UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education

The 2009 World Conference on Higher Education was organised in Paris from 5-8 July 2009. The UNESCO conference provided a global platform for forward-looking debate on a wide range of issues including the impact of globalization on higher education, social responsibility, academic freedom, research and ICT in education, with a special focus on Higher Education in Africa. Ministers, university rectors, faculty, students and key representatives of the private sector as well as regional and multilateral institutions discussed these topics, based on a range of high profile presentations of ministers and policymakers from all over the globe. As a result the communiqué stresses that "higher education must pursue the goals of equity, relevance and quality simultaneously", underlining the importance of regulatory and quality assurance mechanisms and the need to enhance "the attractiveness of the academic career." It notes that information and communications technologies should be more fully integrated throughout higher education to meet increasing student demand and share the results of scientific research.

During the conference, several countries including Brazil, China and the Republic of Korea expressed their commitment to strengthen higher education in Africa while private sector partners voiced their interest in supporting educational expansion and excellence across Africa and the developing world.

Summing up the World Conference, general rapporteur Suzy Halmi noted that "the high degree of participation of ministers and political decision makers demonstrates awareness of the importance of higher education in building knowledge-based societies."

Important for the use of ICT in Education is that UNESCO and Microsoft announce a joint higher education ICT task force to help higher education institutions worldwide meet the growing challenge of supporting economic stimulus efforts and work-force development strategies. The UNESCO-Microsoft Task Force on Higher Education and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will create a strategic plan of action to identify how ICT can be used by governments as a catalyst for change.

Source: http://www.unesco.org/en/education/single-view/news/world_conference_on_higher_education_closes_with_an_appeal_for_investment_and_cooperation-1/back/9712/

Links:

• http://www.unesco.org/en/wche2009/ official web site of the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education
• World Conference on Higher Education Communiqué (PDF)

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