2009 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

2008 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

2007 - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

30 September

• International UNESCO Symposium: "Intercultural encounters in the Hellenized Orient"
  28 - 30 September 2009. UNESCO Headquarters, Paris (France)
  • First Day: "From confrontation of civilizations to multipolar unity of the Hellenistic Orient"
  • Second Day: "The Development of an Eurasiatic dialogue between new Empires"
  • Thrid Day: Roundtable on "The Romance of Alexander"

  More information: http://universityandheritage.net/doc/Hellenized.pdf

• Conference of Parliamentarians and Partners Forum to be held before UNESCO General Conference
  UNESCO is organizing two new events, a Conference of Parliamentarians for UNESCO on 3 October and a Partners Forum on 5 October, ahead of the 35th Session of the Organization’s General Conference (6-23 October). Both one-day meetings are aimed at reinforcing UNESCO’s ties with multiple civil society partners and institutional networks, and increasing partners’ involvement in the Organization’s work.
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46514&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

• UNESCO presents unique collection of General and Regional Histories
  After 57 years of work, involving more than 1,800 historians and experts from around the world, UNESCO’s 51-volume collection of General and Regional Histories is at the point of completion. To mark the occasion, a symposium will be held at the Organization’s Headquarters from 5 to 6 October 2009 to reflect upon how this unique work can be developed and exploited to the benefit of school children and citizens the world over. The six collections:
  • History of Humanity: The contributions of all the peoples of the world to the general progress of humankind
  • General History of Africa: An interdisciplinary picture of the Continent
  • General History of Latin America: Latin American societies from pre-Columbian era to the present
  • History of Civilisations of Central Asia: From the Caspian Sea to Mongolia and Western China
  • The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture: Six-volume companion exploring the various facets of a major culture
  • General History of the Caribbean: Emerging identity and diversity in an insular space

  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46520&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

28 September

• The Director-General opens a UNESCO/UNU Conference on Africa and Globalization
  On 28 September 2009, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, and Mr Konrad Osterwalder, Rector of the United Nations University (UNU), opened a Conference on “Africa and Globalization: Learning from the past, a better Future” at the UNU in Tokyo, Japan. It was the seventh in a series of international conferences on globalization organized jointly by UNESCO and the UNU. This conference was convened to take stock of Africa’s achievements, successes and failures over the past fifty years and to reflect on ongoing challenges facing the continent, as well as its development today in a globalizing economic and financial crisis.
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46509&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

• Conference in Dakar on 5 and 6 October: UNESCO and issues of colonization and decolonization
  An international conference on “UNESCO and Issues of Colonization and Decolonization” will take place in Senegal on 5 and 6 October (UCAD II Complex, Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar). The history of UNESCO cannot be written without reflecting about its relationship to the mass decolonization of both peoples and nations that occurred after 1945. How did these phenomena interact with the development of UNESCO, its orientation, themes, structures, functions and leadership, as well as the internal conflicts within the Organization? These issues remain largely unexplored.
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46501&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

• The First Arab International conference on Sustainable Urban Development in Syrian Cities
  28 - 29 September 2009. Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
  Under the patronage of His Excellency the Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Al-Otri, the First Arab International Conference on Sustainable Urban Development in Syrian Cities was held on 28th and 29th of September in Rida Said conference hall. The central vision of the conference is to provide contributions "Towards a Syrian Urban Development Policy". The conference was held in cooperation between the Ministry of Local Administration and the Syrian German Cooperation Program for Sustainable Urban Development supported by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, and with contributions from the Arab Urban Development Institute in Riyadh.
  More information: http://www.udp-syria.org/?id=186

24 September

• Launching of the database and Community of Practice on Water and Cultural Diversity
  Waterandculturaldiversity.org is an informative and interactive database and community of practice around the topic of water and cultural diversity. The database acts as an information resource on the topic of water and cultural diversity and will contribute to increasing awareness on the importance of cultural factors in water management and decision making. The database contains four main sections: library, directory of experts and institutions, events calendar, and image gallery. The concept of a CoP refers to a group of people who have a common interest and share information and ideas to find solutions and recommendations for a certain topic or problem. The interactive space provided on this website enables information and opinions to be shared among members and users. The CoP will act as a platform through which members of the group can exchange technical information and experiences.
  More information: http://www.waterandculturaldiversity.org

