Today, 10 August 2026, we held our weekly meeting to write and edit our white paper on behalf of ASEF7 and ASEF7 Innolab. (Yes, we had a meeting last week as well).  Today we concentrated on our design for our presentation at the Nottingham conference from 24-28 August 2026.

Our topic is the triangulation of Open Education/OER, AI, and the SDGs. Our main question is: How can Quality Open Education shape the future of AI and sustainability? The central premise of this white paper is captured in the mantra: Human Wisdom. Trusted AI. Sustainable Futures. These three pillars are mutually reinforcing. Human wisdom provides the ethical judgment, critical thinking, and contextual understanding that AI cannot replace. Trusted AI enables responsible and transparent use of technology while respecting human values and rights. Open Education provides the knowledge infrastructure that allows reliable, multilingual, openly accessible educational resources to be created, shared, adapted, and continuously improved in support of the SDGs.

In today’s world, universities have a global social responsibility to help create dynamic, sustainable communities founded on equality of wealth, gender, and cultural background. International higher education has been criticised for being too neoliberal; now is the time for it to change. Hence, our white paper also focuses on the role of universities and on innovative, future-oriented leaders who have the courage for change, agility, and resilience.

ASEFInnoLab7

The programme aims to strengthen cross-regional networks and dialogue on the role of universities in AI innovation ecosystems by building institutional capacity, promoting ethical and inclusive AI practices, and generating actionable outputs to inform strategic policy and leadership in higher education. In this edition, we will deliver a full programme with virtual and in-person elements in various formats throughout the year. About 60 higher education experts, professionals, academics, and researchers from Asia and Europe will participate. I am proud and delighted to be part of this programme. White papers produced through this process will articulate strategic pathways through which higher education institutions can align AI development and deployment with societal needs, ethical principles, and long-term public value. The white papers will address issues within the three subthemes: AI4GlobalGood, AI4PublicInterest, and AI4InstitutionalExcellence.

All teams’ white papers should be ready and presented at the conference in Nottingham, UK, from 24 to 29 August 2026.