UN Chronicle Vol.L No.4 2013

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The magazine of the United Nations

UN Chronicle Volume L • Number 4 • 2013

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Under -Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal

Director of Publication Maher Nasser

Editor-in-Chief

Ramu Damodaran

Editor

Federigo Magherini

Art and Design

Lavinia Choerab

Editorial Assistants

Erika Reinhardt, Jennifer Payulert

Social Media Assistant Maria Laura Placencia

The UN Chronicle is published quarterly by the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of Public Information.

Please address all editorial correspondence: By e-mail unchronicle@un.org By phone 1 212 963-8262 By fax 1 917 367-6075 By mail UN Chronicle, United Nations, Room S-920 New York, NY 10017, USA Subscriptions: Online https://unp.un.org/Chronicle.aspx By e-mail publications@un.org By phone 1 800 253-9646 By fax 1 212 963-3489 By mail UN Publications, United Nations 300 East 42nd St. Room IN 918B New York, NY 10017, USA Reproduction: Articles contained in this issue may be reproduced for educational purposes in line with fair use.

Please send a copy of the reprint to the editorial correspondence ­address shown above. However, no part may be reproduced for commercial purposes without the expressed written consent of the Secretary, Publications Board, United Nations, Room S-949 New York, NY 10017, USA

IN THIS ISSUE On 18 November 2010, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon officially launched the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), a global initiative that aligns institutions of higher education with the United Nations in furthering the realization of the purposes and mandate of the Organization through activities and research in a shared culture of intellectual social responsibility. Today, as we celebrate UNAI’s third anniversary and its achievements, the UN Chronicle takes a closer look at education and its social impact. Highlighting those achievements are the activity reports submitted from among the more than 1000 UNAI members all over the world that are working to promote the UNAI principles through a series of activities, programmes and events.

Some of those activity reports have been reproduced in this issue.

© 2013 United Nations. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-92-1-101300-9 eISBN: 978-92-1-056428-1 Mailing Agent: Mercury Media Processing, 1634 E. Elizabeth Ave., Linden, NJ 07036 Periodicals postage is paid at Rahway, NJ and additional mailing offices Postmaster, please send address changes to: UN Chronicle, c/o Mercury Media Processing 1634 E. Elizabeth Avenue, Linden, NJ 07036

Visit the UN Chronicle: http://www.un.org/chronicle http://www.facebook.com/chronicleUN Subscribe to the UN Chronicle: https://unp.un.org/Chronicle.aspx Front Cover Design: Lavinia Choerab Back Cover: United Nations Academic Impact 20103-2014 Essay Contest, Many Languages One World

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO UNAI Interns Ace Victor Aceron and Adam Cox The UN Chronicle is not an official record. The views expressed by individual authors, as well as the boundaries and names shown and the designations used in maps or articles, do not necessarily imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

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UN Chronicle Volume L • Number 4 • December 2013

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Is it Still Necessary to Teach About the United Nations?

Anne-Marie Carlson

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The Journey of a Dental Surgeon into International Education Lavern Samuels

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The Contribution of the German Tertiary Education System Towards Furthering the UNAI Initiative Arnold Van Zyl

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International Mobility of Students in Brazil Carlos Eduardo Vergani

Teaching the UN through Experiential Education Rekha Datta Higher Learning Institutions and Global Citizen Education Vera Jelinek and Jacques Formerand What Type of Citizenship Education; What Type of Citizen?

Henry Maitles Making Academic Research Accessible Hans-Georg Van Liempd, Laura Howard and Hans De Wit Daring in Higher Education, a Crazy Idea?

Thandwa Z. Mthembu Colleges and Collegiality—An International Imperative Paul Smith Education as the Pathway Towards Gender Equality Azza Karam

Walter—A Story of Resilience and Hope Indrani Naidoo

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Is it still necessary to teach about the United Nations?

The Security Council discusses the situation in Syria, 25 October 2013.

By ANNE-MARIE CARLSON

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s it still necessary to teach about the United Nations?

Absolutely—now, perhaps more than ever. With a spiraling global population, the need to better inform and educate young people the world over about the United Nations represents an ongoing challenge that cannot go unheeded.

If the United Nations is to remain true to its Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it must continue to promote such education to this and succeeding generations of young people. From primary classrooms to university campuses, this challenge requires a similar commitment by the United Nations partners in civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Unless students come to know and appreciate the

ANNE-MARIE CARLSON is Chair, Committee on Teaching About the United Nations and Chair, NGO/DPI Executive Committee.

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mandate and the role of the United Nations to help their world become safer and more humane, far too many of mankind’s failures will simply be repeated. Unless students understand the nature and breadth and depth of the global issues that confront the United Nations and its Member States, the less likely their creativity and resourcefulness will be employed in solving such issues. Unless students discover how and where they can one day apply their readiness and enthusiasm to work within the United Nations System and/or support its endeavours through its related NGOs , the poorer the world body will be. And unless students learn to recognize false claims and unfair criticism about the United Nations, the harder the road to overcome such issues as human rights abuses, poverty, literacy, climate change and terrorism.

While there have been substantial achievements in creating the materials and learning environments necessary, especially in the developed countries and in English, much

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new sovereign States. Such history provides valuable insights and basic understanding of the hardships that many of these nations have had to overcome on the road to self-governing.

2. Closely related is the need to learn about the huge disparity between the haves and the have-nots.

Without this broader perspective, younger generations are less likely to assist in the development of new and better ways to reduce the ravages of poverty, hunger, malnutrition, disease, tainted water, soil erosion and other conditions that the have-nots endure.

3. L ea r n i ng how t he World Food Programme, the World He a lt h Orga n i z at ion, t he United Nations Development Programme and the Food and A g r ic u lt u re O r ga n i z at ion, among others, currently improve the lives of both the haves and the have-nots is a critical part of this education process.

© UN photo/ryan brown

more can clearly be done in many of the less developed countries and in the five other official UN languages.

Starting with the K-12 curriculum and moving on to higher education, there is an ever present need to update and improve the existing curriculum and, at the same time, encourage the development of new, technologically enhanced units and lessons. More specifically, there are at least a minimum of six imperatives: 1. With respect to the plight of less developed and developing nations, it’s important that students learn how the United Nations, from its founding, has played a major role in decolonization and the emergence of some 80

4. On a broader scale, young people have a fundamental need to learn the essential objectives of each of the eight Millennium Development Goals adopted by the General Assembly in 2000, as well as what has been and what is not likely to be achieved by the 2015 deadline.

5. Discovering what happens to these and other UN programmes when Member States withhold or delay the payment of dues, when financial pledges are only partially met, when compassion fatigue prevails in wealthier Member States and when many parts of the world experience a decline in their middle class will hopefully spur efforts by today’s and tomorrow’s youth to mitigate or reverse these obstacles.

6. The need to grasp and understand the scope of the United Nations UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT Adelphi University— United States

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

This year, Adelphi University (AU) conducted a number of remarkable activities in support of the United Nations Academic Impact Initiative and its mission to promote the UN Millennium Development Goals. These activities included: * The AU Annual Conference on Peace & Human Rights—March 2013 In association with UNAI and the Department of Public Information, Adelphi University organizes an annual conference on themes relating to peace and human rights. On the first day, AU hosted a panel discussion focusing on “Sustainable Peace and the Western Sahara.” On the second day, a delegation of AU students visited UN headquarters and attended a number of UN briefings. * UN DPI NGO Briefings—Monthly 2012-2013 AU makes regular arrangements for its students and faculty members to attend educational briefings on international affairs at UN headquarters, sponsored by the DPI. * AU Winter Program on Sustainable Development—January 2013 In partnership with the UN University for Peace in Costa Rica, Adelphi University’s Levermore Global Scholars Program offered an intensive international course on sustainable development over winter intersession.

Outstanding student research will be presented at the University’s spring Research Conference.

In addition to these specific initiatives, Adelphi University partners with the United Nations throughout the year, hosting UN Ambassadorial Lectures on its campus and sending delegations of students and faculty to attend UN-affiliated conferences in New York City. Most notably, these delegations attended the September 2012 Social Good Summit and February 2013 UN Association MidAtlantic Conference.

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impact on the daily lives of people from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe is substantial, but equally important is the need to carefully examine the nature and responsibilities of its principal organs: ºº The Security Council Students may be most familiar with the Security Council, given its primary responsibility for global peace and security and its frequent appearance in newspaper headlines and radio and television newscasts. However, in the absence of study, how can youth properly comprehend and evaluate the political dimensions of the Council’s deliberations and those occasions when its decisions or failure to act generate heated debate in the media and civil society? This is especially critical when the use of the veto or threat of veto delays or suspends the preferred outcome of the majority. Probing the merits of the veto or the expansion of permanent Council membership through classroom debate can be invaluable. ºº The General Assembly As a forum for its 193 Member States, the General Assembly is still another dimension of the United Nations that requires the ongoing attention of students.

Shouldn’t the Assembly’s functions, main committees and recent actions be grist for the classroom mill both now and in the future? Shouldn’t young people learn why each Member State, including their own, is restricted to a single vote regardless of its size? ºº The Secretariat Although young people may be quick to name Ban Ki-moon as the current Secretary-General and may recall such predecessors as Kofi Annan or Dag Hammarskjöld, how much deeper does their knowledge reach in terms of the Secretariat? Without curriculum to highlight the functions and tasks assigned to that office, what is it likely to mean to youth? And what significance do they attach to his statements or declarations when he uses his position as a bully pulpit? ºº The Economic and Social Council Among the less familiar organs, the significant role of the Economic and Social Council in dealing with international economic and social issues escapes many young people, let alone adults. Understanding its purposes and support to Member States in such fields as trade, economic development and transport should certainly remain a requirement in current and future classrooms. ºº The International Court of Justice Future diplomats and civil servants now in school can surely benefit from basic exposure to the types of cases 6

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The United Nations Academic Impact, a global initiative that aligns institutions of higher education with the United Nations, is yet another major contribution to basic educational principles.

that appear before the International Court of Justice and the rulings it has handed down. Even those who may not share such career ambitions need some awareness of why and how Member States may turn to the World Court to adjudicate disputes between them. ºº The Trusteeship Council Although its primary task has been basically fulfilled, the history of the Trusteeship Council and its postWorld War II oversight and development of nearly a dozen territories in Africa and the Pacific Ocean offers students important lessons in the achievement of self-government. Depriving students of these and similar lessons related to the United Nations would be unfortunate.

Keeping up with all that transpires within the United Nations will surely become more challenging in the years ahead. Since many events, decisions and activities of the world body will in some way affect the daily lives of us all, who can argue responsibly against the need to teach young people about the United Nations now and in the future?

And for those whose hopes and dreams will take them into new and exciting realms of our global village, this early acquaintance with the United Nations must be available.

Like all human institutions, the United Nations sometimes stumbles from its imperfections and education efforts should, therefore, not only highlight its successes but also acknowledge the limitations and weaknesses that affect its performance. Without such candor, students will be handicapped when forming their personal perspectives of the world body.

While the overwhelming majority of students may lack the interest or skills to pursue careers in such fields as government, international affairs or the UN System, they will migrate into business, service industries, technology, agriculture and other essential vocations. How they perceive the United Nations and global issues should never be dismissed lightly since their

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United Nations

views will most likely influence the way their local, regional and national leaders address societal challenges.

Well-rounded perspectives of the United Nations are even more critical for those who will be filling positions both in and out of government as tomorrow’s leaders. Their influence will impact the highest levels of civil society, and that influence will ultimately shape the effectiveness of the United Nations both directly and indirectly. With a solid foundation in the history, functions and capabilities of the United Nations, they will be better equipped to discover ways to achieve positive and practical goals that have eluded the world body in the past.

The question then is not whether it’s still necessary to teach about the United Nations, but how such teaching can be improved and expanded to those parts of the world where it is not being done or done poorly or in a negative light.

