The Global University Network for Innovation

The Global University Network for Innovation - GUNI is composed of UNESCO Chairs in Higher Education, research centers, universities, networks and other institutions highly committed to innovation in higher education. More than 100 institutions from around the world are GUNI members.

GUNI was set up by UNESCO, the United Nations University (UNU) and the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) in 1999 with the aim of following up the decisions taken at the World Conference on Higher Education (WCHE) held in Paris in 1998.

The goal of GUNI is to contribute to the reinforcement of higher education by the application of the decisions of the World Conference on Higher Education.

Member States reach consensus after Ministerial Round Table

Following debates at the Ministerial Round Table on Education and Economic Development on 19-20 October, a communiqué has been issued based on recommendations by 96 Member States.

Related links

• Communiqué
• Ministerial Round Table
• Education for Sustainable Development
• Literacy
• Education for All (EFA)

Co-Sponsors of a Resolution to Support Literacy Conferences

Following the White House Conference on Literacy held in conjunction with the last United Nations Summit, UNESCO is embarking on a series of conferences in support of global literacy including in Qatar, China, Mali, India, Costa Rica
and Azerbaijan.

A resolution was introduced asking member states to support this series. It was jointly sponsored by:

* CUBA,
* MEXICO,
* SOUTH AFRICA,
* SPAIN and
* THE UNITED STATES

“International Forum of Civil Society – UNESCO’s Partners”

An International Forum of Civil Society was held by UNESCO on 25 October, during the 34th session of UNESCO’s General Conference (16 October to 3 November).

Since its inception, UNESCO has recognized that non-governmental organizations and foundations play an important role in international cooperation in the service of peoples.

For more than a half-century, UNESCO has enjoyed cooperative relations with a number of such organizations in its fields of competence, thereby enabling it to work with civil society in achieving its objectives and to disseminate through them its democratic and ethical ideals.

Currently, UNESCO is enjoying official relations with 305 international NGOs and 27 foundations and similar institutions which are working in the fields of competence of the Organization. In addition to this formal framework, the Organization has been carrying out a range of activities hand in hand with NGOs, not only at international and regional levels, but also at national level.

Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations on 10 December 1948. UNESCO contributed to its elaboration and adoption, in particular by presenting a report which confirmed that the human rights standards included in the draft of the Declaration had their foundation in all cultures and all civilizations.

The adoption of the Declaration is commemorated on 10 December every year, proclaimed by the United Nations as Human Rights Day. Important events and celebrations are organized worldwide on and around this Day. The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration will be an opportunity for a major mobilization, especially taking into account the commitments of the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals, as well as the 2005 World Summit, at which all Member States acknowledged the importance of human rights.

The 60th anniversary is an opportunity to assess the situation with regard to the rights within UNESCO’s competence (namely

• the right to education,
  
• the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart information,
• the right to take part in cultural life and
  
• the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications).
  

To highlight the advancements and analyse the shortcomings with a view to determining the action required in order to promote their implementation, two international conferences are to be organized respectively around the themes:

• The rights within UNESCO’s competence: achievements, obstacles, perspectives for the future;
• Human rights education: current situation and perspectives for the future.

The UNESCO Literacy Portal

In today’s world, one in five adults is still not literate (two-thirds of them women) while 72 million children are out-of-school

Since its foundation in 1946, UNESCO has been at the forefront of global literacy efforts and is dedicated to keep literacy high on national, regional and international agendas. However, with some 774 million adults lacking minimum literacy skills, literacy for all remains an elusive target.

UNESCO’s literacy programs aim to create a literate world and promote literacy for all.

Read about UNESCO's Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) 2006-2015.

United Nations Literacy Decade (2003 - 2012)

Reflections on the Future Role of UNESCO: Some Key Issues, Trends and Challenges

This document was prepared by the Director-General for the global consultation on the long-term future role of UNESCO. It takes into account observations made during an international consultative process and reflects UNESCO’s latest proposals on the United Nations reform. The key discussion, contained for some reason in an Appendix, begins with a summary of the key international trends which will affect the future of UNESCO and the United Nations system in general.

It confirms the need for continued attention to:

• reduction of global poverty
• promotion of peace and dialog among nations
  
• Promoting cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and multilingualism
• Injecting ethical principles into globalization
• Harnessing science for sustainable development and peace
• Contributing to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases
• Promoting gender equality
• Building knowledge societies

Recongnizing that the United Nations reform will have major implications for UNESCO, the report calls for continued efforts of UNESCO reengineer its processes and structure in order to improve efficiency and to concentrate its resource in those areas in which it has comparative advantage within in the UN system,

The report states that UNESCO has several clear advantages on which it can build its future strategic location and interventions:

• its role as undisputed global specialized agency for education, natural sciences, human sciences, culture and communication, providing an indispensable link between normativeand technical/operational functions;
• its designation and recognition as lead agency for complex, multi-stakeholder and longterm tasks (e.g. related to EFA through its Global Action Plan and the World Water Assessment Programme, the various decades for which UNESCO has been designated by the United Nations General Assembly as lead agency, and the promotion of freedom of expression and media and information development);
• its ability to develop evidence-based policies drawing on the statistical and analytical work of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and several flagship publications, such as the EFA Global Monitoring Report or the World Water Report;
• its role as leader, manager and guardian of global lists of sites, inscribed upon request of Member States, such as for World Heritage, Biosphere Reserves or Intangible Cultural Heritage.

As UNESCO becomes more involved in capacity development, it will have to explore new modalities of cooperation and knowledge sharing. It will have to broaden its partnerships, extending beyond the traditional partners of government agencies and working more with civil society.

The discussion concludes:

The question may not be so much “what future for UNESCO”, but “what UNESCO for the future”. Faced with a complex, rapidly changing world, and a fiercely competitive environment, UNESCO needs to develop its responsiveness, flexibility and adaptability, advocacy, ability to build multi-stakeholders coalitions, and ability to mobilize and implement resources – at the global, regional and country levels.

Click here to read the whole 24 page report (PDF format).