Sun Gathers Industry Leaders From 20 Countries

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (sun.com) today convened the second annual Lifelong Learning Forum (LLF), gathering over 48 thought leaders from 20 countries to share expertise addressing the challenges of lifelong learning.

At the LLF, a global network of distinguished academic, political and private-sector leaders in education will discuss online tools and technologies for improving education, research curriculums and teaching methods.

"Sun is working to help ensure that the worldwide academic and research communities have access to the best learning tools and standards-based technologies," said Kim Jones, vice president of Global Education and Research for Sun Microsystems.

Last March, Sun conducted the first LLF in Madrid, Spain. The LLF was the first unique gathering of distinguished global academic, political and private sector leaders in education from around the world with a common purpose to promote lifelong learning.

This week's event will discuss the progress of key programs and projects. The LLF was created to provide a set of policies and guidelines that will shape the agendas of initiatives, including the Global Education and Learning Community (GELC), and encourage the adoption and implementation of resources for professional development, testing and open, standards-based learning technologies.

The Forum wraps up a packed week of activities related to the Worldwide Education and Research Conference, an annual event hosted by Sun that brings together key educators, technologists and visionaries who are playing a role in shaping the future of education.

The GELC is an online gathering place for researchers and educators and students, hosted on Java.Net. It encourages the development and sharing of open source educational tools, research, and community projects such as Girl's Java Cafe. The community leverages existing work from specifications groups and open standards consortia. To date, GELC has over 215 projects and nearly 1,750 members.

The total list of participants in this year's Lifelong Learning Forum will represent a diverse mix of institutions and communities from more than 20 countries.