Major credit is certainly due to such United Nations programmes as Cyberschoolbus as well as the rich library of UN resources available through the Internet and other social media such as Facebook and YouTube. Websites of many of the individual agencies and programmes of the UN System provide uniquely valuable material for education and civil society.

The United Nations Academic Impact, a global initiative that aligns institutions of higher education with the United Nations, is yet another major contribution to basic educational principles. Launched just three years ago, participating institutions have committed to use education as an engine to address global issues such as human rights, literacy, sustainable development and conflict resolution.

A leader in curriculum for educators is the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), a branch of the United Nations Foundation. Best known

for its materials on Model UN, since 2000 it has also offered a Global Classroom Curriculum for teachers.

In describing its materials, the UNAUSA website explains that each unit focuses on specific issues that have been in the forefront of important debates in global affairs. At the heart of the curriculum are units dealing with the economies of globalization, peacekeeping, sustainable development and human rights.

The organization I chair, the Committee on Teaching About the United Nations (CTAUN)1, presents annual conferences at UN Headquar ters. These toget her with a number of other conferences in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas and Indianapolis have all featured in-depth examination of a contemporary or emerging global issue or related issues. Designed for educators, administrators, community leaders and other interested citizens, CTAUN symposiums offer the insights of UN System specialists and others from academia and civil society.

These meetings not only feature Info Fairs coordinated with conference themes, they also encourage the submission of new and creative classroom instruction or student activities based on the previous year’s conference as entries for Best Practices awards. For conference reports and other relevant details see www.teachun.org.

Coupled with the ongoing, universal need to teach about the United Nations and the existing and emerging issues that engage the world body is the imperative to keep abreast of ever-changing developments. From new technologies to new resources to new and daunting challenges there is much for us to learn as well. unc

Notes 1

A committee composed of representatives from non-governmental organizations and civil society.

UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT Higher Education Institute of Brasilia—Brazil

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

This past year, the Higher Education Institute of Brasilia has initiated a number of activities contributing to the fulfilment of the principles of the UNAI. These activities included: * Human Rights Observatory The Depar tment of Law held monthly meetings focusing on human rights issues and potential solutions. Well-known personalities, diverse educational and local communities as well as Supreme Court Justice Ministers attended these meetings. * IESB em Ação IESB em Ação was implemented to combat bullying. In select public schools, IESB psychology students worked under the supervision of professors to monitor cases of bullying and provide support to the victims. In addition, educational workshops and plays were held to raise awareness about bullying.

Finally, IESB em Ação has also created a Digital Inclusion Programme to address computer illiteracy in public schools. * Events promoting sustainability through education In support of principle 9, IESB sponsored a lecture on sustainable economic growth and the impact of globalization on the environment and social mobility. Additionally, IESB staged a debate on the topic, “Brazilian Economic Development: Economic Challenges and Perspectives for the Small, Medium and Large Companies in Brazil.” * The Fenix Project In partnership with the Justice Court of the Federal District and other institutions, IESB launched the Fenix Project, aimed at the social promotion of poor communities who work colleting recyclable rubbish. To date, 500 families have been helped by the programme, which IESB considers to be one of its most successful projects.

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TEACHING THE UN THROUGH EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon takes audience snapshot at Model UN opening.

“As educators…you can help students grow into…a global civic identity and understand how their decisions have an impact ranging well beyond their immediate vicinity. The United Nations is uniquely placed to work with you in instilling a sense of global citizenship in today’s youth.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 30 January 20091

REKHA DATTA is Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science and Sociology and Former Founding Director, Institute for Global Understanding, Monmouth University, United States.

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© UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

By Rekha Datta

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he news that Syria had met its 1 November, 2013 deadline to destroy its chemical mixing and production facilities for weapons, albeit with some remaining challenges about disarmament on a larger scale, demonstrated the triumph, as well as the continued need, to seek diplomatic solutions to resolve and avert conflicts on the global stage.

More than 60 years ago, when the United Nations was created to prevent the scourge of another world war, the goal was that it would serve as the premier partnership of nation states that would provide collective security and offer conflict resolution through diplomatic means. Since the days of the cold war and continuing into the twenty-first century, the role of the United Nations in preventing conflicts has been a subject of study, analysis and debate in the practical world of international politics as well as in academic circles.

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ACTIVITY REPORT Bunkyo University – Tokyo, Japan

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

In 2012-2013, Bunkyo University conducted a number of activities in furtherance of the UNAI principles. In particular, the University focused on educational opportunity for all, global citizenship through education and inter-cultural dialogue and understanding. * Rio + 20 – June 2012 Represent atives of Bunk yo University were scheduled to attend numerous events related to the United Nations Academic Impact at the Rio + 20 conference. * Special Lecture Series – Summer and Autumn 2012 The Faculty of International Studies organised and sponsored a special lecture series on the mission of the United Nations. Representatives from different UN organizations presented lectures on global issues.

Over the course of this series, more than 800 students and faculty members attended these lectures.

Regardless of how educators view the role of the United Nations, for decades educators at the secondary and post-secondary levels across the world have underscored the importance of teaching and learning about the organization. Starting with 51 nations in 1945, and with South Sudan’s newest membership in 2011, a total of 193 countries are now United Nations members. As the United Nations membership grew and the organization adapted to changing global dynamics, it spread its functions to cover areas of peace and security, human rights, humanitarian assistance, social and

economic development, and much more. Interest in its history, structure and functions also grew among educators and students. The genesis of its formation, structure and functions of the different organs of the United Nations bureaucracy, and relevance of the organization as a whole, remain fundamental aspects of study in political science courses, international relations and related disciplines. Traditionally, students learned about the history and analysis of the United Nations and its inner workings from books and articles, including UN UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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* Model United Nations Workshop – August 2012 A student delegation from Bunkyo University participated in the Model United Nations Workshop in New York. * Seminar at UN Headquarters – February 2013 A variety of student study activities and seminars took place at UN Headquarters.

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publications. For students in the New York City vicinity, a day trip to UN Headquarters offers a firsthand introduction to the General Assembly building and the main chambers, along with the Security Council, Economic and Social Council, and Trusteeship Council. With the advent of technology, virtual tours provide an insight into the workings of the United Nations.2 While traditional courses of study and Internet based information continue to serve as useful instruments for analyzing and learning about the UN System, they offer only partial fulfillment to the yearning fascination and excitement that can capture the imagination of the students eager to learn about how global policymaking works through a diverse tapestry of participants representing the different cultures and nation states around the world. How can students find opportunities to engage with the policymaking process within the UN System?

This question is rooted in a deeper need that educators have been seeking answers to for some time now. Academic disciplines are seeking ways to make their teaching and learning relevant to the real world in which students will graduate, seek employment, and build careers and personal lives. Increasingly, high school and especially colleges and universities are incorporating experiential learning, which gives students hands-on experience in applying theoretical knowledge in actual work settings and organizations. It is done through internships, which offer students the opportunity to spend time assisting in the work of the organization and learning through apprenticeship. The literature on the pedagogical benefits of experiential learning underscores its manifold benefits. Even though the most direct benefit that students and others see are enhancement of chances of employment, the impact is deeper. “The strongest case to be made for internships is that they significantly enhance students’ capacity to analyze and understand political phenomena.”3 Studies suggest that students who participate in experiential learning are more likely to stay engaged, and help the retention numbers at universities.4 Many programmes create internships to offer their students such experiential opportunities. At the United Nations there are opportunities for internships that students can apply for. They are wonderful opportunities but understandably competitive, and are primarily for graduate and postgraduate students.5 Logistically, they may not be a feasible option for many students.

A long-standing and unique instrument that provides experiential learning opportunity for students, and addresses this kind of multifaceted and deeper impact, is the Model UN experience. Even before the creation of the United Nations, in the 1920s a group of students from Ivy League schools introduced the model league, which later morphed into the Model UN.6 Students engage in role-playing, serving as delegates of Member States of the United Nations and 10

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Academic disciplines are seeking ways to make their teaching and learning relevant to the real world in which students will graduate, seek employment, and build careers and personal lives. Increasingly, high school and especially colleges and universities are incorporating experiential learning, which gives students hands-on experience in applying theoretical knowledge in actual work settings and organizations.

agencies, and tackle actual problems that the global community faces. Often, this involves crises scenarios involving an outbreak of violent conflict, or a global pandemic, which participants are expected to resolve within a limited timeframe, working through myriads of challenges. As student expectations for opportunities for experiential learning offering hands-on experiences in diplomatic negotiations increased, along with the realization of the benefits of skills associated with writing position papers, negotiations and conflict resolution, Model UN conferences surged and spread to all 50 states in the United States, as well as across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. According to one account, as of 1992, “Over 100,000 high school and college students participate in the more than 150 Model UN conferences held annually in the United States and Canada.”7 The National Model UN conference in New York attracts more than 5,000 students from across the world annually.

Even though the structure and delivery of a Model UN programme can vary, at its core it offers an opportunity for students to ‘experience’ the actual workings of the United Nations, the various roles that the different organs play, and the vicissitudes of global policymaking with a multitude of actors, priorities, and values. Depending on class size, simulation groups can be small, for example, to replicate the Security Council. Larger groups can represent the entire membership body and play the role of the General Assembly.

Students take on the roles of diplomats representing countries and their national priorities and interests, as well as

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issues that are centre stage on the global agenda. For instructors, it means offering students a thorough background in the structure and functions of the United Nations, as well as about major global issues, and clear instructions about the simulation process and its goals. Typically, students run mock conferences on their campus and also participate with other institutions in small or large conferences. In addition to study materials covering these aspects, publications and delegate handbooks from organizations such as the United Nations Association of the United States of America provide useful resources to prepare students for the simulation and role-play.

A fundamental aspect of the Model UN experience is the immersion in oral and written communication skills. During the conference, students are engaged in small and large group negotiations, they exchange research and ideas, come up with solutions, and write position papers and arguments. To get their resolutions passed, participants have to engage in caucusing, passionately representing and defending their country’s positions, and effectively communicating their positions. The skills needed and developed in the course of such exercise over the course of the conference last a lifetime. High school students reckon that working with Model UN helped them develop and present coherent policy ideas with confidence.

For them, it is a unique experience that few other high school organizations could have provided. It also allowed for the development of their interpersonal skills and helped them connect with motivated students from other schools. The friendships that they developed during the Model UN conference and meetings resulted in friendships and support sources that continue to benefit them in their college years and beyond. 8 As such, an experiential education opportunity like Model UN offers long-term values

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in the preparation of students in their later professional lives.

Which students does Model UN benefit? Contrary to popular notions, Model UN simulations benefit students from various disciplines. It is true that students studying political science and international relations are naturally drawn to the experiential aspects of Model UN experience. A student interested in learning about power politics gets valuable training in working within the realities of power imbalance. They learn the art of persuasion and compromise and their role in conflict resolution. However, awareness is also increasing that Model UN is not just for such students. Beyond peace and security, issues such as the global health crises, environmental and sustainability issues, and development priorities are relevant for students of health studies, environment, and other related disciplines. Testimonials from business students who participate in Model UN conferences underscore the impact of such experiential learning. Some confirm that despite doubts about its impact, Model UN experience helps a student of business in multiple ways. It improves their research, written and oral communication, negotiation, persuasion and problem-solving skills. Interacting with and persuading others to come to a resolution on conflicting issues requires leadership qualities and team building skills that are helpful in any business or other career setting.

Teaching about the UN through the Model UN experiential template is not without its limitations, though.

