Worldwide Action in Education EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA

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CORDEE - Co-operation for Reinforcing the Development of Education in Europe

CEPES

Programme for Central and Eastern European Development (PROCEED)

"Think globally, Act baltically"

The UNESCO-Chernobyl Programme

Table: 1990-1993, Co-operation for Development in Education

CORDEE
Co-operation for Reinforcing the Development of Education in Europe

The main objective of this new initiative is to create a coordinated framework of action within the Europe region by grouping together and thus reinforcing various existing networks and programmes, such as the CODIESEE network, the Joint Studies programme of European National Commissions for UNESCO, joint Council of Europe/UNESCO activities in the field of educational research or the Literacy in Industrialized Countries-network of UIE. CORDEE-activities are carried out by various decentralized UNESCO Units, Ministries of Education and National Commissions in co-operation with specialized R&D institutes, IGOs, and NGOs. The CORDEE initiative is based on the direct involvement of major educational R&D institutions in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The Institute of Educational Sciences in Bucharest publishes a CORDEE Newsletter.

In the two years since CORDEE was established, activities have focused on three priority areas:

(i) Education for All,
(ii) Education for the 21st Century,
(iii) Strengthening Capacities for Educational Reform and Development.

CEPES

The European Centre for Higher Education (CEPES) was established in Bucharest, Romania, in 1972. It serves as a node for the collection and exchange of information and experience, a forum for discussion on important topics, and a centre for the promotion of research and development. It is also a focal point for several specialized networks connected with such issues in higher education as research on higher education, staff development or women's studies.

CEPES houses a library and documentation centre, which contains basic sources, major publications and periodicals on higher education as well as numerous unpublished materials, totalling about 27,000 documents. CEPES' capacity for co-operation has recently been reinforced by the setting up of the UNICOM electronic network.

CEPES publications include Higher Education in Europe (quarterly), monographs on national higher education systems, and studies on various issues of higher education.

Programme for Central and Eastern European Development (PROCEED)

PROCEED is an intersectoral programme, co-ordinating UNESCO's activities in Central and Eastern Europe and in the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union. Launched in 1992, the programme covers all UNESCO's main fields of competence. PROCEED's coordination efforts focus on the priority needs of the region and its sub-regions, in particular the re-establishment and consolidation of democracy; pluralism in beliefs, attitudes, and institutions; the expression of identity and the protection of minorities and human rights; and human resources development.

Educational activities in particular countries focus on the reconstruction of the educational system and policy advice, the reform of higher education and teacher training, secondary technical and vocational education, the renewal of curricula and teaching methods, and education for specific target groups.

"Think globally, Act baltically" In an effort to "help save the Baltic", one of the most endangered marine bodies in the world, students and teachers in all nine Baltic countries are actively engaged in learning about the acute environmental issues facing their common sea as well as learning about the rich cultural heritage of the Baltic countries.

The UNESCO-Chernobyl Programme The UNESCO-Chernobyl Programme is an initiative providing assistance to the countries suffering from the Chernobyl accident of 1986. The programme consists of both remedial actions aimed at eliminating the consequences of the catastrophe and actions designed to foster the economic and social development of the areas concerned. Educational projects under this programme concern the establishment of four pilot rehabilitation centres in Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine, including a large-scale training programme for the staff of these centres in communities facing the most serious social and psychological problems. In a bid to facilitate multilateral and bilateral co-operation, foreign-language training is being provided for Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian experts engaged in mitigating the effects of the Chernobyl disaster. Educational materials are being prepared on the themes of energy, the environment and development, in which due account is taken of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and emphasis is placed on instruction about alternative energy sources. Other projects focus on training experts in distance education methods, the supply of educational equipment and facilities to schools serving the displaced populations in Belarus, and education on radiation effects.