23 September

• UNESCO Future Lecture to present photographer Sebastião Salgado’s Genesis Project
  The work of the award-winning Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, particularly his current “Genesis Project” devoted to the environment, is the theme of the second UNESCO Future Lecture, to be given on 25 September (Room IV, from 2.30 to 5.30 p.m., by invitation only). Mr Salgado, known for the dramatic portrayals of the human condition he presents in his books and exhibitions, began the Genesis Project in 2004. It aims to show the world “before humanity altered it almost beyond recognition” - landscapes and wildlife, as well as human communities still living in accordance with their ancestral traditions...
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46476&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

• UNESCO General Conference - Paris, 6 to 23 October
  The 35th session of UNESCO’s General Conference will be held from 6 to 23 October in Paris. During the session, the General Conference is expected to endorse the nomination of Irina Bokova (Bulgaria) as the new Director-General of the Organization, replacing Koïchiro Matsuura of Japan whose second term in office is coming to an end. Chosen by UNESCO’s 58-member Executive Board, Ms Bokova is slated to become the first woman to head the Organization.
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46475&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

16 September

• UN to establish single new agency to deal with rights of women
  Four United Nations agencies and offices will be amalgamated to create a new single entity within the Organization to promote the rights and well-being of women worldwide and to work towards gender equality. The General Assembly adopted a resolution late yesterday on improving system-wide coherence within the UN, and the text spells out the support of Member States for a new consolidated body – to be headed by an under-secretary-general – to deal with issues concerning women.
  More information: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32066&Cr=women&Cr1=

15 September

• Ten stories the world should hear more about
  The world continues on a path of remarkable technological change in the communications domain. Witness the nature of public and online debate over elections held in countries as far apart as the United States, Moldova and Iran; while the inroads made by new media and social networking options have given millions immediate access to the latest-breaking developments from an array of communications sources. “Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter have entered the lexicon of people from all walks of life,” remarked Kiyo Akasaka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. “At the UN, we are deeply conscious of the need to bridge the divide between those who do and do not always have the benefits of the latest technology, but also to participate in the dialogue that is taking place among those who are engaging via new modes of public discussion.”
  More information: http://www.un.org/en/events/tenstories/08/

11 September

• (in Italian) PODCAST: Il turismo responsabile in Africa
  Amisnet si occupa in questa puntata di una delle pratiche sempre più diffuse tra gli italiani nel campo dello svago: il turismo responsabile, praticato in questo caso in Africa. Ospite di questa trasmissione Piera Gioda, Vice presidente dell’Associazione italiana turismo responsabile e presidente del CISV. Dati, diffusione e riflessioni su di un modo diverso.
  More information: http://www.tafter.it/

7 September

• 100 Free and Useful Web Tools for Students Abroad
  Studying abroad can be one of the best and most enlightening experiences you’ll have when you’re in college. You’ll get a chance to learn about another culture, see far away places and maybe even become fluent in the local language. While studying abroad can be fun, it can also be challenging if you aren’t prepared. Here are some tools to help you manage being away from home, including ways to keep in touch, make sure you can finance your trip and ensure you’re complying with all the legal issues involved in overseas travel.
  More information: http://www.bestuniversities.com/blog/2009/100-free-and-useful-web-tools-for-students-abroad/

• New Website: Zona Equo Sostenible - ZOES
  (in Italian) L’idea, tutta italiana ma con aspirazioni internazionali, è nata qualche mese fa all’interno del contesto “positivo” della mostra-convegno Terra Futura 2009. Viene definito nuovo portale dell’economia responsabile, ma è anche un social network per persone, gruppi, associazioni, enti ed imprese che hanno a cuore l’economia solidale, l’ambiente e la sostenibilità. Nello specifico “vuole essere un punto di riferimento dove si incontrano persone, istituzioni e realtà interessate ad un futuro equo, ad immaginare un mondo che sappia risolvere positivamente la crisi ecologica, sociale ed economica che stiamo attraversando”. Attribuitegli pure la categoria che preferite ma Zoes è sicuramente un canale di comunicazione indipendente e democratico unico nel suo genere.
  More information: http://www.tafter.it/2009/09/01/wwwzoesit/