Instructors and students have to make a commitment to the success of the experience. Preparation can be time consuming; instructions have to be very clear so that students understand their roles as well as what the expected outcomes will be, on which they will be assessed. It is a team effort and, as such, the assessment has to take consideration of that aspect: “Instructors UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT Chemnitz University of Technology—Germany

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

During the 2012-2013 academic year, the Chemnitz University of Technology (CUT) undertook various activities in support of the UN Academic Impact initiative. The University’s efforts focused primarily on highlighting the depth of its commitment to sustainability through education and included: * DAAD-Fellows Meeting—March 2013 CUT collaborated with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in hosting the DAAD -Fellows Meeting that brought together 900 DAAD Scholars and members of the Brazilian programme “Science without Borders” hailing from over 90 countries. This event significantly increased global awareness of the University and of the various issues that were discussed at the meeting. * AC 21 International Graduate Summer School—May & June 2012 As one of the leading members of the international university network Consortium 21 (AC 21), the Chemnitz University of Technology supported —and sent a number of student delegates — to the Consortium’s International Graduate Summer School in Bangkok. The event dealt with the topic “Green Mobility and Technologies for a Sustainable Future.” * AC 21 Student World Forum — October 2013 Additionally, CUT sent student delegates to the Fifth AC 21 Student World Forum. The 2013 edition was hosted by Tongji University in Shanghai and focused on the topic of “Sustainable Mobility and the City of the Future.”

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Through the UNAI and other opportunities provided by the various UN agencies, students from around the world get opportunities to participate in conferences, engage with their peers from around the world, exchange ideas with global leaders, make their voices heard, and provide leadership toward positive change.

Initiatives such as the UNAI have been engaging students to bringing positive change in their communities through diverse academic projects. They range from building solar powered gadgets to bringing power in rural areas in the developing world, to mentoring underrepresented students to explore opportunities for higher education in New Jersey.11 Such programmes are opening up new horizons of experiential learning and teaching about the United Nations. Following Gandhi, one acknowledges that quintessentially they are offering opportunities for students to take charge of their learning, to become agents of the change they want to see in the world, and become tomorrow’s leaders who will be skilled at resolving conf licts non-violently through dialogue and diplomacy. unc

must resist the temptation to simply reward those who speak most at the podium.” 9 Institutional funding is a prerequisite to successful participation in Model UN conferences nationally and internationally. The possibilities for virtual simulations, as well as on-campus ones provide viable alternatives.

In addition to Model UN, there are other avenues and opportunities to engage students with the work of the United Nations, and thereby offer them opportunities to become active global citizens. In teaching about the United Nations, there is need to offer students an insight into the wide-ranging span of UN presence and activities around the world. These include not only peacekeeping and peace building, but also promoting awareness, understanding, and activism surrounding development, education, gender empowerment, human development and security, sustainable living, and other goals and targets envisioned in the Millennium Development Goals. Through the offices of the United Nations Department of Public Information and affiliated programmes, such as the UN Academic Impact (UNAI), educational institutions have a unique opportunity to engage students in making a difference through projects promoting values of human rights, education, sustainable living and conf lict resolution.10 Through the UNAI and other opportunities provided by the various UN agencies, students from around the world get opportunities to participate in conferences, engage with their peers from around the world, exchange ideas with global leaders, make their voices heard, and provide leadership toward positive change.

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Notes

http://www.ctaun.org/ accessed 26 October 2013.

The main UN website provides basic information on the United Nations, its structure and functions: http://www.un.org/en/. Other valuable sources of such information and virtual tours are provided

by Cyberschoolbus: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/untour/.

3 Andrew Hindmoor, “Internships with Political Science,” Australian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 45, No. 3, 10 September 2010, pp.

484-85.

4 Ibid.

5 More information is available at: http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/ sds/internsh/.

6 Phillips, Mary Jones and John P. Muldoon Jr. “The Model United Nations: A strategy for enhancing global business education.”

Journal Of Education For Business 71, no. 3: 142. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (1996) (accessed 31 October 2013).

7 Muldoon, cited in Phillips and Muldoon (1996) Ibid (html version).

8 Model UN is offered at high schools and colleges across the world.

Until recently, Monmouth University in New Jersey has been offering a Model United Nations Conference for high school students. In 2007, the university began offering opportunities for its students, through the Global Service Project Club, as well as a course on Model UN, to prepare for and participate in collegiate level Model UN Conferences. Within a short period of time, the Model UN team has generated much excitement on campus, and provided unique learning opportunities for students. I thank Aziz Mama, Liz Anderson, and Professors Joseph Patten and Thomas Lamatsch for sharing information about the Model UN programme at Monmouth University.

9 Daniel McIntosh, “The Uses and Limits of the Model United Nations in an International Relations Classroom,” International Relations Perspectives (2001), 2, p. 275.

10 http://academicimpact.org/.

11 As part of a UNAI initiative, Monmouth University, in partnership with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monmouth and Middlesex counties in New Jersey, and Asbury Park High School, engage students to jointly work toward exploring higher education opportunities for the high school students. This initiative has also led to the creation of a debate team at the high school where Monmouth University students, through peer learning, work with high school debaters in a mutual partnership to share academic and communication skills for success in future studies and careers.

rekha datta  teaching the un through experiential education

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United Nations

Higher Learning Institutions and

GLOBAL CITIZEN EDUCATION

By VERA JELINEK and JACQUES FORMERAND

A

lthough the term global citizen dates back to ancient times, it is only in recent decades that it has gained extensive usage in academic circles. It is an objective of many mission statements and has also gained credence as a personal way of life, as an awareness of oneself not as an isolated individual but as one inextricably linked to others. Lest such common usage of the phrase become a cliché, I think it behooves us at the outset to define, albeit in broad strokes, what we mean by global citizens. Is it a shared sense of a world identity, even though human beings have not yet evolved into a world community? Is it a commitment to some common universal values? Or is it a way of approaching, embracing and attempting to resolve global challenges from a perspective that is much broader and more inclusive than the one that until recently placed sovereign states at the centre of global discourse. In terms of institutions of higher learning and what they offer, we will concentrate on the latter definition which we have implemented in our own university.

Were we to examine international affairs curricula in institutions of higher learning some 30 or so years ago, we would find an overemphasis on sovereign states as the arbiters of much that happened in the world.

Even the name international relations implied discourse among sovereign

states at the expense of other parties whose omission was not accidental.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations were minor players, if players at all, and had little or no voice internationally. That changed with the United Nations world conferences, with NGOs accreditation and representation in multilateral organizations and with private sector participation in policymaking. Area studies were fashionable whereas today, while not ignored, they play a much less significant role, primarily because there is a growing realization that regions are not isolated entities. Energy and environment rarely appeared in curricula, while today they are inextricably linked to and influence development, politics and security, not to mention the fate of the globe. International law was a rather rarefied sector whose applications were somewhat restricted to treaty enforcement and interpretation but did not extend as widely as it does today to the private sector, civil society and human rights organizations.

The world of 2013 is significantly different from and, for that matter, far more complex than that which emerged from the ravages of the Second World War. Variously described as “internationalized”, “globalized”, “liberalized”, depending on one’s vantage point, the spread of markets and the globalization of

ACTIVITY REPORT

University of Calcutta — India

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

In 2012-2013, th e Univer sit y of Calcutta’s Institute of Foreign Policy Studies (IFPS) actively supported the 10 UNAI principles, focusing primarily on peace and conflict resolution through education as well as intercultural dialogue and understanding. The University’s activities included the following initiatives: * FPS Conferences The IFPS organized a number of conferences related to the key themes enshrined in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These conferences keyed in on the area of peace studies and conflict resolution. * IFPS Publications To further the university’s pursuit of academic explanations to major developmental and conflict-related challenges, IFPS scholars produced a variety of publications including:

ùù Searching for Non-western Roots of Conflict Resolution: Discourses ùù Norms and Case Studies ùù Issues and Perspectives in the Securitization Process: Perceptions from India and Europe ùù Globalization and Development: Current Trends * IFPS Learning Capsules and Course Material To facilitate intercultural dialogue and understanding, the IFPS prepared special learning capsules and courses for students coming from external universities. Intercultural dialogue through student exchange was intended to facilitate the efforts early stage researchers working on MDGs themes.

VERA JELINEK is Divisional Dean, Center of Global Affairs at New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies. JACQUES FORMERAND is Former Director, United Nations University Office on North America, Faculty in the Master’s of Global Affairs Center for Global Affairs at New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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production, the expanding cross border flows of money, finance trade and peoples combined with the transformational impact of knowledge and innovations in communications and data processing have profoundly altered our hitherto familiar political, economic, social and cultural landscape. At the same time, global governance regulatory regimes have incrementally been put in place, covering virtually all human activities.

A host of public and private, domestic and international sub-state and supra-state actors have thus appeared on the political stage of this still emerging hybrid system of

“

The world, as we know it today, is not by any means a “non-state world”. Instead, it is an intricate blend of old and new, of insularity and openness, of continuity, change and contradictions.

Unisphere located in Flushing-Corona Park, New York.

© wikimedia commons/flapane

“post sovereign” governance. In their midst and between them, NGOs , associations, victims groups; coalitions and transnational advocacy networks concerned about women’s rights, children’s rights, environmental rights; communitybased groups representing indigenous peoples or minorities; faith-based groups such as churches and religious groups; trade unions and professional associations; social movements (peace movements, student movements, prodemocracy movements); and professionals contributing directly to the enjoyment of human rights (humanitarian 14

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workers, lawyers, doctors and medical workers) vie for political attention and influence. Non-territorial global communities based on class, gender, ethnicity, religion and intercultural contacts, among other things, have superimposed themselves upon national communities. It is believed that over 200 million people live in countries other than their country of origin. By the end of 2012, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there were over 15 million refugees worldwide and twice as many internally displaced persons.

VERA JELINEK and JACQUES FORMERAND  Higher Learning Institutions and Global Citizen Education

11/21/13 3:39 PM

United Nations

Transboundary issues and challenges such as climate change, deforestation, rising sea levels, shrinking water resources and desertification, together with the interdependencies and interconnections that they create, have acquired new salience on the international political agenda. This nascent but widening understanding and perception of the world as a single space has also triggered a growing awareness of the need to broaden traditional security paradigms centred on the state, its boundaries, people and institutions. A more encompassing

“

Globally, the number of students enrolled in higher education institutions is expected to double, reaching 262 million in 2025. The bulk of this expansion will take place in the South with India and China accounting for half of it.

Universities are also being transformed by dramatic increases in the number of international students. There are now over 4 million students traveling abroad to study.

and compelling notion of people-centred human security, which addresses the protection and well-being of individuals and safeguards nations, is beginning to develop.

The world, as we know it today, is not by any means a “non-state world”.

Instead, it is an intricate blend of old and new, of insularity and openness, of continuity, change and contradictions. Likewise, our international governance institutions are an odd mix of multilevel old structures and increasingly fragmented and decentralized new arrangements involving bilateral, regional and global processes. Individuals may live in particular localities, but they are increasingly aware of and assimilated into larger networks of globality and collective forms of local, national and global forms of identity and solidarity. A vivid illustration of these unfinished transformations can be found in the Maastricht Treaty which introduced the concept of citizenship of the European Union (EU) but does not replace national citizenship. Thus, a citizen of the EU is guaranteed a general right of non-discrimination, a limited right of free movement and residence in EU member states and a number of political rights. At the same time, access to citizenship rights and privileges for non members as well as members has fueled political debate within many EU countries.

Higher education remains a nationally driven phenomenon but its institutions have not been immune to this “transnational interconnectivity”. “Massification” is the buzzword.

Demographic trends have altered and continue to alter the structure, composition, gender and social background of the world student population. Globally, the number of students enrolled in higher education institutions is expected to double, reaching 262 million in 2025. The bulk of this expansion will take place in the South with India and China accounting for UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT University of Western Sydney Australia

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

In 2012-2013 the University of Western Sydney (UWS) initiated a variety of activities supporting the tenets of the UNAI. UWS emphasised the promotion of sustainability through education. Key activities included: * Education for Sustainability Projects The UNU Regional Centre of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development -Greater Western Sydney (RCE-GWS) has implemented a range of collaborative projects that address key regional sustainability issues.

