Pathway toward a shared future: Changing roles of higher education in a globalized world

29 & 30 August, 2007

UNU Center, Tokyo

A Copernican change has taken place with regard to the position of higher education institutions (HEIs). No longer do national systems of higher education lend prestige to their constituent parts, the institutions. Rather, the opposite is true: it is the internationally acknowledged qualities of individual institutions which lend prestige to the national systems they belong to.

Increasingly the institutions find themselves in a position from where they have to both compete and cooperate internationally. They have to prepare their students, increasingly, for globalizing labor markets. Their campuses are becoming increasingly international.

HEIs are also increasingly growing into international platforms for dialog, platforms for opening, analyzing and exchanging new ideas. The globalizing knowledge society also brings into focus new themes in education and research: ICT, bio- and nano-technology; ethics and values; aging and migration; issues of cultural diversity, dialog and integration; climate change and sustainable development; and disarmament, reconciliation and peace building among others.

Globalization also creates major opportunities for broader understanding, exchange of knowledge, cooperation to advance teaching, research, and service to society at an ever faster pace.

Download the conference leaflet.

Pathway toward a shared future: Changing roles of higher education in a globalized world

29 & 30 August, 2007

UNU Center, Tokyo

A Copernican change has taken place with regard to the position of higher education institutions (HEIs). No longer do national systems of higher education lend prestige to their constituent parts, the institutions. Rather, the opposite is true: it is the internationally acknowledged qualities of individual institutions which lend prestige to the national systems they belong to.

Increasingly the institutions find themselves in a position from where they have to both compete and cooperate internationally. They have to prepare their students, increasingly, for globalizing labor markets. Their campuses are becoming increasingly international.

HEIs are also increasingly growing into international platforms for dialog, platforms for opening, analyzing and exchanging new ideas. The globalizing knowledge society also brings into focus new themes in education and research: ICT, bio- and nano-technology; ethics and values; aging and migration; issues of cultural diversity, dialog and integration; climate change and sustainable development; and disarmament, reconciliation and peace building among others.

Globalization also creates major opportunities for broader understanding, exchange of knowledge, cooperation to advance teaching, research, and service to society at an ever faster pace.

Download the conference leaflet.

UNESCO Human Security Report

J. Peter Burgess, in collaboration with an international research team, has published UNESCO’s most recent report from its series on human security in a global setting: Promoting Human Security: Ethical, Normative and Educational Frameworks in Western Europe. The report seeks to identify the various domains of ordinary life in Western Europe are made vulnerable to threat in our time.

Fear, threat and insecurity, the fundamental categories of the human security complex are based on experience, perceptions, memory, emotions. They do not obey a logic of material well-being or physical threat. The scope of human insecurity in Western Europe must therefore include both the most materially determined insecurities and proceed to the most imaginary. It begins with the most basic economic issues: income, spending and wealth, inquiring into the vulnerabilities to which these expose us. It then turns to the insecurities provoked by the effects of immigration and cultural alienation. It focuses on the insecurities caused by imminent health threats, before turning to the visible and invisible threats to the environment. Finally, it addresses the challenges of liberty, both physical and political, the original domain of the state, supplanted by the European Union.

Download the entire book.

UNESCO Human Security Report

J. Peter Burgess, in collaboration with an international research team, has published UNESCO’s most recent report from its series on human security in a global setting: Promoting Human Security: Ethical, Normative and Educational Frameworks in Western Europe. The report seeks to identify the various domains of ordinary life in Western Europe are made vulnerable to threat in our time.

Fear, threat and insecurity, the fundamental categories of the human security complex are based on experience, perceptions, memory, emotions. They do not obey a logic of material well-being or physical threat. The scope of human insecurity in Western Europe must therefore include both the most materially determined insecurities and proceed to the most imaginary. It begins with the most basic economic issues: income, spending and wealth, inquiring into the vulnerabilities to which these expose us. It then turns to the insecurities provoked by the effects of immigration and cultural alienation. It focuses on the insecurities caused by imminent health threats, before turning to the visible and invisible threats to the environment. Finally, it addresses the challenges of liberty, both physical and political, the original domain of the state, supplanted by the European Union.

Download the entire book.

UNGIS: United Nations Group on the Information Society

UNGIS (United Nations Group on the Information Society) is the new inter-agency mechanism created in 2006 to coordinate substantive and policy issues facing the United Nations’ implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). UNGIS is to gather U.N. Executive Board members (UN agencies, programs and funds as well as other specialized agencies such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund or the World Trade Organization) and is designed to promote policy and program coordination and coherence as well as overall guidance to the UN system. The second UNGIS meeting took place in Paris, at UNESCO Headquarters on Tuesday, 17 July 2007. The Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, opened that meeting, along with Mr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and chairman of UNGIS.

