In the latest EWF Conversations episode, Fabrizio Trifirò speaks with Balázs Hankó, Hungary’s Minister of Culture and Innovation, about Hungary’s education priorities, reforms, and global challenges. Minister Hankó highlights the need to shift education from theory to practice, noting Hungary’s major VET reform introducing dual training. While global trends shape education, he argues that you need local answers, rooted in each nation’s cultural identity. If he could enact one bold global change, it would be fostering respect for different cultures and histories. He also reflects on the value of the Education World Forum in bringing together the global education ecosystem across all continents.

In this episode, Kristina Kallas, Estonia’s Minister of Education and Research, joins EWF Programme Director Fabrizio Trifiro to discuss the country’s education priorities and the policies driving them. She highlights the AI Leap initiative, which expands AI access for teachers and students and stresses the need for strong teacher training and bottom-up adoption. The conversation also covers recent reforms designed to improve students’ readiness for further education and the labour market, including extending compulsory schooling to age 18 and introducing an applied upper-secondary track. Kallas also underscores the value of EWF as a platform for exchanging insights with countries beyond Estonia’s usual networks.

In this episode, Yevhen Kudriavets, Ukraine’s First Deputy Minister of Education and Science, discusses the immense challenges the war has created for the country’s education system. He outlines the strategies that have enabled schools to operate amid disruption and ongoing security threats, and highlights initiatives to modernise the VET sector and strengthen preschool provision. Deputy Minister Kudriavets also reflects on the value of the Education World Forum as a platform for global exchange and cooperation, and shares his perspective on the unique responsibilities and pressures facing an education minister in wartime.