Additionally, the externally funded CER & RCE-GWS action research project, “Our Place, Greater Western Sydney,” was completed. Focusing on building capacity for community sustainability educators, the model it developed will be replicated across the state by the New South Wales government, serving as a new framework for community partnerships. * Raising Awareness of Climate Change UWS organized an International Recognition Day for design students, where two short student films were selected from over 500 submissions focusing on raising awareness of climate change. This exemplifies Rabbit Hole’s (UWS’ award-winning design studio programme) commitment to social consciousness and sustainability. * International Study on Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education UWS delivered an International Study on Turnaround Leadership for sustainability in higher education that was funded by the Australian Government.

The study solicited input from 500 leaders in sustainability from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States.

In addition to these projects, UWS established a Sustainability Task Force led by the Deputy Chancellor, endorsed a UWS Sustainability Strategy and studied options for continuing to embed sustainability in the university’s curriculum.

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“

Against this kaleidoscopic background, what can be reasonably expected from institutions of higher learning?

Universities must impart knowledge, competencies and skills which will enable their graduates to function effectively in our rapidly changing society and world. half of it. Universities are also being transformed by dramatic increases in the number of international students.

There are now over 4 million students traveling abroad to study. Forecasters predict that this figure will climb to 8 million by 2025, many students being lured by Western institutions offering business related programmes. Student mobility has been accompanied by a proliferation of branch campuses which, some predict, could reverse the hitherto typical East to West movement of students as traditional source countries in the Middle East and Asia have started to develop their own higher education capacity. Rising costs, financial constraints and the hold of the currently prevailing neo-liberal “conventional wisdom” have led to a “dramatic rise of private higher education worldwide and to the privatization of public university”.

The Internet and information technology are also revolutionizing teaching methods and making higher education more readily accessible as evidenced by the rapid rise in Massive Open Online Courses. In fact, in a global system driven by knowledge and information, the universities are not only perceived as a springboard for individual success, they are also expected to contribute to and operate as drivers of global economic growth.

Against this kaleidoscopic background, what can be reasonably expected from institutions of higher learning? Universities must impart knowledge, competencies and skills which will enable their graduates to function effectively in our rapidly changing society and world. This means sensitizing and sharpening the capacity of students to comprehend the world in the full complexity of its interconnectedness, fostering greater familiarity with critical trans-sovereign issues and empowering them to make strategic career and professional decisions in global terms. Training capable professionals and preparing individuals to think in global terms also require a cultivation of humanity, that is to say encouraging modalities 16

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of thinking that promote innovation and curiosity, dialogue and debate, critical discourse and cultural tolerance, a sharp focus on ethical matters and a sense of personal and social responsibility as well as public engagement.

Through rigorous scholarship—fundamental or applied— universities are in a unique position to contribute to the search for more effective management and a resolution of such trans-border problems as cybersecurity and terrorism, climate change, and cross border migration, to cite only a few. Institutions of higher learning have a key role in identifying ways and means to achieve, in the words of the latest issue of the UN Human Development Report, “coherent pluralism” and “responsible sovereignty”.

In essence, this is what we have tried to achieve in our institution for the past 30 years. The fundamental mission that we have assigned to our global affairs programme is to prepare global citizens capable of identifying and implementing solutions to pressing global challenges that confront and involve not only governments but also non-state actors. We seek to combine rigorous academic training with practical applications in cross cutting interrelated interdisciplinary concentrations focused on transnational security, international development and humanitarian assistance, peacebuilding, international law and human rights, energy and the environment, and the role of governments and the private sector therein. Classes are taught by academic experts and professionals who encourage group projects and participatory and collaborative approaches to problem solving. These tools are supplemented by short overseas field trips, on-site visits and lectures by practicing professionals. Bridging the divide between the classroom and the real world is of the essence.

It is well understood that these tasks cannot be achieved by universities in isolation from the operation of the broader educational systems in which they are embedded. All levels of education are parties to this vast undertaking. Fostering global citizenship is, not surprisingly, one of the three main goals of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Global Education First Initiative, which was developed and launched in 2012 in close cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Expanding access to education and improving the quality of learning are the other two objectives assigned to the Initiative. As the Secretary-General recently stated, thus reinforcing the theme of this article, “It is not enough for education to produce individuals who can read, write and count. Education must be transformative and bring shared values to life. It must cultivate an active care for the world and for those with whom we share it….It must give people the understanding, skills and values they need to cooperate in resolving the interconnected challenges of the twenty-first century.” unc

VERA JELINEK and JACQUES FORMERAND  Higher Learning Institutions and Global Citizen Education

11/21/13 3:39 PM

United Nations

What Type of Citizenship Education; What Type of Citizen?

By Henry Maitles

E

ducation for citizenship raises key questions—what is education for? What is the role of the school in developing positive attitudes amongst young people? How can controversial issues be raised in the classroom? How do we develop critical citizens?

Citizenship is a compulsory element in most democracies throughout Europe, North America and the Pacific (Crick, 2000; Ostler & Starkey, 2005; Print, 2007; Kiwan, 2008).

Research suggests that political education in schools in western democracies emphasizes political institutions, rights and responsibilities of citizens, debates on current issues and moralism in various combinations (Borhaug, 2008).

The largest international survey, the International Civil and Citizenship Educat ion St udy/Internat iona l Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (ICCS/IEA) study (Schultz et al., 2010), involved some 140,000 students (about 14 years of age) and 62,000 teachers in 38 countries. In terms of content areas, the topics that the ICCS countries most frequently nominated as a major emphasis in civic and citizenship education were human rights (25 countries), understanding different cultures and ethnic groups (23 countries), the environment (23 countries),

parliamentary and governmental systems (22 countries), and voting and elections (20 countries). Topics less frequently nominated as a major emphasis were communications studies (14 countries), legal systems and courts (13 countries), the economy and economics (12 countries), regional institutions and organizations (12 countries), and resolving conflict (11 countries). Only five countries nominated voluntary groups as a major emphasis. However, another finding of note is the significant decrease in civic content knowledge scores between 1999 and 2009 in a number of countries that had comparable data from both civic education surveys: only one country had a statistically significant increase in civic content knowledge among lower secondary students over the past decade. This is worrisome as the decade was meant to be one permeated by education for citizenship and, in that context, we might have expected an increase in this kind of knowledge and understanding.

Students were far more likely to report school-based civic participation than involvement in activities or organizations outside of school. On average, across participating countries, 76 per cent of ICCS students reported having voted in school elections and 61 percent reported voluntary participation in music or drama

Henry Maitles is Professor of Education, Interim Head of School of Education, University of the West of Scotland.

UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT

New York University — United States

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

In 2012-2013, guided by the principles of the United Nations Academic Impact, New York University has organized the following activities: * Global Colloquium of University Presidents—March 2013 The New York University Global Institute of Public Health hosted the seventh Global Colloquium of University Presidents, focusing on the United Nations next set of Millennium Development Goals as the current ones are set to expire in 2015. * Youth Global Video Conference & 1,000 Day Countdown—April 2013 NYU Washington hosted two events at the Abramson Family Auditorium: the Youth Global Video Conference and the 1,000 Day Countdown— Delivering Quality Education and Learning for All to Meet the Global Education First Initiative 2015 Goals.

These events were facilitated by Gordon Brown, the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and NYU’s first Distinguished Global Leader-in-Residence. * Programming in Photography and Human Rights —Summer 2013 The Department of Photography & Imaging at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and the Magnum Foundation presented programming in Photography and Human Rights during the summer intersession.

This annual programme was founded in 2009 and is designed to enable students to explore strategies to create effective documentary projects in pursuit of human rights.

Students proposed multimedia projects in pursuit of human rights and presented multimedia or traditional presentation strategies for their photo essays, which will continue to develop through two courses that will focus on the long-term photographic essay and create a narrative on a human rights issue in New York.

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activities. About 40 percent of students said that they had been actively involved in debates, taken part in decisionmaking about how their school was run, taken part in school assembly discussions, or been candidates for class representative or the school parliament. Involvement in groups helping the community and in charity collections was the most frequent form of participation among lower secondary school students across the ICCS countries.

HOW MUCH CAN BE EXPECTED OF SCHOOLS? Academics and commentators continue to question the motives behind the introduction of citizenship education. Yet, most would agree with Hahn (1998 and 1999) and Print (2007), who believe that it is the responsibility of schools to teach about democracy and prepare students to be effective democratic citizens. Kerr and Cleaver (2004) point out that many teachers view citizenship education as a politically fashioned quick fix. Rooney, (2007) takes this issue further urging us to be wary of citizenship education which he states can be viewed as a programme of behaviour modification and that it is not the responsibility of teachers and schools to solve political and social problems or issues of low voter turnout and political apathy. Indeed, he points out that citizenship education has thus far failed to reconnect young people to the political system or improve participation rates. Several authors (Lister et al., 2001; Whiteley, 2005; Kiwan 2008) highlight the fact that there is no empirical evidence of a direct correlation between citizenship education and formal political participation.

Whiteley (2005) points out that the expected improvement in civic engagement with the introduction of citizenship education is offset by other factors including the widespread feeling that governments don’t deliver on promises and scandals involving corruption and cynicism from many leading parts of society.

Further, while there is general agreement as to the desire to have a politically aware citizenry, it must be noted that there is no universal agreement as to the value of citizenship, political literacy, activism or pupil voice in schools per se (Lundy, 2007; Whitty and Wisby, 2007; Thornberg, 2008). Rooney (2007), for example, argues that to believe that these kinds of initiatives can be developed in the current school system undermines the very nature of education and makes teachers responsible for the ills of society.

SINGLE ISSUE POLITICS AND YOUNG PEOPLE Rising engagement with single-issue politics such as involvement in overseas wars, inspiring events such as the Arab Spring, world poverty, environmental and animal welfare issues, would appear to suggest that young people 18

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in western democracies, although alienated from formal politics and voting, are active and interested in singleissue campaigning politics where they can see results from their actions (Torney-Purta et al. 1999; Hahn, 1998; Lister et al., 2001; Maitles, 2005; Schultz, 2011). Kiwan (2008) cites research by Pattie (2004), which found that individualistic participation is common, challenging assertions that people are politically apathetic.

Indeed, although a positive driver towards education for citizenship stems from attempts to promote democratic citizenship, human and participation rights at the local, national and global levels—rights which are enshrined in international convention such as the United Nations Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Act (Ostler and Starkey, 2001; Kerr and Cleaver, 2004; Benton et al., 2008)—Print (2007) point out that such involvement can be episodic and should be treated with caution.

Further, we must be aware that many schools see charity activities per se as a way of developing global citizenship. And, even within this, there can be a lack of any understanding as to how the money is used and rarely any discussion around the causes of poverty. Holden and Minty (2011) in their study of some 200 school students in England found that the students could name a charity or discuss charity work or ecological work they had been involved in, but had little understanding of the broader issues, such as the complex reasons behind world problems. Further, that they saw this as the key element that the school encouraged in terms of citizenship; nearly all discussions were on personal choice (fair trade, no littering) rather than any real discussion on poverty, conf lict or wider ecological issues.

DEMOCRACY AND PUPIL RIGHTS Inside the school, there is the thorny issue of whether one only learns about democracy or also lives it. If we take the ‘living’ model, then there are implications for our schools and indeed for society as a whole. Firstly, there is the difficult issue of whether democratic ideas and values can be effectively developed in the fundamentally undemocratic, indeed authoritarian, structure of the current typical high school where many teachers, never mind pupils, feel that they have little real say in the running of the school.

For schools, it means there should be proper forums for discussion, consultation and decision-making involving pupils and Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that young people should be consulted on issues that affect them. However, the experience of school councils is not yet particularly hopeful (Davies, 2000; Lister et al. 2001; Cruddas, 2007; Kennedy, 2007; Lundy, 2007; Print, 2007).

HENRY MAITLES  What Type of Citizenship Education; What Type of Citizen?