UNGIS: United Nations Group on the Information Society

UNGIS (United Nations Group on the Information Society) is the new inter-agency mechanism created in 2006 to coordinate substantive and policy issues facing the United Nations’ implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). UNGIS is to gather U.N. Executive Board members (UN agencies, programs and funds as well as other specialized agencies such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund or the World Trade Organization) and is designed to promote policy and program coordination and coherence as well as overall guidance to the UN system. The second UNGIS meeting took place in Paris, at UNESCO Headquarters on Tuesday, 17 July 2007. The Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, opened that meeting, along with Mr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and chairman of UNGIS.

Finalists nominated for 2007 Engineering Award

The finalists for the Mondialogo Engineering Award 2007 have been decided. An international jury yesterday nominated 30 teams to proceed to the final of the worldwide engineering contest by DaimlerChrysler and UNESCO. At the beginning of December 2007, the nominated teams will be attending the Mondialogo Symposium in Mumbai/India, where the best of them will in turn be honoured with the Engineering Award. The ten winning teams can look forward to cash prizes each worth €20,000. Another twenty teams will receive an honorary award, each carrying €5,000 in prize money.

A total of 3,200 students of engineering sciences from 89 countries had registered for the second edition of the Engineering Award:.

Among the 30 are many teams that include a U.S. Partner:

Project Title: Development of a sustainable fluoride filter for use in the Bongo District of Ghana, Africa

Area of Engineering: Water supply and sanitation

• Partner Institutions: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
• The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York,USA

Project Title: Inexpensive multi-functional medical equipment design

Area of Engineering: Medicine and health care
Partner Institutions:

• HuaZhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
• Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
• University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Project Title: Sustainable Irrigation for Community Agriculture in rural South Africa

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• John-Hopkins University (Engineers Without Borders), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
• Zakhe Agricultural College (Agriculturalists Without Borders), KwaZulu-Nata, South Africa

Project Title: The Adu Achi Water Development

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Engineers without borders), Illinois, USA

Project Title: Improvement of Health Conditions in Rural India using Renewable Energy Sources

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Fachhochschule Bingen, Bingen, Germany
• Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India
• Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

Project Title: Exploitation and Valorization of Certain Forest Products in Cameroon

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• National Advanced School of Polytechnics, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Project Title: Exploitation and Valorization of Certain Forest Products in Cameroon

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• National Advanced School of Polytechnics, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Project Title: Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Produced From Olive Oil Mills

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
• Birzeit University, Deir Qaddis, Palestinian Territories

Project Title: Casa Ecologica Andina

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
• Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru

Project Title: Improving Diagnosis and Treatment of Tuberculosis and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Peru Using Medical Imaging Techniques

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• University of Rochester, New York, USA
• Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru

Project Title: Design and Manufacture of Dynamic Response Foot Prostheses for Landmine Victims in Impoverished Areas

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Project Title: Global Basic Needs in an Integrated Sustainable Approach

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
• University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Project Title: Sustainable Treatment of Wastewaters from Garages and Workshops Using Coconut Husk and Shell Wastes as Filter Materials

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• PNG University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea
• Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, USA

Congratulations to the finalists and good luck in the next round of the contest!

Finalists nominated for 2007 Engineering Award

The finalists for the Mondialogo Engineering Award 2007 have been decided. An international jury yesterday nominated 30 teams to proceed to the final of the worldwide engineering contest by DaimlerChrysler and UNESCO. At the beginning of December 2007, the nominated teams will be attending the Mondialogo Symposium in Mumbai/India, where the best of them will in turn be honoured with the Engineering Award. The ten winning teams can look forward to cash prizes each worth €20,000. Another twenty teams will receive an honorary award, each carrying €5,000 in prize money.

A total of 3,200 students of engineering sciences from 89 countries had registered for the second edition of the Engineering Award:.

Among the 30 are many teams that include a U.S. Partner:

Project Title: Development of a sustainable fluoride filter for use in the Bongo District of Ghana, Africa

Area of Engineering: Water supply and sanitation

• Partner Institutions: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
• The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York,USA

Project Title: Inexpensive multi-functional medical equipment design

Area of Engineering: Medicine and health care
Partner Institutions:

• HuaZhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
• Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
• University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Project Title: Sustainable Irrigation for Community Agriculture in rural South Africa

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• John-Hopkins University (Engineers Without Borders), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
• Zakhe Agricultural College (Agriculturalists Without Borders), KwaZulu-Nata, South Africa

Project Title: The Adu Achi Water Development

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Engineers without borders), Illinois, USA

Project Title: Improvement of Health Conditions in Rural India using Renewable Energy Sources

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Fachhochschule Bingen, Bingen, Germany
• Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India
• Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

Project Title: Exploitation and Valorization of Certain Forest Products in Cameroon

