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New ADG for Education on the new Global Convention on Higher Education
The new Assistant Director-General for Education, Ms. Stefania Giannini, attended an information session on 22 May 2018 organized by the Section on the future Global Convention on Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications addressed mainly for UNESCO Permanent Delegations.
A former Minister of Education of Italy, Ms. Giannini assumed her position as ADG/ED on 2 May 2018. She spoke about the relevance of the Global Convention on Recognition, which will be a milestone, being the first Convention on Higher Education with a global scope in the United Nations system.
The session was opened by Mr. Svein Osttveit, Director of the Education Executive Office, followed by a presentation by the Higher Education Section on the background and next steps in the preparation of the future Convention, which will be submitted for adoption at the next UNESCO General Conference, in November 2019.
With a background in Higher Education, in her concluding remarks Ms. Giannini reflected on her personal experience as professor and rector at the , Italy. Aware of the complexity of negotiating and implementing the future Global Convention, she emphasized that the benefits of the Convention cannot be underestimated, highlighting that the future Global Convention will not merely be a mechanism for the recognition of foreign degrees. It will also provide greater opportunities for cross-regional academic mobility, giving people the opportunity to pursue challenging experiences abroad. It will also be a powerful tool for promoting cultural dialogue and peace building among nations in line with UNESCO鈥檚 values, and for sharing how 鈥淪tudent mobility can really change the world鈥, in her words.
Organized by Mr Peter Wells, Chief of Higher Education Section and his team, Mr. Andreas Snildal, Ms. Leticia Sakai and Ms. Elizabeth Lagernas, the information session was attended by over sixty representatives of Member States as well as UNESCO staff.
In light of the and current global trends in higher education, the preparation of a Global Convention aims to facilitate academic mobility, improve quality and enhance international cooperation in higher education. The preparation for the future Convention initiated in 2013, will continue during 2018-2019, biennium with consultations and intergovernmental meetings with Member States with a view to finalizing and submitting the text for adoption at the 40th General Conference in November 2019.
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