Higher Education and International Development: The Contribution of UNESCO Chairs Colloquium Thursday 17th to Friday 18th January 2008 UNESCO Chair and Centre for Comparative Education Research The School of Education, University of Nottingham, UK

The inaugural colloquium of the UK National Commission’s UNESCO Chairs Group took place at the University of Nottingham, 17th-18th January, 2008, hosted by the UNESCO Chair of the Political Economy of Education and Centre for Comparative Education Research. The topic for the colloquium was ‘Higher Education and International Development: The contribution of UNESCO Chairs’.

24 participants, comprised of both existing and prospective UNESCO Chair-holders in the UK, and guests including Dr Pat Dolan, NUI Galway, as part of his involvement in establishing the first UNESCO Chair in the Republic of Ireland, examined the role of higher education in international development in the context of the UNESCO Chairs/UNITWIN Programme. Presentations were given by the UNESCO Chairs in the UK, on the contribution of the Chairs to international development, as well as presentations by Professor Alec Boksenberg, Chair of the UK National Commission for UNESCO, and Mr Georges Haddad, Director of the Division of Higher Education, UNESCO HQ. (read full report,  53kb)

The colloquium highlighted the importance of the UNESCO Chairs network as a think-tank and arena for inter-university cooperation and transfer of knowledge.

The UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme was established in 1992. It was conceived as a way to advance research, training and programme development in higher education by building university networks and encouraging inter-university cooperation through transfer of knowledge across borders. The Programme has grown into a worldwide inter-university cooperation network operating in all of UNESCO’s fields of competence. Today some 630 UNESCO Chairs and 67 UNITWIN Networks have been in the Programme involving over 760 institutions in 125 countries.

UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks are very important assets for higher education at large and for UNESCO. The Programme contributes significantly to the quality and development of higher education at large by developing curriculum, conducting courses, and undertaking research in UNESCO’s fields of competence, which include subjects that might otherwise be overlooked in a given context. In addition, UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks can help to strengthen UNESCO’s programme implementation, enhance the impact of UNESCO’s action, and strengthen the Organization’s global and regional outreach, contributing to achieving UNESCO’s goals of peace, mutual understanding and equitable and sustainable human development. (go to: UNITWIN Network page)

The colloquium was hosted by the UK National Commission for UNESCO and the UNESCO Chair and Centre for Comparative Education Research at the University of Nottingham.

Attendance was by invitation only.

Documents: Delegate Pack, including Colloquium Papers  386kb