Steering
Committee Members Professor
Georges Haddad, President of the Steering Committee for the World Conference on Higher Education Professor
Ibrahim Abu Lughod, Palestinian Authority Professor
Donald R. Gerth, USA Professor
Gottfired Leibbrandt, Hetherlands Professor
Lydia P. Makhubu, Swaziland Professor
Péter Medgyes, Hungary Professor
M.D. Charas Suwanwela, Thailand Professor
Carlos Tünnermann Bernheim, Nicaragua Professor
Hans van Ginkel, the Netherlands With
the collaboration of Professor Alfonso Borrero Cabal, Colombia Executive
Secretariat of the Steering Committee: Division
of Higher Education Professor
M.A.R. Dias, Director Regional
Conferences Africa:
UNESCO Dakar Office 12
avenue Roume, B.P.
3311, Dakar, Senegal Tel.:
(221) 23 50 82; Fax: (221) 23 83 93 E-Mail:
uhdak@unesco.org Arab
States: UNESCO Beirut Office P.O.
Box 5244, Cité
Sportive Avenue, Beirut, Lebanon Tel.:
(961-1) 83 00 13; Fax: (961-1) 82 48 54 E-Mail:
uhbei@unesco.org Asia/Pacific:
UNESCO Bangkok Office Prakanong
Post Office, Box 967, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Tel.:
(66-2) 391 8474; Fax: (66-2) 391 0866 E-Mail:
uhbgk@unesco.org Latin
America/Caribbean: UNESCO Caracas Office Postal
address: Apartado
postal 68.394 Caracas
1062 A, Venezuela Tel.:
(58-2) 286 07 21; Fax: (58-2) 286 20 39 E-Mail:
uhcar@unesco.org Europe:
UNESCO Bucharest Office Str.
Stirbei Voda 39, R-70732
Bucharest, Romania Tel.:
(40-1) 615 99 56 / 615 99 57 Fax:
(40-1) 312 3567 E-Mail:
uhcep@unesco.org Association
of European Universities (CRE) 10
rue du Conseil Général, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland Tel.:
(41-22) 329 2644 / 329 2251 Fax:
(41-22) 329 2821 E-Mail:
cre@uni2a.unige.ch |
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The Renewal and Reform of Higher Education On
the eve of the twenty-first century, UNESCO will convene a World Conference on Higher Education. Its aim will be to lay down fundamental principles for the in-depth reform of higher education systems throughout the world with a view to strengthening their contribution to development and to the building of peace. Likewise, the formulation of proposals concerning higher education and the tasks assigned to it will need to take account of the fact that peace, development and democracy are inseparable, and of the principles contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, notably those of equity and merit (Article 26.1).
1996-1998 : Preparations and Mobilization The
1998 Conference, to take place in Paris (5-9 October 1998), will be preceded by a series of regional consultations:
Latin America/Caribbean : Havana, Cuba, 18-22 November 1996
Africa : Dakar, Senegal, 1- 4 April 1997
Asia/Pacific : Tokyo, Japan (at the UNU), 8-10 July 1997
Europe : Palermo, Italy, 25-27 September 1997 (co-hosted with the Association of European Universities)
Arab States : Beirut, Lebanon, 2-6 March 1998
Moreover, a calendar of complementary meetings has been organized to ensure dialogue with all relevant partners. This includes:
- meetings held by IGOs and NGOs during 1996-98
- the 5th UNESCO/NGO Collective Consultation on Higher Education, Paris, 10-12 February 1997
- meetings of the Student/Employer Forum on Graduate Employment 1996-1998
- round table on the Interrelationship between Research, Policy and Practice in Higher Education, Tokyo, 3-5 September 1997
- coordination meeting of the Regional Conventions on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees, Paris, April 1998
- other symposia and round tables with specific groups who will contribute to the reflection on higher education.
Stakeholders in the Conference The
Conference will involve a broad range of actors: national policy-makers, institutional leaders, the professoriate and researchers, the student community, the economic and professional sectors, IGOs, NGOs, agencies of the UN system and numerous groups in civil society. All these have a vested interest in higher education for personal, professional and socio-economic development.
The WCHE Themes The
debate will be focused on four major themes :
Pertinence
Quality
Management and Financing
International Co-operation
Related issues include :
- Women in Higher Education: Issues and Perspectives
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The Requirements of the World of Work
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Higher Education and Sustainable Human Development
- Contributing to National and Regional Development
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Higher Education Staff Development: A Continuing Mission
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Higher Education for a New Society: A Student Vision
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From Traditional to Virtual: New Trends and Innovations in Higher Education
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Higher Education and Research: Challenges and Opportunities
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The Contribution of Higher Education to the Education System as a Whole
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Promoting a Culture of Peace
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Communication and Information Technologies in Higher Education
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Mobilizing the Power of Culture
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Autonomy, Social Responsibility and Academic Freedom.
Expected Outcomes of the WCHE
The formulation of a declaration and of a comprehensive worldwide plan of action is foreseen in order to stimulate the renewal of higher education and to propose a new university pact guided by the four watchwords : pertinence, quality, management and financing, and international co-operation.
As a result of the Conference, a new coalition of the higher education community and its major partners should emerge. This will ensure more concerted and effective co-operation to meet the challenges of sustainable human development where the enhanced creation and dissemination of knowledge and know-how are determining factors.
Three major outcomes are expected from the Conference: wider access, based on the principle of merit, to higher education systems, their enhanced management and the reinforcement of their links with society, notably through their contribution to the definition of new partnerships between higher education institutions and their communities. This includes linkages to the world of work which is currently uncertain and heterogeneous. Thus, the higher education reforms proposed should be adapted to the specific needs of different regions and countries.
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5 - 9 October 1998 