To whom It may concern,

It gives us great pleasure to invite you to the Skillman International Forum (SIF) 2023 on 26-27 September 2023 ‘The Planet of Skills. Renewed Perspective on Networking Potential’ - redefining the future of learning and skills.

The annual forum is organised in Latvia in partnership with the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science - as part of the European Year of Skills , in collaboration with Europea Latvia, the European Training Foundation and the Asian Development Bank.    

The Forum of 2023 will pay a particular attention to the potential of global networking as a resource for co-creating our common knowledge. It aims at addressing the emerging megatrends for a future society in which any qualification has a role, and where microcredentials may have a crucial role in response to the new emerging skills demands. The local responses to the global trends will be considered by an additional emphasis on green and digital transition and innovative approaches from various perspectives, and with the needs of active citizenship in mind. 

Last year the forum closed with considerations on the impact of pandemics and diverse reflections by countries if educators can embrace the uncertainties of changing societies. This debate allowed us to frame the topics of the 2023 conference in a broader context - on revised vision of networking potential regarding skills development for future societies under increasing conditions of global uncertainties . 

Since Skillman International is a networking organisation by itself, representing 93 countries from five continents, this year’s forum will endeavour to use the full potential of this global diversity . We plan to invite the participants from all parts of the world to actively participate in redefining the role of various networks in co-creation of knowledge and anticipation of the future skills development tendencies.     

The Forum will analyse the emerging trends with keynote speeches, panel discussions, concept-based site visits and workshops in an interactive codesign process , focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship in vocational education and training (VET), microcredentials and digital credentials, digitalization and greening paired with sustainability, ethical initiatives/ values and broader survival skills and strategies, social inclusion and excellence for all in lifelong learning perspective.

Your active participation and support in understanding how our communities can contribute to a better world through these crucial aspects of education and life experiences are very valuable to us. 

We invite you to join us at the event and contribute your expertise to enrich the conference's contents. Your views on the diverse topics proposed at the Forum are highly valued.

Thank you for considering our invitation. We look forward to receiving your application to participate in the Forum.