Unesco engaging local communities to reinvent higher education

The conference, organised by the Unesco Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational Innovation for Development (APEID), will assist education ministries, educational institutions, non- governmental organisations (NGOs), the private sector and local communities to reconsider the roles of universities in society.

The theme of the 11th Unesco-APEID International Conference is "Reinventing Higher Education: Toward Participatory and Sustainable Development".

"Higher education takes up a large portion of the annual budget for education in most countries. We need to make sure that higher education institutions perform their multiple functions effectively," says Molly Lee, programme specialist in higher education and coordinator of APEID.

According to Unesco's 2006 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, in 2003 donors contributed almost US$200 million to post-secondary education worldwide, compared to US$90 million given to secondary education. Post-secondary education funding has increased every year since 1999 and doubled over a five-year-period by 2003.

"It is clear that educational institutions have an important role in shaping our future. By working closely with local people, the staff and students in these institutions can increase their understanding of the world around them. Educators need to change their way of thinking and style of teaching to encourage greater interaction with people outside the walls of the classrooms and lecture halls so that everyone can have an equal say in the things that affect their lives," says Sheldon Shaeffer, Director of the Unesco Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education.

Thailand's Minister of Education HE Wichit Srisa-an will deliver the opening address and Professor Stephen Toope, president of University of British Columbia in Canada, is one of the keynote speakers.

APEID sits in the Unesco Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education. Its programmes and activities include higher education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), education for sustainable development (ESD), and ICT in education.

For more information on the conference, please contact Ms Lay Cheng Tan (lc.tan@unescobkk.org) or visit: www.unescobkk.org/education/apeid/conference.