To address the above-mentioned needs, the Second International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education (hereinafter referred to as “the Congress”) was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 26 to 30 April 1999. It was organised by UNESCO, in accordance with its approved Programme and Budget for 1998-1999, with the co-operation of the Government of the Republic of Korea.

The principle objective of the Congress was to convince governments, donor agencies, industries and all stakeholders of the importance of technical and vocational education for development. The Congress was organised to gather all social partners of TVE to exchange experience and suggest how policy and practice may be renovated in order to render this sector of education more relevant to the employment and social demands of the future.

Accepting the invitation of the Director-General of UNESCO, a total number of 720 participants and observers including 39 Ministers or Vice-Ministers from 130 countries (126

Member States and 4 non-Member States), 3 UN agencies and 29 inter-governmental and nongovernmental organisations attended this important international event. A list of the participants is attached as an Annex.