11/21/13 4:52 PM

United Nations

ACTIVE LEARNING AND CITIZENSHIP The argument for education for citizenship and democracy is underpinned by a learning style that can be summarized as ‘active learning’. This is not something new. John Dewey argued some 90 years ago that ‘give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results’ (Dewey, 1915, p. 3). Similarly, in her study of Swedish 11 year olds, Aleerby (2003) found that the word ‘fun’ was used to describe positive experiences, although one cynical pupil summed up his experience as being ‘during the break we have fun’.

The issue of interdisciplinary learning has been a problem in secondary schools, which has led some schools to take pupils off timetable to develop rich tasks (Maitles, 2010).

There is evidence of deeper learning through these kinds of experiences (Dewey, 1915; Hannam, 2001; Ritchie, 1999; Save the Children, 2000 and 2001; Burke and Grosvenor, 2003; MacBeath and Moos, 2004; Rudduck and Flutter, 2004; MacIntyre and Pedder, 2005; Maitles, 2005; Maitles and Gilchrist, 2006).

Even if this overstates the case, there are clearly some advantages to this approach. So, why is it not more widespread, indeed the norm? For the individual teacher, it takes courage, skill and confidence to develop active learning and genuine participation and we need to explore the whole area of both the initial training and continuing professional development of teachers. Further, there are the anxieties of parents, who tend to judge a school by its exam results solely and believe that a traditional rote learning, direct teaching strategy leads to ‘good’ exam outcomes.

This is further exacerbated by politicians and inspectorates suggesting that active learning is chaotic and

might not work. There is also a conditioned expectation by many pupils of being directed rather than becoming independent learners.

The ICCS/IEA study of some 62,000 teachers in 38 countries found that the highest percentages of teachers viewed “promoting knowledge of citizens’ rights and responsibilities” as the most important aim of education for citizenship was found in Bulgaria, Chile, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Paraguay, Poland, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the Slovak Republic, and Thailand. In contrast, in Cyprus, Finland, Lat v ia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden, the highest percentages were found for ‘promoting students’ critical and independent thinking.’

The aim most frequently chosen by most teachers in Chinese Taipei and Colombia was ‘developing students’ skills and competencies in conf lict resolution.’ Only minorities of teachers viewed ‘supporting the development of effective strategies for the fight against racism and xenophobia’ and ‘preparing students for future political participation’ as among the most important objectives of civic and citizenship education.

CONCLUSION: HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY? There are further issues as yet unresolved. Firstly, is the knowledge/ skills/values base adequate? Indeed, should we be suggesting anything other than whole school initiatives?

Secondly, there is the issue of curriculum overload. As initiatives are piled on schools, there is the possibility of areas like education for citizenship going onto the ‘back burner’. Thirdly, are teachers confident of dealing with controversial issues in the classroom?

The implementation and impact of education for citizenship initiatives UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

National Association of Vocational Education of China — China In 2012-2013, the National Association of Vocational Education of China (NAVEC) actively demonstrated its commitment to the principles of the United Nations Academic Impact. NAVEC’s efforts specifically targeted the following areas: providing educational opportunities for all, addressing poverty, increasing sustainability through education and capacitybuilding in higher education systems. * The Warmth Project Since 1995, NAVEC has worked on the Warmth Project. This project has two main objectives. It seeks to help the unemployed – both in cities and rural areas – find jobs by providing them with training and it helps students with financial difficulties continue their studies.

Thus far, the Warmth Project has retained or upgraded the skills of more than 4,600,000 workers and farmers that have been laid off. It has also helped more than 2,060,000 people find employment and made it possible for 300,000 students to continue their studies through either exemptions or reductions in their tuition fees. * NAVEC Conferences and Forums Throughout the year, NAVEC has held a variety of conferences and forums focusing on vocational education and training. These included the “2012 Strait of Vocational Education and Lifelong Education Seminars,” the “3rd Global Forum on Entrepreneurial Economy” and the “2013 Cross-strait Cooperation in Vocational Education Development Forum.”

NAVEC’s efforts also include a common language-training project in Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as a poverty alleviation project in Bije, in the Southwest of China.

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depends on whether one sees the glass as half full or half empty. While there is excellent work going on to develop young people’s interest, knowledge, skills and dispositions in areas of citizenship and democracy; yet it is very limited, indeed rare, to find examples of genuine democracy based on children’s human rights. It is a matter of hearts and minds.

No amount of hectoring and/or government instructions can counter this; as Bernard Crick, the person who has most lobbied for education for citizenship in schools, put it ‘teachers need to have a sense of mission…to grasp the fullness of its moral and social aims’ (Crick, 2000, p. 2).

There is much to be positive about. We need to do more research into the effectiveness of citizenship in the development of positive values. However, it is also clear that we have to keep some kind of realistic perspective on the influence of education for citizenship or any kind of other civic or political education. Education for citizenship throws up the central questions as to what sort of education we want. However, while there are clear benefits from education for citizenship programmes, we must be clear that no programme of education can guarantee democratic participation nor an acceptance of societal norms. Other factors, particularly socioeconomic ones have a stong impact, particularly where it is perceived that governments have let down the aspirations of the population. unc References Alerby, E. ‘”During the break we have fun”: a study concerning pupils’ experience of school’, Educational Research, vol. 45, No. 1 (2003), pp.

17-28.

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Burke, C. and Grosvenor, I. The School I’d Like: Children And Young People’s Reflections on An Education For The 21st Century (London, RoutledgeFalmer, 2003).

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Holden, C. and Minty, S. ‘Going global: Young Europeans’ aspirations and actions for the future’, Citizenship, Teaching and Learning, vol.6, No.2 (2011) pp.123-138.

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Lundy, L. ‘‘Voice’ is not enough: conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child’, British Educational Research Journal, vol. 33, No.6 (2007) pp.927-942.

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MacIntyre, D. and Pedder, D. ‘The impact of pupil consultation on classroom practice’, in Arnot, M. MacIntyre, D., Pedder, D. and Reay, D. (eds.), Consultation in the Classroom (Cambridge, Pearson 2005).

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Osler, A. & Starkey, H. Changing citizenship democracy and inclusion in education (Maidenhead, Open University Press, 2005).

Pattie, C. Citizenship in Britain; values, participation and democracy (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 2004).

Print, M. “Citizenship education and youth participation in democracy”, British Journal of Educational Studies, vol.55, No.3 (2007), pp.325-345.

Puolimatka, T. Democracy and Education: the Critical Citizen as an Educational Aim (Helsinki, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia 1995).

Ritchie, A. “Our Lives Consultation”; final report (Edinburgh: Save the Children Scotland, 1999).

Rooney, K. “Citizenship education: making kids conform”. Retrieved 14 December 2010, from http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/ site/printable/4023/.

Save the Children “‘It’s our Education’: young people’s views on improving their schools, “(Edinburgh: Save the Children Scotland, 2000).

Save the Children “Education for Citizenship in Scotland: perspectives of young people”, (Edinburgh: Save the Children Scotland, 2001).

Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Kerr, D. and Losito, B. Initial Findings from the IEA International Civic Education Study (Amsterdam, IEA 2010).

Thornberg, R. ‘Values education as the daily fostering of school rules’, Research in Education, vol. 80 (2008), pp.52-62.

Torney-Purta, J., Schwille, J. and Amadeo, J., eds Civic Education across Countries: twenty-four case studies, (Amsterdam, IEA, 1999).

Whiteley, P. “Citizenship education longitudinal study second literature review. Citizenship education: the political science perspective”, DfES Research Report 631, (Nottingham, DfES, 2005).

Whitty, G. and Whisby, E. “Real Decision Making? School Councils in Action” (Annesley, DCSF, 2007).

HENRY MAITLES  What Type of Citizenship Education; What Type of Citizen?

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United Nations

Making Academic Research

Accessible The Case of Research in Higher Education Internationalization

I

By HANS-GEORG VAN LIEMPD, LAURA HOWARD and HANS DE WIT n 2010, more than 4 million students were studying outside their home countries. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, this number may rise to 8 million international higher education students by 2025. This globally mobile population of mainly young people seeking education represents an investment in crucial assets for sending countries, which is essential for future development, prosperity and welfare, as students return home with increased knowledge and skills prepared for global citizenship.

For receiving countries, these students bring cultural and intellectual diversity to the institutions and the countries they visit, often representing a source of revenue for those institutions and communities, and in other cases a source of skilled labour in the current knowledge based economy. For sending countries, however, this might be a cause of brain drain and increased dependence.

Mobility of students is only one aspect of internationalization in

modern higher education: mobility of institutions (branch campuses), programmes (franchises), researchers and teaching staff are other manifestations.

The development of intercultural and international learning outcomes, the internationalization of the curriculum and teaching and learning, are other examples, also described as internationalization at home or the preparation of global professionals and citizens.

Branding, reputation building and rankings are yet more aspects related to the internationalization of higher education.

Higher education institutions, governments and other organizations invest heavily in the internationalization of higher education to build research capacity, improve the quality of education of their graduates and build up a workforce for a changing labour market. The demand for knowledge is global.

One area that is still underdeveloped is the study of internationalization of higher education itself: researching and analyzing trends, rationales,

Hans-Georg Van Liempd is President, European Association for International Education and International Strategist and Senior Programme Manager for Corporate Social Responsibility at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. Laura Howard is a lecturer in the Department of Didactics of Language and Literature of the University of Cádiz, Spain, Vice President, European Association for International Education and Vice President, Compostela Group of Universities. Hans De Wit is Director, Centre for Higher Education Internationalization at the Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy and Professor of Internationalization of Higher Education at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands.

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Baltic Sea Region University Network – Latvia

In 2012-2013, the Baltic Sea Region University Network (BSRUN) organized a variety of events underpinning the UN Academic Impact principles of capacity building in higher education systems, higher education, global citizenship through education, sustainability through education and inter-cultural dialogue and understanding. * Baltic Sea Region University Network Forum on “Green University” – May 2013 The Annual Baltic Sea Region University Network Forum on the “Green University” was presented in cooperation with the University of Watmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. It was held in Olsztyn, Poland. * Human Resources Seminar – November 2012 The BSRUN also put together a human resources seminar focusing on “Leadership During Major Change – Mergers and the Changing Operational Environment.” This seminar was held in Joensuu, Finland and organized in collaboration with the Eastern Finland University. * University-Business Partnerships for Innovation and Development – September 2012 The BSRUN organizwed, in collaboration with the St Petersburg State University of Economics, a seminar focusing on the potential for partnerships linking universities and businesses in the pursuit of innovation and development.

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comparative developments at the regional and global scale, and outcomes and impacts of internationalization. In many cases, policies are being implemented by institutions and governments without proper knowledge and understanding of the consequences of these actions and policies. More academic research of the effect of international activities is needed. Many questions need to be researched and answered. Do international students improve the quality of the host institution’s programmes? Does the educational programme offer better quality once the curriculum is internationalized? What is the effect on non-natives of teaching and learning in English? How important is the study of foreign languages and of intercultural and international competencies in the current global knowledge society in which we live? What is the impact of a study abroad period for students on a personal and academic level? Does an exchange programme or an internationalized curriculum make graduates more employable and better able to understand the global social issues we are facing, in particular the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals?

We need to visualize the contribution of internationalization to the core of the higher education mission and values. The assessment of outcomes is, however, very complex so we need to share and compare the research done in various countries, exchange the knowledge that has been built, project cross border meta-analysis of the results and outcomes, and design collaborative cross border research projects to increase our knowledge of the effects of internationalization of higher education.

An important aspect is the time horizon. Governments tend to have a short time horizon while institutions need to seek longterm longitudinal research on the effects of their international strategy and its implementation.

ACCOUNTABILITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INTERNATIONALIZATION Internationalization is here to stay and is now firmly on the higher education agenda across the world. Even in times of reduced expenditure by governments, institutions of higher education need to invest in internationalization at all levels of the institution, education and learning, mobility, research and partnerships or even transnational education.