• Heritage Conservation Network (HCN) goes AiP and announces their 2010 Schedule of Volunteer Vacations
  Heritage Conservation Network, a non-profit dedicated to saving the world’s architectural heritage, has changed its name to Adventures in Preservation, effective September 1, 2009. AiP will continue offering the same high-quality, hands-on volunteer vacations they have offered since 2002, giving participants the opportunity to help preserve historic buildings around the world. The new name is intended to highlight the participant experience and reflect the critical role that workshop participants play in each project’s success. Adventure in Preservation’s 2010 series of hands-on building conservation workshops begins in February in the World Heritage Site of Lamu, Kenya, with participants learning skills needed to repair and restore a traditional coral rag building...
  More information: http://www.adventuresinpreservation.org/

• Education and economic crisis: The impact on higher education in India
  When the economies around the world began to feel the impact of the global fi nancial crisis, offi cial sources claimed that India would not be too badly affected. But in no time, rates of economic growth began dropping in all sectors. Companies outside India reduced their outsourcing and laid off many of their overseas workers, which could result in a return of migrants back to India. All of this indicates that despite rapidly become more globalized, India has not remained untouched by the crisis. What will be the effects of the crisis on higher education? India’s Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-2012), provides a significant increase in budgetary allocations to higher education in order to achieve a number of ‘world class’ universities and institutions. It aims to raise the gross enrolment rate from 11 to 15 per cent. The Plan envisages support for expansion from public-private partnerships. What will then happen to these goals? The short- and long-term effects of the crisis have yet to unfold, but some results are clear.
  More information: http://www.iiep.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/
  Info_Services_Newsletter/pdf/eng/2009/2009_2En.pdf#page=8

• Ilissafrica, digital library dedicated to Sub-Sahara Africa
  A specialized documentation portal that will please scholars and practitioners of development in sub-Sahara Africa. Ilissafrica is a project of the African section of the University Library Johann Christian Senckenberg in Frankfurt in co-operation with the Information Center GIGA: Africa Library in Hamburg. The project is financed by DFG, German Agency for the Financing of Academic Research. The portal has a clear international vocation and is accessible in three languages: English, German, French.
  More information in French: http://www.cursus.edu/?module=directory&action=
  getMod&subMod=PROD&uid=13842

• UNESCO’s General Conference will take place from 6 to 23 October in Paris
  The 35th session of UNESCO’s General Conference will take place from 6 to 23 October in Paris. Among the tasks facing the session will be the naming of a new Director-General to replace Koïchiro Matsuura of Japan whose mandate comes to an end. The General Conference, UNESCO’s supreme ruling body, is composed of representatives of the Organization’s 193 Member States, usually of ministerial rank. Several Heads of State or Government pay official visits to UNESCO during each session of the General Conference.
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=37843&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

• Executive Board to prepare General Conference and election of new UNESCO Director-General
  During its 182nd session, 7 to 23 September, UNESCO’s Executive Board will review over 60 agenda items, including the nomination of a candidate for the post of Director-General of the Organization. The Executive Board will also examine UNESCO’s Draft Programme and Budget for 2010-2011 and the establishment of different types of centres and institutes under the auspices of the Organization. The outcome of its work will be presented to the 35th session of the General Conference, the organ that brings together all of UNESCO’s 193 Member States (6-23 October).
  More information: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46368&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

4 September

• Integrating Sustainability into Classrooms with Small but Meaningful Changes (USA)
  Another school year is just around the corner and with rising energy costs, increasing concern over air quality and growing interest in preserving resources for the future; a growing number of parents, teachers and school administrators are reevaluating their school environmental policies. According to the United States Department of Energy, taxpayers spend $8 billion dollars on energy for schools each year. Not only can good environmental stewardship help cut costs, but integrating sustainability into classrooms can be an effective cost-saving measure for taxpayers and provide worthwhile lessons for students of all ages.
  More information: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/news.cfm?id=classroom_changes

