Sakyo was working for trading company Sumitomo when he read about Shibuya Ward assembly member Hasabe Ken's idea of a university based within the Shibuya community that focused on lifelong education.

CNN: Biography: Yasuaki Sakyo and Shibuya University

Carwyn Jones said that, if the LCO was passed, the Assembly would aim to build on the former Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills Committee's review of special educational needs.

BBC: 12 June 2007: The first LCO

This way, we make education accessible to more students, set them on a path of lifelong learning, and lay the foundations for economic development and social change locally and globally.

FORBES: Todd Bradley

The keynote speakers were Adama Ouane, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, and Lynne Chisholm, one of the editors of the first Global Report on Adult Education (GRALE).

UNESCO: CONFINTEA VI