| 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.
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