• World Tourism Day 2009 – ‘Tourism - Celebrating Diversity’. Accra (Ghana) 27 September
  World Tourism Day will commemorate on 27 September its 30th anniversary in Ghana under the theme “Tourism - Celebrating Diversity”. It is an opportunity to acknowledge two of tourism’s major attributes - development and unity.
  More information: http://www.unwto.org/media/news/en/press_det.php?id=4321

3 September

• International Institute of Education Planning: Political forum on tertiary education in small States on the topic “planning in the context of globalisation”
  The UNESCO International Institute of Education Planning (IIEP) organizes a political Forum on tertiary education in small States on the topic “planning in the context of universalisation”. The Forum will take place on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 July, 2009 at the premises of the IIEP, 7-9 rue Eugène Delacroix, 75116 Paris, France. The International Institute of EducationPplanning of UNESCO (IIEP-UNESCO) organizes from 2 - 3 July 2009 in Paris, its Forum on educational policies on the topic “tertiary education in small States: Planning in the context of globalisation”. Through this Forum, IIEP wished to be associated to the World Conference of UNESCO on Higher Education “New dynamics of higher education and research at the service of progress and development” (5 July, 2009 - Paris).
  More information in French: http://www.auf.org/communication-information/actualites/l-iipe-forum-2009.html?var=lettre50

• Inauguration of the French-speaking virtual Campus of Rabat (Morocco) - Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF)
  Mr. Bernard Cerquiglini and Professor Taïeb Chkili, President of the University Mohamed V Souissi, inaugurated on 30 June the new French-speaking virtual Campus of Rabat installed in the Faculty of Education. On 30 June Mr. Bernard Cerquiglini, Director of AUF and Professor Taïeb Chkili, Chairperson of the Mohamed V Souissi University, inaugurated the French-speaking virtual Campus of Rabat recently installed in the Faculty Education. The Ministry of Higher Education was represented by its Secretary-General , Mr. Abdelhafid Debbarh, former Chairperson of the Scientific Council of the AUF from 2000 to 2007.
  More information in French: http://www.auf.org/communication-information/actualites/cnf-rabat-2009.html?var=lettre50

• (in French) Participation de l’AUF à la Conférence mondiale sur l’enseignement supérieur organisée par l’UNESCO (juillet 2009)
  Plus de mille participants ont débattu du futur de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche lors de la Conférence mondiale 2009 sur l’enseignement supérieur qui s’est tenue au siège de l’UNESCO, à Paris, du 5 au 8 juillet. La Conférence mondiale sur l’enseignement supérieur (CMES) de 2009 organisée à Paris, par l’UNESCO du 5 au 8 juillet 2009, a réuni plus de mille participants (Présidents et chefs de gouvernements, ministres, représentants d’organisations internationales et d’organisations non gouvernementales, recteurs, enseignants, chercheurs, étudiants ....) qui ont débattu du futur de l’enseignement supérieur.
  More information in French: http://www.auf.org/communication-information/actualites/cmes-2009.html?var=lettre50

• Art & the Kyoto Protocol
  Talking about cultural collaboration today. The Kyoto Protocol involves a re-negotiation of the relation between rich and poor countries. What role do artists play in this new dialogue? How does engagement with the South shift from one-way cultural extraction to two-way collaboration? How does climate change alter the horizon of cultural intervention? Please join Kevin Murray and contributors to the 'After the Missionaries' issue of Artlink, including Neil Fettling, Emily Potter, Helen Vivian and Kelly Fliedner as they discuss the changing ground for art in the world.
  More information: http://www.craftunbound.net/projects/after-the-missionaries

• 7th Summer University of land management. Toulouse (France) 28-29 August 2009
  The annual meeting of executives, leaders and territorial decision makers focuses on the topic: “Strategies of institutional resetting after the conclusions of the Balladur committee”
  More information in French: http://www.arempt.org/

2 September

• Birth of a new UNESCO Chair in Argentina
  On September 1, 2009, Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, signed with Mr. Anibal Jozami, Director of the National University Tres de Febrero (UNTREF) of Buenos Aires and former Chairperson of the Council of Administration of the International Institute of UNESCO for higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), the Agreement to create a UNESCO Chair of aesthetics and sociology of the difference and cultural diversity in Argentina. The ceremony was developed in presence of the Permanent Delegate of Argentina , Ambassador Miguel Angel Estrella, and representatives of Education and Culture sectors.
  More information in French: http://portal.unesco.org/fr/ev.php-URL_ID=46360&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