More and more institutions understand that they need to be accountable for their investments and activities—universities can no longer be ivory towers, disconnected from the realities of the world around them. They have a responsibility toward their internal stakeholders such as (international) students, the institutional leadership and staff and faculty and maybe even more towards external stakeholders, such as funding bodies, the local community, taxpayers and government.

To make this accountability possible, research is needed with a focus on input and output, and even more so on the outcomes of internationalization, measured on a longitudinal scale. Increased accountability of internationalization by all stakeholders is essential.

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EAIE AND ITS ROLE IN RESEARCH ON INTERNATIONALIZATION The European Association for International Education (EAIE) is the European centre for expertise, networking and resources in the internationalization of higher education. It is a non-profit, member-led organization serving individuals actively involved in the internationalization of their institutions, and the EAIE sees a role for the organization to foster knowledge based policies and research on internationalization of higher education.

Within the European higher education area (EHEA) there are 6,000 higher education institutions. In total, some 60,000 people in the EHEA are working in internationalization or related fields. The mission of EAIE is to help professionalize our members and to actively serve all those involved in the internationalization of higher education. The association supports these professionals through its annual conferences, training courses and publications. These core offerings of the Association are reinforced by a greater, overarching commitment: to use our respected position in the field to create positive change and promote dynamic collaboration across the entire European higher education arena.

With almost 25 years of experience, the Association is using its solid foundation and expansive network of expertise and resources to help shape the future of international higher education. It enacts change by providing professional input in strategic discussions with key European stakeholders, by working to help build capacity in developing countries, and by providing a wide range of best practices through its expert communities across all aspects of internationalization.

One of these communities is that of researchers in international education, a group of experts and prospect researchers who combine their professional experience with an interest in the study of internationalization. EAIE is also actively involved in several studies with European Union funding on the international and European dimensions of higher education. EAIE works together with several other organizations and associations in the study of international education, such as the International Association of Universities which executes and analyses on a regular basis a survey on the development of internationalization in higher education. Another example is the recent study undertaken in collaboration with the International Education Association of Australia to identify generic and specific leadership capabilities required by international educators in Australia and Europe, with a view to using the research to design appropriate leadership development activities. The report will be launched later this year. EAIE is also setting up working relations with specialist research institutes in international higher education, such as the Centre for Higher Education Internationalization at Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy, and the Centre for International Higher Education at Boston College in the United States.

HANS-GEORG VAN LIEMPD, LAURA HOWARD and HANS DE WIT  Making Academic Research Accessible

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United Nations

“

Higher education institutions, governments and other organizations invest heavily in the internationalization of higher education to build research capacity, improve the quality of education of their graduates and build up a workforce for a changing labour market. The demand for knowledge is global.

EAIE is involved in disseminating research and its application with respect to internationalization. The annual EAIE conference, attended by over 4,500 international education professionals, provides an excellent platform for the dissemination of research (and its application) in more than 150 sessions and workshops. Through its manuals, tools and newsletter it provides information on the “how” of internationalization to its members and the larger community. In its Academy every six months, it provides training modules for the professionalization of its members. Via its cooperation with the publisher Raabe in the EAIE Handbook on Internationalization of Higher Education in Europe, it regularly publishes applied research on a broad range of topics. Furthermore, through its involvement in the Association for Studies in International Education and cooperation with the publisher SAGE, it contributes to the academic study of internationalization via the peer

reviewed academic Journal of Studies in International Education.

CURRENT RESEARCH AND NEEDS FOR THE FUTURE In 2013, on the occasion of its twenty-fifth conference, EAIE published a book titled Possible futures, the next 25 years of the internationalization of higher education1, in which key international experts discuss the future of internationalization. Some research topics that emerge from this book are the role of collaborative online international learning, virtual mobility and Massive Open Online Courses in shaping the future of international higher education, and a shift from a quantitative to a more qualitative focus on internationalization of higher education.

At the same time, ongoing issues such as degree and credit mobility of students, strategic management of internationalization, national and regional policies for internationalization in comparative perspectives will continue to be the focus of a research agenda. Besides the benefits of internationalization, the risks and unintended consequences such as brain drain, commercialization, and degree and diploma mills, also require further study.

The need for increased cooperation with sister organizations and research institutes to set up joint research which can validate what we and other institutions try to accomplish is clear. The EAIE also sees its role in the dissemination of research related to this field, making knowledge available as much as possible so we can all learn from each other on the path towards the internationalization of higher education. unc

Notes 1

De Wit, Hans, Fiona Hunter, Linda Johnson and Hans-Georg van Liempd, eds. Possible Futures, the next 25 Years of the internationalization of higher education (Amsterdam, European Association for International Education, 2013).

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Cornell University— United States In 2012 and 2013, Cornell University continued to provide a strong commitment to each of the 10 UNAI principles. Of particular note were the university’s projects pertaining to Principle 2 and Principle 8. * Human Rights Advocacy Week in support of Principle 2—mid March 2013 This March, members of the Cornell Advocates for Human Rights were hard at work drawing their peers’ attention to an array of issues related to human rights through their annual Human Rights Advocacy Week.

Cheryl Blake, the organization’s Advocacy Week Chair, reflected on the event: “Through Advocacy Week, we’ve worked to showcase both international and local human rights issues. Our local events, such as legal outreach about homeless children’s access to education and our bake sale for Ithaca’s Advocacy Centre reinforce the significance of human rights in our own communities.” * Launch of CARE— Cornell in support of Principle 8—since April 2012 In April 2012, Cornell and the global humanitarian organization CARE launched CARE-Cornell.

Since its inception, CARE-Cornell has focused on addressing the most urgent needs of women, families and communities in the developing world.

In Ethiopia, CARE-Cornell is increasing crop yields and fostering business opportunities for farmers by promoting the production of indigenous biofertilizers as a cost-saving alternative to imported chemical fertilizers.

In Mozambique, CARE-Cornell is investigating the use of performance-based incentives for frontline health providers to improve care for HIV-infected women and reduce mother-to-child virus transmission.

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DARING IN HIGHER EDUCATION, A CRAZY IDEA?

By THANDWA Z. MTHEMBU “…the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are those who do.”

1997 advert by Apple Computers

N

ovember 2013 marks the third anniversary of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), an innovative programme that implores higher education to take its role as a global citizen, among many other principles. UNAI must have started with what some might have called a crazy idea. Thanks to that crazy idea, higher education has been reaping the benefits.

This article focuses on some crazy ideas from one new generation university in Bloemfontein, Free State Province, South Africa, called the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State. It was the first time since the launch of UNAI that a UNAI -themed colloquium and a plenary panel discussion were held in Africa.

These interrelated events were co-hosted by CUT, the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) and UNAI during the week of 19–23 August 2013. Representatives from UNAI and IAUP, including Alvaro Romo, IAUP Secretary General Elect (2014-17) attended these events. These two meetings

were, in turn, anchored by the 17th International Education Association of South Africa that CUT hosted on 21-24 August.

USING GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP AS A THEME UNAI is a global initiative that seeks to align higher education institutions with the United Nations call on them to make a concerted commitment to use education, research and innovation as engines of global development.

Given CUT ’s “Vision 2020”, which locates us in the epicentre of regional development, we could not miss the opportunity to co-host this event. In doing so, we

THANDWA Z. MTHEMBU is Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa.

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United Nations

Our Vision 2020 statement is: “By 2020, Central University of Technology, Free State shall be an engaged university that focuses on producing quality social and technological innovations for socioeconomic development, primarily in the Central Region of South Africa”. In other words, by 2020, CUT will be a centre of knowledge, innovation and excellence producing a critical mass of innovators that directly contributes to prosperity-creation.

© Central university of technology, South africa

The ZR Mahabane main administration building at Central University of Technology, South Africa.

learned more about our role in development and shared with our international partners some of our innovative initiatives on which I will report later.

Global citizenship is a concept that is becoming more significant in our rapidly changing interconnected world. Not only are we interconnected electronically and technologically, but socially, economically and

environmentally, too. In fact, long before globalization took root, internationalization among universities had always been there. As global citizens with arguably the best intellectual and other resources at our disposal, universities must tackle the challenges and demands they face.

Among these global challenges and demands are fierce competition UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

Institute of Rural Management — Pakistan In 2012-2013, the Institute of Rural Management (IRM) pioneered an initiative supporting the UN Academic Impact principles focusing on the importance of educational opportunity for all. * The Accelerated Learning Programme In collaboration with UNICEF, the Directorate of Education, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) and the Human Resource Development Network (HRDN), IRM launched an Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) aimed at bringing children who dropped out of school from grades 2 to 5 back into mainstream education through a condensed, one-year programme.

IRM initially selected 1,000 out-ofschool boys and girls from Mohmand and Bajaur Agencies in the FATA region. These children were enrolled in IRM-established Accelerated Learning Centres.

100% of students passed the exam and were awarded a grade 5 equivalence certificate by the FATA Education Secretariat. This impressive accomplishment enables them to join regular schools as of grade 6.

Other key achievements of the ALP included: ùù Establishing 25 accelerated learning centres, ùù Training 50 teachers in modern

teaching techniques, ùù Creating a condensed curriculum, ùù Designing teacher guides, and ùù Providing 1,000 children with

student kits.

The successful implementation of the Accelerated Learning Programme Initiative has been attributed to the support from parents and notable elders in the area, the strong coordination between all stakeholders, the attendance of the teachers, and the linkages with other humanitarian organizations such as the UN World Food Programme and Child Protection.

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for recognition and excellence, the inequality in the political economy of knowledge production, brain drain, dwindling resource allocation and exploding student numbers as a result of the increasing demand for higher education.

Furthermore, higher education faces calls for greater social relevance by helping to solve major societal problems. The paradox of increased state steering and accountability imposed on increasingly market-orientated and autonomous universities remains a vexed challenge.

The colloquium and the panel discussion sought to unravel some of these challenges and demands, more so as CUT itself seeks to locate its educational outcomes in societal and, more particularly, regional development, be it social, economic and/or environmental.

THE COLLOQUIUM AND THE GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP PANEL DISCUSSION The colloquium was on “global citizenship and international partnerships”. This theme was inspired by one of the ten UNAI principles: a commitment to encouraging global citizenship through education.

Distinguished presenters and scholars on internationalization came from as far away as Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Scotland, the United States and, closer to home, from Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Botswana—in addition to our own local experts and colleagues. They engaged and shared their collective wisdom on the nexus of theory and praxis that new generation universities of technology in South Africa should focus on. This, undoubtedly, showed a commitment by representatives from higher education in our own country and the 20 other countries represented toward contributions that universities have to make in this constantly changing world. We explored what we have to do individually and collectively as interconnected and networked universities, in our quest to embed internationalization and to build global citizenship through higher education.

The plenary panel discussion on global citizenship, presented by representatives of UNAI , IAUP, CUT, the University of the West of Scotland and the European Association of International Education went to the very heart of what internationalization should be about.

Important definitions and practical directions for what we ought to do in preparing our students as global citizens were suggested.

THE 4Ps: PLANS, PEOPLE, PRODUCTS, PENNIES CUT’s Vision 2020, approved in 2010, is a unique one, as it locates CUT in societal and, particularly, in regional development. This is the arena CUT has chosen to demonstrate the outcomes and impacts of its innovations. This 26

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“

We explored what we have to do individually and collectively as interconnected and networked universities, in our quest to embed internationalization and to build global citizenship through higher education.

vision allows us to think globally and act locally or regionally without any contradiction.

Our 4Ps implementation framework is in place and we are now deep in the implementation stages. Vision 2020 has led to elaborate PLANS on how we shall realize it. We restructured the university and aligned it to this vision in terms of resource allocation and other institutional processes. We have an annual planning cycle that allows us to reflect, review and evaluate, and refocus our strategies and projects.

