First Announcement - 2009 World Conference: “The New Dynamics of Higher Education”
To what extent is higher education today a driver for sustainable development in the national and international context? Does the sector live up to the expectations placed in it to induce change and progress in society and to act as one of the key factors for building knowledge-based societies? How does higher education contribute to the development of the education system as a whole? What are the most significant trends that will shape the new higher education and research spaces? How are learners and learning changing? What are the new challenges for “quality” and “equity”?
These and other issues will be on the agenda of the 2009 World Conference to be held from 6 to 8 July 2009 at UNESCO, Paris. The conference will take stock of changes in higher education since the World Conference on Higher Education of 1998 and will deal with the new dynamics that are likely to shape the strategic agenda for the development of higher education policies and institutions in the foreseeable future.
The 1998 World Conference on Higher Education constituted a key moment for the higher education community. When convening it, UNESCO sought the commitment of Member States and all other stakeholders to ensure that the future orientations of this sector would be based on equity of advanced educational opportunity for all citizens, modernized systems and institutions, and enhanced social relevance and links to the world of work. The Conference fully demonstrated the importance of higher education as a key factor for the cultural, social and economic development of nations and people, as an endogenous capacity-builder, as a promoter of human rights, sustainable development, international intellectual solidarity, democracy, peace and justice.
The higher education policy agenda had considerably evolved since 1998 and the sector is more than ever a priority for tomorrow. Higher education faces many challenges – recurrent and more recent ones – whose in-depth understanding will help to shape action at the global, regional, national and institutional level.
The 2009 World Conference will provide a global platform for forward-looking thinking and debate on the rapidly changing higher education and research spaces and will identify concrete actions aimed at ensuring that the sector meets both national development objectives and individual aspirations. The conference – designed and conducted in synergy with the world higher education community and the fourth World Science Forum (Budapest, November 2009) – will bring together key stakeholders for a new commitment to the development of higher education.
In preparation for this event, a series of regional conferences will be organized to bring specific regional concerns, expectations and proposals to the 2009 World Conference.
Please consult www.unesco.org/education/hed for regular updates on the 2009 World Conference.
UNESCO
París
Francia