Human and Social Development

  • The best tool for development

    Education has huge power to transform, but only 2% of humanitarian aid was assigned to educational projects. Education has huge power to transform. We are all agreed on this: academic experts, international organizations, governments, NGOs. Extending education in all its stages and aspects foments...

  • Achieving the MDGs through quadruple helix partnerships: university-government-industry-third sector collaboration

    Valtencir Maldonado Mendes (Brasil) “We must not fail the billions who look to the international community to fulfil the promise of the Millennium Declaration for a better world. Let us keep the promise. (…) Meeting the goals is everyone’s business”. - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The MDGs...

  • Innovative teacher training in remote Australian Indigenous communities: A sustainable staffing model

    In this article Wendy Giles, Debbie Prescott and David Rhodes from Charles Darwin University explain how they are delivering the Bachelor of Teaching and Learning, to Indigenous students by sending lecturers out each week to five remote communities in the Northern Territory in Australia.

  • Fostering the Renewal of Learning and Teaching in the Field of Aboriginal Issues: DIALOG’s Nomadic University

    The Nomadic University is an innovative training program created in 2007 by the DIALOG network - Research and knowledge network relating to Aboriginal Peoples. It is one of our knowledge mobilization initiatives developed over the years to encourage the sharing of knowledge, skills and learning...

  • Joint action to improve the impact of university development cooperation: Catalan universities promote an University Development Cooperation Plan

    In this article Josep Vilalta and Nadja Gmelch of the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) talk about the “Plan for University Cooperation for Development 2011 – 2015 (UDC Plan)” and its fundamental role in enhancing the effectiveness, impact and quality of university development...

  • Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and their relevance to higher education in Kosovo

    Jehona Serhati of the University of Kassel, analyzes the mutual interdependence between higher education and the MDG’s in Kosovo. Analyzing the current situation of the MDG’s in that country, the author makes a call to the government for further involving the University of Prishtina as a...

  • A roadmap to SISD: System Integration of Sustainable Development in Higher Education

    In this article Rodra Niko of the Avans University develops a myriad of instruments for education development aimed at the integration of sustainable development into the competence profiles and curricula of university programs.

  • Academic Impact: Fresh Educational Principles for a New Millennium of Global Challenges

    This article explains the Academic Impact initiative started by the United Nations. Along with the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005—2014, DESD), and the UN Millennium Development goals, Academic Impact assumes an active role of assuring ten universally accepted principles in...

  • Higher Education and Participatory Development

    Participatory processes have been identified as one of the most powerful engines to provoke real transformations in higher education institutions, in order to help them, and those with whom they engage, face the growing demands and challenges of an increasingly globalized and environmentally...

  • Towards an African higher education area

    Although the Bologna process is not without faults, it can be of interest to nations outside Europe. The model on which the European Higher Education Area was based may provide inspiration for other parts of the world. On the African continent, where higher education is a major area of hope for...

  • Higher Education contribution to the UN Millennium Development Goals

    Several of the most pressing problems and challenges faced by humankind were identified in 2000 as Millennium Development Goals. World governments made a commitment to meet these goals by 2015. To what extent are these goals a subject of concern for higher education? Should higher education...

  • The contribution of universities to regional development: social, cultural and environmental issues

    Higher education institutions have always played an important role in the development of their respective regions. In this article, Francisco Marmolejo, the Executive Director of the Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration, states that this contribution cannot, nor indeed...

  • The Talloires Network: Building a Global Movement of Engaged Universities

    As the Talloires Declaration states, institutions of higher education “do not exist in isolation from society, nor from the communities in which they are located. Instead, they carry a unique obligation to listen, understand, and contribute to social transformation and development”. In this article...

  • Open Educational Resources as a higher education strategy for openness and social development

    As higher education worldwide leans towards privatisation and universities focus on increasing their market value through commercialisation, a movement that promotes openness, free access to learning resources, and emphasises the social function of higher education is growing rapidly. Open...

  • Wei Yang

    Wei Yang reflected on the main challenges facing China’s higher education system and institutions in the twenty-first century and the way they are trying to develop a harmonic approach to development. He stressed the importance of quality assurance due to the rapid growth of the Chinese educational...

  • Ana Lucia Gazzola

    In this interview, Ana Lúcia Gazzola, the former executive director of both INHOTIM and IESALC, reflects on the role of higher education in creating knowledge and eradicating economic and social inequalities. INHOTIM and IESALC (Instituto Internacional de la Unesco para la Educación Superior en...

  • Abdel Moneim Osman

    In this interview, Abdel Moneim Osman, Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau of Education in Arab States and Secretary of GUNI Arab States, reflects upon the challenges for higher education and UNESCO’s projects in the region. He also gives his vision on how higher education institutions can...
  • Gwang-Jo Kim

    Gwang-Jo Kim

    Gwang-Jo Kim, Director of UNESCO Bangkok, explains the challenges higher education is facing in the Asia-Pacific region and reflects upon the role of the regional UNESCO office in the enhancement of higher education in the region.

  • Young-Gil Kim

    Young-Gil Kim, President of Handong Global University, which is hosting the UNITWIN Network on Capacity Building of Sustainable Development in Developing Countries, details the objectives and activities of the Network and reflects upon the contribution of higher education towards sustainable...

  • David Francis

    Professor David Francis reflects on the role of higher education institutions in peace building and gives some concrete examples of how universities can contribute to post-conflict societies.

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Partners

  • UNESCO. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
  • The Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP)

Sponsored by

  • Generalitat de Catalunya. Ministry of Business and Employment. Department of Research and Universities
  • Generalitat de Catalunya. Ministry for Foreign Action and Open Government