EAIE on the road: APAIE 2026, Hong Kong

The EAIE had a truly exciting and fruitful experience at the APAIE 2026 conference in Hong Kong on 23 - 26 February. Represented by Sara López Selga (EAIE President), Mervin Bakker (Executive Director) and Laura Rumbley (Director for Knowledge Development and Research), the team dove into a wide-ranging series of conversations and engagements with peers from across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.  

Partnering for the global good: Principles guiding APAIE 2026

The 2026 conference theme, "Asia-Pacific Partnerships for the Global Good," set a clear, compelling direction for this event. In his opening remarks, APAIE President Venky Shankararaman reflected eloquently on three elements that underpinned his thinking about the focus of the gathering:  

1. Interdependence (why we must partner)  
2. Harmony (how we must partner) 
3. Universal responsibility (what we are partnering for)

Bridging borders and communities

For the EAIE, these three elements played out repeatedly in the conference sessions, networking moments (including an EAIE member meet-up!) and informal encounters at the exhibition and throughout the dazzling city of Hong Kong. The realities of our interdependence — across borders of many kinds, our deep desire for harmonious engagement in an era of significant disruption and fractures and the urgency to accept and act on our universal responsibility to care for the planet and advance the human condition: These topics animated so many of the conversations we were privileged to be a part of.  

We saw firsthand how the APAIE community (just like the EAIE community) is deeply engaged in advancing new and meaningful approaches to the vital work of reciprocal and mutually empowering partnerships, multilateral and interregional learning and support, data-informed advocacy and authentic and values-driven dialogue and debate. 

Carrying the momentum forward

Our involvement in sessions on new cooperation paradigms for South-South-North collaborations, navigating the geopolitical storm today and the conference-capping Global Dialogue with leaders from Asia, Europe and the Americas, gave us a front-row seat on what APAIE President Venky Shankararaman so aptly described as this 'pivotal moment.'  We were also excited to share our experiences with boundary-spanning data collection projects, such as the IIE International Partnerships Survey in East Asia and the Pacific and the EAIE Barometer in Japan, in advance of the launch of the EAIE Barometer, 4th edition, in Europe later in 2026!

In connecting with international education professionals, academics, institutional leaders, government representatives and others from across the Asia-Pacific region, the EAIE was afforded an outstanding opportunity to expand and enrich our community's understanding of Europe's place in a broader global context and how much there is to learn from colleagues from around the world. With a backdrop of soaring high-rise buildings, lush green hills, busy harbour and vibrant food scene, not to mention the kick-off of the energetic new year of the horse — this year's APAIE conference in Hong Kong delivered on so many levels. Thanks to Louise Kinnaird, Lucinda Malgas and all other APAIE colleagues for the excellent organisation and great hospitality!