On Tuesday 13 November 2018, 13.30–15.00 hrs., at Napalai Room, Dusit Thani Bangkok Hotel, Dr. Disakul Kasemsawas, Deputy Secretary General of the National Scout Organization of Thailand, Hon. Mr. Tuang Unthachai, Member of the National Legislative Assembly and Chairperson of the NLA Committee on Education and Sports and Mr. Olivier Mathieu, Chief Executive of Scouts and Guides of France, as panelists of “Panel Discussion I: Roles of the Parliament to Ensure Lifelong Learning” and Clinical Professor Lt. Gen. Suphavit Muttamara of the Thai Scout Parliamentary Association and Mrs. Warawimon Rattanamalee of the Secretariat of the Senate as moderators.

 

30 international participants and scouts attended this Panel Discussion. The panelists discussed on the significance of lifelong learning and roles of the Parliament to ensure lifelong learning, the topic in which many countries around the world focus especially on SDGs’ Goal 4: Quality Education. Scouting also becomes one of important activities of promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all since it promotes knowledge and skills and experience in order to develop learning capability of scout learners at each life span, coupled with formal education in schools or universities. Thailand has been promoting lifelong learning and scouting activities for developing knowledge and educational pathway of school or university students, aiming to develop leadership skill and instil values, morals and ethics to become generous citizens. The Wisdom of the Monarch is applied to education and promotion of Thai Scouting of Phra Bat Somdetch Phra Paramindra Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej Barommanath Bobitra, who promoted education science on Active Learning, the learning management process in which the learners are doing and practicing and integrating their learning in related modules. Active Learning is also applied with Sufficiency Economy Philosophy in moderation, reasonableness and prudence. Besides, Active Learning can be applied with modules of studying in all levels of education, which can be considered as one of the lifelong learning processes.

 

Mr. Olivier Mathieu mentioned lifelong learning in France, which focuses on training and promoting youth engagement, such improvement is needed on cultural training and citizenship development. Scout’s 20–hour volunteering activities can be transformed into education credits or working hour credits. It is expected that the EU benchmark for participation in lifelong learning will be increased to 25% in 2025.

 

After the discussion by the panelists, Mr. Mohammed Asil, representative from Sudan, also shared with the panel that scouting in Sudan is different from the one in France and in Thailand. The idea of France’s transferred 20–hour volunteering activities into education credits or working hour credits is very interesting. At the moment, there are approximately 600,000 scouts in Sudan and it is expected that the number will increase up to 2 millions scouts in 2020. Mr. Asil also said that the experience and opinion exchanges in this Panel Discussion is also very useful for the audience since each country has its own scouting management method.