geopolitics and declining development cooperation.
Speaking during the Hybrid Second Prof. Peter Jarvis Memorial Lecture held on April 15, 2026, under the UNESCO Chair on Lifelong Learning, Youth and Work, participants warned that lifelong learning, particularly in the Global South, is increasingly at risk of marginalisation within global policy and financing frameworks.
The lecture, part of the ongoing Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Lifelong Learning Series, brought together scholars and practitioners from across Africa and beyond to interrogate the future of adult education in a rapidly changing world.

A photo of the participants during the lecture.
Dr. Hannington Jjuuko, convenor of the series, said the lecture aligns with the Chair’s mandate to create “conversational spaces” for critical engagement among actors in education and development.
“The Memorial Lecture is intended to stimulate intellectual activism by revisiting Prof. Peter Jarvis’s concepts of agency and the learning market, especially within the context of Eastern Africa’s adult and lifelong learning priorities,” he noted.

Dr. Josje Van Der Linden greeting associate Prof. Kenneth Olido.
The discussions were grounded in the sub-Saharan African context, where adult education systems continue to grapple with limited funding and policy attention. Experts highlighted that the dominance of employability-driven models, often tied to neoliberal economic frameworks, has historically sidelined broader, emancipatory approaches to lifelong learning.

The memorial lecture, themed “The Individual, The Collective and The Learning Society,” featured a keynote address by Jacques Zeelen of the University of Groningen, alongside contributions from a diverse panel of scholars including Sharon Clancy (University of Nottingham), Hannington B. Twine, Diana Nampijja, Alfred Tokuma, Leonia Kassamia, and Chenjerai Muwaniki.

A dialogue between Prof. Jacques Zeelen and Dr. Josje Van Der Linden.
Participants explored how lifelong learning systems in the Global South can remain resilient and relevant amid rising geopolitical tensions, shifting aid priorities, and growing populist tendencies that increasingly shape education agendas.

The UNESCO Chair at Gulu University continues to position itself as a critical platform for advancing dialogue on inclusive, context-sensitive learning systems, with a focus on ensuring that adult education remains central to both policy and practice in Africa and beyond.