• Green |Power| Money: Green metropolitan cities. Hamburg (Germany) 10-11 September 2009
  Hamburg is regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. But how will it rank in the future? In order to hold off the competition it faces from other leading world regions, the city must continue to develop itself further. Hamburg aims to become one of the most attractive metropolises on an international level - exciting, bursting with life, green and safe, with a rich diversity of people, companies and ideas. Hamburg has creative plans and precise projects regarding its growth. The focus is on urban development, architecture and landscape architecture. In 2013 two big events are planned in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg: the building of a 250 acre “Stadtpark” with an international garden show as well as an International Building Exhibition.
  More information: http://www.igs-hamburg.de/295.0.html#c1490

• Cape Verde joins virtual campus network
  The African Virtual Campus for Science and Technology gained a new partner on 16–18 March when staff from the University of Cape Verde attended a sub-regional training workshop for teachers in Dakar (Senegal). This latest addition brings the number of participating countries to four: Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
  More information: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001831/183157E.pdf (Page 13)

Global Education Digest 2009 - Comparing Education Statistics Across the World
The Digest provides data for the school year ending in 2007 or the latest year available, as well as data for 2008 for a small number of countries. It includes data tables from the World Education Indicators (WEI) programme, which are comparable across a group of 62 countries, including those that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In addition, time series data on tertiary education from 1970 onwards are presented. The special focus of this edition is the analysis of emerging global trends in tertiary education, highlighting the rapid growth of tertiary education systems since 1970, changing patterns in tertiary education graduates by field of study, and in particular, the changing landscape of international student mobility.
http://publishing.unesco.org/details.aspx?&Code_Livre=4700&change=E

Online publication: "Comparative Cultural Policy Research in Europe: A Change of Paradigm" (2002) by A. WIESAND in Canadian Journal of Communication
Abstract: Parallel to the ongoing European integration process, comparative cultural policy research has changed its orientation and methods during the last thirty years, moving from institutional, almost "diplomatic" exercises to networking exchanges, and has arrived at an approach which favours integrated research projects. Against this background, this paper reviews the methodological problems of and first steps taken towards a more action-oriented and, at the same time, cohesive ("European") concept of cultural research, which extends beyond a mere comparison of national policies and experiences. This is illustrated through individual research projects and the more recent appearance of ERICarts, the European Research Institute for Comparative Cultural Policy and the Arts.
http://www.cjc-online.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/1308

Ecoles corrompues, universités corrompues : que faire ? - Guide de l’Institut international de planification de l’éducation et Unesco
Auteur : Denys Lamontagne
Jacques Hallak et Muriel Poisson de l'Institut international de planification de l’éducation ont produit un fort intéressant document pour le compte de l’Unesco. N'allez pas croire que la corruption en éducation ne soit que l'affaire des pays en développement. De juteux contrats de construction, d'entretien ou de services ont été attribués sans appels d'offres aussi bien en Europe qu'en Amérique sans que le public en ait eu pour son argent. Pots-de-vin et faveurs ont toujours lieu dans l'attribution des diplômes ou des postes.
http://www.cursus.edu/?module=document&action=getDoc&uid=70763

KulturKontakt Autriche : présentation de KulturKontakt Magazine
KulturKontakt Austriche vient de lancer KulturKontakt Magazine, nouvelle publication qui remplace les précédents KulturKontakt et Transfer. Cette revue, qui sera publiée trois fois par an, examine des questions actuelles en relation avec l’art, la culture et l’éducation et contient des articles nationaux et internationaux sur des sujets clé, ainsi que des opinions de KulturKontakt et des présentations de projets significatifs. Le premier numéro contient, entre autres, des entretiens avec Ken Robinson, Antoine Dobart et Ernst Strouhal, et un article de Paul Collard. La publication est éditée sur papier et online, en allemand, avec la traduction de certains articles en anglais.
http://www.kulturkontakt.or.at/page.aspx?target=254113