Advisory & practice
My work connects national, local and institutional efforts to reform learning to the global governance of education, from a lifelong learning perspective, with a particular focus on Africa and Asia.
What I do
I advise governments, international organisations and institutions on education and lifelong learning — designing policy, building capacity and translating international frameworks into strategy that works on the ground. This spans national systems, cities and individual institutions, and much of it involves carrying local experience up into global policy, and international commitments back down to the places expected to deliver them. Increasingly, I bring a historical lens to this practical work.
Lifelong learning systems
National policy design, multi-level and multi-sectoral governance, financing and pathway mapping.
Learning cities
Local lifelong learning strategy, learning-city development, and the role of universities and institutions.
Capacity & dialogue
Designing and facilitating policy dialogues and capacity-building, with inclusion and equity throughout.
Prominent engagements
UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL)
- Led capacity-building and policy advice on lifelong learning for ministries and government stakeholders, including a flagship national education systems workshop run online and in Shanghai.
- Worked with Ministries of Education in Cambodia, Türkiye and Ukraine to strengthen lifelong learning systems, and produced materials to support the development of learning cities.
- Coordinated activities for the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, working with partners including the UNESCO Chair of Global Health Education and the German Ministry of Education and Research.
DVV International — Southeast Asia
Contributed to a regional policy workshop with officials from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand, and to a regional publication on lifelong learning policy design and implementation.
International policy workshops
Designed and led policy dialogues bringing together policymakers from across Africa and Asia, among them Indonesia, Kenya, the Maldives, Mongolia, the Philippines, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.
Educational background
Doctoral researcher in international history and politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute. MSc in Comparative Education and International Development from the University of Edinburgh (Distinction) and a BA in History from the University of Manchester. Earlier experience as a tutor in lifelong learning at the University of Hamburg and as a trained primary school teacher in the UK.
Selected publications
- Atchoarena, D. & Howells, A. Advancing Learning Cities: Lifelong learning and the creation of a learning society. Asian Development Bank.
- Making Lifelong Learning a Reality: A Handbook. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.
- From unequal foundations to a shared post-2030 future for education? UNESCO Futures of Education IdeasLAB.
- Mikulec, B., Howells, A. et al. National Qualifications Frameworks as a Policy Instrument for Lifelong Learning in Ghana, Malaysia and Serbia. Firenze University Press.
- Inclusive Lifelong Learning in Cities: Policies and Practices for Vulnerable Groups. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.
- Howells, A. An Analysis of National Definitions of Adult Learning and Education in Light of UNESCO's 2015 Recommendation.