We continue to work hard to ensure that our PEOPLE—the staff, the students, our alumni, partners in government, business, industry and other organs of civil society—have the best opportunities to contribute productively in the life of the university and to the economy at large. Various people development programmes are in place. One of these initiatives relates to a group of about 50 staff and students who have proven to be producers of crazy ideas and innovations. They have been brought together and now constitute what we call the A-team.

The focus on our PRODUCTS (our educational, research and innovation programmes) has led to a unique curriculum transformation programme called Strategic Transformation of Educational Programmes and Structures (STEPS). This innovative and broad-based CUT process commenced in 2010 and ended in 2012 with nine brand new demand-driven and user-oriented programmes designed to educate for the workplace. These programmes were the result of consultations with business and industry, government and civil society.

Some people may believe educating for the workplace in a university is an oxymoron, but at CUT and other universities of technology we seek to find this balance among higher education, skills for the workplace, innovation and entrepreneurship. The nine STEPS programmes are in various fields and will be introduced in 2014 and 2015. Renewable energy programmes in the faculty of engineering and information technology are designed to produce high level skills in all technologies associated with this broad field.

THANDWA Z. MTHEMBU  DARING IN HIGHER EDUCATION, A CRAZY IDEA?

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United Nations

Programmes in hydrology and water management are meant to orientate our training towards one of the most critical resources in a waterscarce country like South Africa and in a region that is agriculturebased, but semi-arid. Water security, storage, quality and distribution are big challenges in South Africa.

Programmes in agriculture focus on strategies and technologies for food security and agricultural extension to ensure that small and subsistence farmers continue to play their role in our agricultural economy.

A programme in health sciences focuses on health management in a country beset by some of the most challenging diseases like tuberculosis and AIDS. Another related programme is in community development work, which provides skills for the facilitation of community work, something that has become a key area of activity in South Africa.

In broader humanities, a newly revised Bachelor of Education programme focuses on work oriented themes for the training of teachers, contrary to parochial and theoretical themes of many old style education programmes in South Africa.

An innovative programme in visual arts and design combines a number of hitherto disparate programmes in fine arts, photography, graphic design and fashion design into a broad-based programme that builds up generic skills which can eventually lead to specialization in a sub-field.

There are many other initiatives that are an integral part of our products. In partnership with the Free State Provincial Government, we have established the Free State Informat ion Technolog y Hub, which trains some of our alumni in state-of-the-art, internationally recognized software development techniques. The training for this is provided by the Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering,

which in turn has a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This hub has the potential of producing worldclass skills in software engineering, primarily for the central region of South Africa and beyond.

In partnership with the national Department of Science and Technology and other local partners, CUT has established the Free State Regional Innovation Forum that brings together universities, other knowledge centres, business and industry, and government. The purpose of this forum is to match regional needs and demands with available innovations from a number of research and innovation centres from CUT and the University of the Free State, our sister university in the region. This forum also seeks to be a springboard for the implementation of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s recommendations from its 2010 regional review of the Free State province and the contributions of universities in city and regional development.

The last of our 4Ps implementation framework is about PENNIES. Through various strategies, CUT has managed to increase its revenue and reallocate resources towards vision 2020 strategies. A newly introduced resource allocation model is helping us to do more of the latter. CUT remains one of the most financially secure public universities even though it never had any historical reserves.

Clearly, CUT is daring and just crazy enough to think it can make a mark in regional development. As some of the initiatives show, we are not simply talking about this, we are doing it. We encourage readers to engage with us, for more information could be shared on many other initiatives that we believe make CUT a regional epicentre of regional development. unc UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT Kyiv National Economic University — Ukraine

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

In March 2013, the Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University (KNEU) founded the Social Projects Agency. Its mission is to promote principles of social corporate responsibility, engage young people in social and economic projects to improve the region’s quality of life and help student organizations develop by providing planning and budgeting skills.

Thus far, more than 800 students and professors have joined the Agency. KNEU students have already implemented 9 projects and improved the lives of over 2,000 individuals.

Particularly noteworthy projects carried out

by KNEU students included: * KNEU Legal Clinic 48 KNEU graduate students from the Faculty of Law provided guidance and legal assistance to disadvantaged people in areas pertaining to civil law, administrative law, banking law and land law. * Football 3x3 Football 3x3 encourages children and young people to participate in sport. It promotes the idea that studying at the university and pursuing a healthy way of life should go together. This project has engaged over 2000 participants from Kyiv and nearby cities. 30 students volunteer for the project and more than 25 companies have become partners or sponsors of Football 3x3. * Increasing the educational opportunities of local orphans KNEU has tailored a project aimed at increasing the educational opportunities of orphans and meeting their needs for self-development. 15 KNEU students work with 127 orphans from a school in the Chernihiv region.

Their main objective is to encourage these children to continue their education. Their efforts have already led to the admission of an orphan from Horodnya to KNEU. 27

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COLLEGES COLLEGIALITY AND

By PAUL SMITH

AN INTERNATIONAL IMPERATIVE

T

he concept of globalization pulsates throughout just about every discussion or article on international relations, the macroeconomy or worldwide social predicaments. The only reason the word hasn’t become hackneyed is that its meaning is germane to everything of significance that is happening to our world in this millennium.

We experience the various forces of globalization at different paces and perceive them in different timeframes.

Corporate multinationals have been with us for decades and the worldwide saturation of popular media, television and advertising has long been the norm as well. More recently, the instantaneous transformation of knowledge sharing and of working practice was the immediate offspring of the information and communication technology (ICT) revolution. Most of us are still in awe at the rapidity of change that such immediacy and connectedness has brought in a stunningly short time.

I commenced my own career in international relations with the British Council in Kano, Nigeria just 30 years ago. My only means of daily communication was a walkie-talkie radio link to Lagos once a day. Typed work letters were dispatched in a courier packet to London once a week and I might expect replies in a return courier packet a fortnight later. These days I expect the e-mails from my laptop in Washington to be answered by our current colleagues in Kano within minutes. If not, I’ll reach them on their cellphone.

Paul Smith is Director and Cultural Counsellor, British Council, Washington, DC, United States of America.

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A meeting of doctors at the University of Paris, from a medieval manuscript of “Chants royaux”.

Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. © wikimedia commons

paul smith  COLLEGES AND COLLEGIALITY—AN INTERNATIONAL IMPERATIVE

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United Nations

Nearly everyone in the urban world can tell a similar story.

More broadly, the forces of globalization have transformed the means and modes by which we collaborate to address world issues. The extended embrace of communications and the extending imperative of communicability mean that we need to herald ‘the global community’ as the latest and ultimate grouping, joining the other varied, plural communities to which we all belong. Communities are societies of mutual interest. They have been typically local, providing solace, meaning, support and shared identity to individuals whose wellbeing is improved and assured by such recognition of common cause.

As the reach of communication and the insistence of interdependency have grown, the community concept has also geographically and demographically stretched. It now embraces ethnic regions, diasporas and national boundaries. In a further stretch, it’s now the transnational community that is at the heart of modern international relations. The European Community is, perhaps, the most salient use of the term and the United Nations is the self-explanatory primary testament to this resolve. Worldwide well-being in the future will depend on an intelligent negotiation of a diminishing planet’s commitment to the protocols, the motivation and, above all, the will to recognize the validity and necessity of the previously absurd notion of a global community as a singular world society of mutual interest.

In 2013, there is no political, economic, environmental or social issue of significance which is not international in impact and thus requiring of discourse, negotiation, response and engagement at a world level. Local questions of development, prosperity and security, of work and leisure, of rights and values, invariably stretch beyond the local to accrete regional, national, transnational and world

implications. In 2013, no man is an island. Indeed, no island is an island.

There is an attendant imperative coupling with the vertiginous and compressing impact of globalization.

The insecurity and distrust experienced globally since the events of 11 September 2001 further emphasize the most important question relating to international well-being, prosperity, security and even survival for a dispersed human race which is beginning to know itself with a new and unaccustomed singularity. How can our constituent cultures, societies and communities collaborate on addressing the world’s common problems without sacrificing the inherent diversities which identify and vitalize those cultures? In other words, how can the global be animated by the local? What rights, values and behaviours must we enshrine as universal, leaving all other benign aspects of our several cultures to be not just tolerated, but distinctly celebrated? Or, to return to our ancient philosophic forebears, how can we—all 7 billion of us—still lead the good life?

At the root of addressing these questions is another newer dimension of globalization. The past few years have seen the accelerated globalizing of education, particularly the domains of knowledge, aptitude and professionalism captured by the concept of ‘international higher education’. This is a globalization which is determined upon the democratizing of careeroriented educational opportunity for all populations and demographics and which uses ICT to question and override our static assumptions about traditional educational delivery.

This newer globalization is liberating opportunity for all through flexibility, mobility and self-access.

In this context, the word ‘university’ seems to finally have found its root cause and meaning. Universities—hub institutions of knowledge, research, learning and (critically, given the virtual UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT The Papua New Guinea University of Technology – Papua New Guinea

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

In 2012-2013, the Papua New Guinea University of Technology (Unitech) has continued to show its strong support of UNAI principles. Focusing on reducing poverty through education and sustainability through education, Unitech has developed a number of impactful programmes: * Unitech Outreach Programmes Unitech has participated in outreach programmes aiming to train people working to sew their own clothes, make soap, and farm rice. The Unitech Department of Agriculture successfully conducted a rice farmer training in May 2013 where 25 farmers from different provinces participated. The farmers were then given rice seeds to plant.

A follow up evaluation will be completed six months after the initial training. * Initiation of a Rice Research Collaboration with Trukai Industries The University has developed a partnership with Trukai Industries to collaboratively produce rice research. This initiative aims to evaluate varieties of imported Australian rice to determine suitable varieties.

Students are actively engaged in this private-public sector collaboration. * Poultry Feed Project Unitech students are also involved in a poultry feed project undertaken in partnership with the National Agricultural Research Institute of PNG and the Australia Centre for International Agricultural Research.

Going forward, Unitech aims to provide farmers with an increased number of rice training sessions focusing both on production and post-harvesting best practices. Additionally, the University seeks to address smallholder production and marketing, as well as the provision of milling services and maintenance of mills for farmers. All of these issues are critical for the effective promotion of smallholder rice production.

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encroachment) experience—have the capacity to advocate the ‘univers(al)ity’ of their intent and offer. This is a universality of content, of form and of constituency. By content, universities are recognizing their professional responsibility to address world issues by drawing together interdisciplinary programmes of interrogation and research. By form, universities are stretching their local and national boundaries to accommodate, by virtual tools and transnational presence, more universal territories. And, by constituency, enlightened universities are ensuring that policies of access and inclusion encourage studentship irrespective of social strata and financial means and with an international profile to make, of each globally populated campus, a mini think-tank of uniting nations.

If ‘university’ is a word that has newly found its animating denotation, so has the word ‘education’ itself.

E-ducation leads out. Teaching is not about pressing knowledge and information into students; it is about drawing skill and capability out of students—finding, by inspiration and imagination, what is inherently there, nurturing that and helping orient it to opportunity and self-realization. At the higher educational level, such elicited, educated, led-out opportunity is not just the illuminating of pathways to employment and careers, though developing employability does remain education’s primary social task. The self-realized opportunities that higher education must elicit within students relate most fully to those students’ growing sense of identity, home and place in the world they inhabit. For identity, home and place are also the changing attributes of globalization; in this case the globalization of the individual and the individual student’s more mature sense of what it means to be a global citizen.

Pioneering universities are now realizing that they must be vibrant global centres for creating understanding around the endlessly developing and morphing nexuses between the global and the local. It is our universities that hold the interdisciplinary faculty and knowledge resource to create spaces, foster conversations, research, and mature, professional guidance to determine intelligent and informed responses to world issues including development, climate change, environmental destruction, human rights, medicine, poverty alleviation, urbanization, security, intercultural tension, employability, peacebuilding and all other issues that crowd the daily news bulletin. The success of a modern university will increasingly be determined by its capacity to address such matters within a global panorama while culturally contextualizing those same issues by understanding through which local prisms the light of research must also radiate.