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• National Advanced School of Polytechnics, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Project Title: Exploitation and Valorization of Certain Forest Products in Cameroon

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• National Advanced School of Polytechnics, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Project Title: Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Produced From Olive Oil Mills

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
• Birzeit University, Deir Qaddis, Palestinian Territories

Project Title: Casa Ecologica Andina

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
• Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru

Project Title: Improving Diagnosis and Treatment of Tuberculosis and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Peru Using Medical Imaging Techniques

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• University of Rochester, New York, USA
• Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru

Project Title: Design and Manufacture of Dynamic Response Foot Prostheses for Landmine Victims in Impoverished Areas

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Project Title: Global Basic Needs in an Integrated Sustainable Approach

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
• University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Project Title: Sustainable Treatment of Wastewaters from Garages and Workshops Using Coconut Husk and Shell Wastes as Filter Materials

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• PNG University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea
• Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, USA

Congratulations to the finalists and good luck in the next round of the contest!

The Center for Peace

Guy P Djoken, Executive Director
The Center for Peace

The Center for Peace, promoting the ideals of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is a non-governmental organization in Frederick County, Maryland. Founded in 2004, it seeks to foster a new generation of Peacemakers who will strive to make the culture of Peace a component of everyday life. Its major partners include the Frederick County Public Schools, Hood College, the Frederick Community College and the City of Frederick.

Its vision statement:

“We envision the center becoming a cultural anchor for the region, celebrating community diversity, contributing on current issues and events, engaging policy makers, and working with all stake holders in furthering understanding and tolerance among people.”

The Center for Peace has partnered with the St James School to offer a unique Summer Camp in the Washington Metro Area. The annual International Model United Nations Summer Camp is a traditional overnight children’s summer camp for national and international Middle & High School (and College freshmen) students from around the world. This year they are gathering in Maryland from July 15th through August 4th, 2007 to meet and interact with like minded students from the other part of the globe. They are also making field trips to learn about UNESCO.

The Center for Peace

Guy P Djoken, Executive Director
The Center for Peace

The Center for Peace, promoting the ideals of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is a non-governmental organization in Frederick County, Maryland. Founded in 2004, it seeks to foster a new generation of Peacemakers who will strive to make the culture of Peace a component of everyday life. Its major partners include the Frederick County Public Schools, Hood College, the Frederick Community College and the City of Frederick.

Its vision statement:

“We envision the center becoming a cultural anchor for the region, celebrating community diversity, contributing on current issues and events, engaging policy makers, and working with all stake holders in furthering understanding and tolerance among people.”

The Center for Peace has partnered with the St James School to offer a unique Summer Camp in the Washington Metro Area. The annual International Model United Nations Summer Camp is a traditional overnight children’s summer camp for national and international Middle & High School (and College freshmen) students from around the world. This year they are gathering in Maryland from July 15th through August 4th, 2007 to meet and interact with like minded students from the other part of the globe. They are also making field trips to learn about UNESCO.

A tribute to Ingmar Bergman

UNESCO paid a tribute to Swedish movie director Ingmar Bergman this year by including the Ingmar Bergman Archives in its Memory of the World Register.

The Ingmar Bergman Archives originate from the donation to the Swedish Film Institute in 2002 by the director of his entire personal collection which covers some 65 years of activity.
The holdings reflect his entire career.

Ingmar Bergman directed and produced close to 60 movies including "The Seventh Seal" (1957), "Wild Strawberries" (1957), "Persona" (1966) and “Cries and Whispers” (1973). He was nominated for nine Oscars and three of his productions -"The Virgin Spring" (1960), "Through a Glass Darkly" (1961), and, "Fanny and Alexander" (1982), - won Oscars for best foreign film. He was awarded the “Palm of Palms” at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997.

Bergman died on 30 July 2007, at the age of 89, in his home on Faro Island, Sweden.

A tribute to Ingmar Bergman

UNESCO paid a tribute to Swedish movie director Ingmar Bergman this year by including the Ingmar Bergman Archives in its Memory of the World Register.

The Ingmar Bergman Archives originate from the donation to the Swedish Film Institute in 2002 by the director of his entire personal collection which covers some 65 years of activity.
The holdings reflect his entire career.

Ingmar Bergman directed and produced close to 60 movies including "The Seventh Seal" (1957), "Wild Strawberries" (1957), "Persona" (1966) and “Cries and Whispers” (1973). He was nominated for nine Oscars and three of his productions -"The Virgin Spring" (1960), "Through a Glass Darkly" (1961), and, "Fanny and Alexander" (1982), - won Oscars for best foreign film. He was awarded the “Palm of Palms” at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997.

Bergman died on 30 July 2007, at the age of 89, in his home on Faro Island, Sweden.