The Global Cities Education Network (GCEN) Annual Symposium took place November 9–13, 2015, in Shanghai, convening policymakers from ten cities across Asia and North America to tackle pressing issues in global education. The focus of the 2015 symposium was equity in education, and using Shanghai’s efforts as a case study, the group discussed ways in which GCEN cities are implementing strategies and system-level supports to provide all students with an excellent education.

Keynote remarks were provided by Professor Minxuan Zhang from the Center for International and Comparative Cooperation at Shanghai Normal University and Professor Jal Mehta from Harvard University. In addition, attendees had the opportunity to conduct site visits at schools in Shanghai.

About the Global Cities Education Network

The Global Cities Education Network is an international learning community of city school systems in Asia and North America. City teams work together to identify common, high-priority problems of policy and practice and develop effective, practical solutions that can be adapted to varying cultural and political contexts. The network members have included Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore, Hiroshima, Hong Kong, Denver, Houston, Lexington, Seattle, and Toronto.