In our fast paced and globally interconnected world,having the right skills is essential to success. As rates for global unemployment keep soaring with dramatic consequences especially for our youth, we need to reflect on what exactly those 21^stcentury skills are, how they can be learned, and consequently, how they can be measured.

ATC21S? (Assessment and Teaching of 21st-Century Skills) is a multi-stakeholder collaboration founded and funded by Cisco, Intel and Microsoft and headquartered at the University of Melbourne. Since 2009, ATC21S? has brought together the national governments of Australia, Costa Rica, Finland, Netherlands, Singapore, and the United States as well as intergovernmental organizations and more than 250 researchers and teaching institutions from around the globe to produce an integrated system to research, develop, and create innovative resources for assessing and teaching key 21st century skills. ATC21S? has developed methodologies, tools and materials to assess skills and learning progression in collaborative problem solving and ICT digital network literacy; to produce reports showing skill assessments at the individual, class, and system levels; and to induct teachers into the ATC21S? approach.

Next week in London, on the occasion of the Education World Forum(EWF), one of the world's most prestigious and significant education events, members of the ATC21S? collaboration will be holding an interactive panel onTuesday, January 29, from 15:00 to 16:15to discuss the benefits of implementing ATC21S?, the best practices and lessons learned during the pilot trials, as well as the impact of implementation. Panellists will also share what has motivated them to implement ATC21S? outputs, what are their national plans for teaching, learning and assessment, as well as the role ATC21S? can have in accomplishing those. The panel participants will include:

• Hon. Leonardo Garnier, Costa Rica Minister of Education
• Esther Care, ATC21S? International Research Coordinator and Associate Professor at theUniversity of Melbourne Graduate School of Education
• Maria Stockhaus of theSwedish Association of Local Authorities in Regions (SALAR)
• Anthony Mackay, Deputy Chair of theAustralian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authorityand Chair of theAustralian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership
• Andreas Schleicher (Moderator), Deputy Director for Education and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General,OECD

I look forward to sharing the outcomes and key reflections of this panel live from EWF and invite you to visit the ATC21S site for more information on this unique and groundbreaking collaboration.