The globalizing experience of higher education is also questioning the traditional siloing of knowledge 30

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pursuit by traditional subjects. Our ultimate subject of study is the human condition and the human experience in the physics of the planet we inhabit and in the metaphysics of the existential experience that defines us.

Thus each separate act of study needs to know its purpose within a more holistic realm of knowledge and research.

There is certainly a useful functionality in categorizing research and learning into a typology of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), social science and humanities subjects. Though the methodology of each academic discipline may be distinctive, their contents are contiguous. Our vision of ourselves will be severely f lawed if we assume that these differing subjects are categorically separate. It is essential that the humanities, the social sciences and the sciences increasingly work together to gain a more mature and widely informed understanding of developmental issues worldwide. A water problem in Mali or a nutritional issue in Bangladesh may need the insight of the historian, theologian and the psychologist as much as the agriculturalist, engineer and economist.

The pursuit of knowledge is, in a very literal sense, an act of distinction. All research breaks things down, takes to pieces, explores constituent parts and seeks to create distinctive and diverse insight where previously there was ignorance, confusion or a false singularity.

Education thus leads to an increasing identification of diversity and to a greater tolerance of difference. It is the university that guards this international, intercultural and interdisciplinary vision and the best universities create themselves of a multicultural and multinational register of students and staff. For the individual student, there can be no better educational catalyst than to work and study in a welcoming but culturally different context by studying abroad. This hopefully enjoyable, but sometimes challenging, experience of displacement can illuminate students’ realization of the human values and conditions we all share while simultaneously testing the distinctive and inherited aspects of their individual cultures in the foreign and varying context.

As globalization generates a homogeneity of worldwide human experience, universities must encourage us to know and protect the levels of mutuality, distinction, cultural trust and respect by which the world must also still work. Universities must also help us plot our shifting identities and affirm the values we all must share in common while equally championing the differences we all must celebrate as a diversely evolved pattern of cultures, societies and faiths. The role of the good university is to enable us to understand more deeply how we can live plurally and tolerantly as one globalized world. unc

paul smith  COLLEGES AND COLLEGIALITY—AN INTERNATIONAL IMPERATIVE

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Education Gender Equality

as the Pathway towards

A

By Azza Karam

martya Sen, often referred to as the father of the concept of ‘human development’, reminds us of a quote by H.G. Wells, where he said that “human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe”.

Sen maintains that “if we continue to leave vast sections of the people of the world outside the orbit of education, we make the world not only less just, but also less secure”. To Sen, the gender aspect of education is a direct link between illiteracy and women’s security.

Not being able to read or write is a significant barrier for underprivileged women, since this can lead to their failure to make use of even the rather limited rights they may legally have (to own land or other property, or to appeal against unfair judgment and unjust treatment). There are often legal rights in rule books that are not used because the aggrieved parties cannot read those rule books. Gaps in schooling can, therefore, directly lead to insecurity by distancing the deprived from the ways and means of fighting against that deprivation.1 For Sen, illiteracy and innumeracy are forms of insecurity in themselves, “not to be able to read or write or count or communicate is a tremendous deprivation. The extreme case of insecurity is the certainty of deprivation, and the absence of any chance of

avoiding that fate”.2 The link between education and security underlines the importance of education as akin to a basic need in the twenty-first century of human development.

Gendered Education Gaps: Some Critical Facts While a moral and political argument can continue to be made for the education of girls and women, some facts speak powerfully to the issue at hand. Girls accounted for 53 per cent of the 61 million children of primary school age who were out of school in 2010. Girls accounted for 49 per cent of the 57 million children out of school in 2013. In surveys of 30 countries with more than 100,000 out-of-school children, 28 per cent of girls were out of school on average compared to 25 per cent of boys. Completion of primary school is a particular problem for girls in sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia.3 Surveys in 55 developing countries reveal that girls are more likely to be out of school at a lower secondary age than boys, regardless of the wealth or location of the household. Almost two thirds of the world’s 775 million illiterate adults are women. In developing regions, there are 98 women per 100 men in tertiary education. There are significant inequalities in tertiary education in general, as well as in relation to areas of study, with women

United Nations

ACTIVITY REPORT McGill University — Canada

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

During the 2012-2013 academic year, McGill University launched two major projects in support of the UN Academic Impact Initiative: * In winter of 2012, McGill launched Vision 2020: Creating a Sustainable McGill, a yearlong consultation and planning process that builds on recent successes to set a sustainability strategy for — and from — the entire McGill community. The process has three phases, each driven by a key question, and each producing a deliverable document: ùù Phase 1, Situational Analysis:

What is McGill doing around

sustainability now and how does

that compare to peers and best practices? ùù Phase 2, Vision and Goals: Where

do we want to be on sustainability

in approximately 10 years? ùù Phase 3, Action Planning: How do

we get there? * In April 2013, the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Programme at McGill was launched to provide academically talented but economically disadvantaged young people from Africa with access to quality university education. Selected scholars will receive a holistic set of financial, social, and academic supports throughout their education and during their post-graduate transitions. This program leverages the comprehensive network of student support services already in place and will develop customised initiatives to further ensure that the MasterCard Foundation scholars are fully supported and given every opportunity to succeed in a welcoming environment. Scholars’ home communities will also benefit because they will be selected in part based on their motivation to give back to Africa both while studying at McGill and at the completion of their degree.

Azza Karam serves as a Senior Advisor on Social and Cultural Development, United Nations Population Fund.

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© un photo/mark garten

On 13 August 2013, Islamabad College for Girls, Pakistan, organized a Youth and Education event, which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attended to promote education, especially for girls and women.

being over-represented in the humanities and social sciences and significantly under-represented in engineering, science and technology.

Gender-based violence in schools undermines the right to education and presents a major challenge to achieving gender equality in education because it negatively impacts girls’ participation and their retention in school. In addition, ineffective sexual and reproductive health education inhibits adolescents’ access to information and contributes to school dropouts, especially among girls who have reached puberty.

The education of girls and women can lead to a wide range of benefits from improved maternal health, reduced infant mortality and fertility rates to increased prevention against HIV and AIDS.4 Educated mothers are more likely to know that HIV can be transmitted by breastfeeding, and that the risk of mother-to-child transmission can be reduced by taking drugs during pregnancy.

Each extra year of a mother’s schooling reduces the probability of infant mortality by 5-10 per cent. Children of mothers with secondary education or higher are twice as likely to survive beyond age 5 compared to those whose mothers have no education. Improvements in women’s education explained half of the reduction in child deaths between 1990 and 2009. A child born to a mother who can read is 50 per cent more likely to survive past age 5. In subSaharan Africa, an estimated 1.8 million children’s lives could have been saved in 2008 if their mothers had at least 32

Karam.indd 32

a secondary education. In Indonesia, 68 per cent of children with mothers who have attended secondary school are immunized, compared with 19 per cent of children whose mothers have no primary schooling. Wages, agricultural income and productivity—all critical for reducing poverty— are higher where women involved in agriculture receive a better education. Each additional year of schooling beyond primary offers greater payoffs for improved opportunities, options and outcomes for girls and women.

In the varied discussions on the post-2015 education related agendas, there was strong consensus that gender equality in education remains a priority. Various inputs noted that inequalities in general, and particularly gender equality, need to be addressed simultaneously on multiple levels—economic, social, political and cultural. A response on behalf of the International Women’s Health Coalition maintained that “all girls, no matter how poor, isolated or disadvantaged, should be able to attend school regularly and without the interruption of early pregnancy, forced marriage, maternal injuries and death, and unequal domestic and childcare burdens”.

Other inputs highlighted the importance of ensuring access to post-basic and post-secondary education for girls and women. Referring to secondary education, the German Foundation for World Population noted that the “completion of secondary education has a strong correlation with girls marrying later and delaying first pregnancy.” While

AZZA KARAM  EDUCATION AS THE PATHWAY TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY

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United Nations

access to good quality education is important for girls and women, preventing gender-based violence and equality through education clearly also remains a priority.

Gender-based discrimination in education is, in effect, both a cause and a consequence of deep-rooted differences in society. Disparities, whether in terms of poverty, ethnic background, disability, or traditional attitudes about their status and role all undermine the ability of women and girls to exercise their rights. Moreover, harmful practices such as early marriage, gender-based violence, as well as discriminatory education laws and policies still prevent millions of girls from enrolling and completing their respective education.5 Additionally, given the extensive and growing participation of women in income generating activities, education for girls and women is particularly important, especially in attempting to reverse gendered patterns of discrimination. Not only is it impossible to achieve gender equality without education, but expanding education opportunities for all can help stimulate productivity and thereby also reduce the economic vulnerability of poor households.

Gender Equality, Equity and Human Rights Equity is the strongest framing principle of a post-2015 rights-based agenda, and underlines the need to redress historical and structural inequalities in order to provide access to quality education at all levels. This heralds what was effectively one of the strongest themes that emerged in the post-2015 education consultations, i.e., a rights-based approach in which rights are indivisible. This implies that all aspects of education should be considered from a rights perspective, including structural features of education systems, methods of education, as well as the contents of the education

curricula. Indeed, overcoming structural barriers to accessing good quality education is vital for realizing education rights for all.

In related post-2015 consultations, equity is affirmed as a fundamental value in education. Several inputs noted that inequality in education remains a persistent challenge. This is connected to a focus in the Millennium Development Goals on averages without an accompanying consideration of trends beneath the averages. Many contributions in the education consultation, as well as in the other thematic consultations, highlighted the lack of attention to marginalized and vulnerable groups.

Equal access to good quality education requires addressing wideranging and persistent inequalities in society and should include a stronger focus on how different forms of inequality intersect to produce unequal outcomes for marginalized and vulnerable groups. Post-2015 consultations suggest that overcoming inequality requires a goal that makes national governments accountable for providing minimum standards and implementing country specific plans for basic services, including education.

Equity in education also implies various proactive and targeted measures to offer progressive support to disadvantaged groups.

Amartya Sen notes empirical work which has brought out very clearly how the relative respect and regard for women’s well-being is strongly influenced by their literacy and educated participation in decisions within and outside the family. Even the survival disadvantage of women compared with men in many developing countries (which leads to “such terrible phenomenon as a hundred million of ‘missing women’) seems to go down sharply, and may even get eliminated, with progress in women’s empowerment, for which literacy is a basic ingredient”.

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ACTIVITY REPORT Korean Education Development Institute – Republic of Korea

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

In 2012-2013, the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) conducted a number of activities in support of the UNAI principles focusing primarily on global citizenship and capacity building in higher education systems. Examples of KEDI’s work include the: * ADEA Triennial 2012: Korea-Africa Day – February 2012 The Korea-Africa Day was organized in Burkina Faso. The six-day-long seminar sought to present the development process of Korea’s educational system and to provide a platform for educational cooperation between Korea and Africa. * KEDI-UNESCO Bangkok Seminar – July 2012 In partnership with UNESCO, KEDI held a seminar focusing on “Education Policy-Making in the Age of Migration and the Pacific” in Bangkok, Thailand.

Key issues such as educational development cooperation and the actions to be taken to promote quality education were discussed. This Seminar is an annual event. * 5th APEC Education Ministerial Meeting – May 2012 KEDI played an active and important role in the planning and management of the 5th APEC Ministerial Meeting.

The event was held in Gyeongju, Korea and discussed “Future Challenges and Educational Responses: Fostering Global Innovative and Cooperative Education.” * KEDI-ASCD Joint Seminar K ED I co llab o r ate d w ith th e Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development to host a seminar highlighting the desired skills required of both teachers and students in the 21st century. * Lecture by Dr. Jerome C. Glenn KEDI invited Dr. Jerome C. Glenn, Director of the Millennium Project, to give a special lecture addressing the topic “Collective Intelligence for 15 Global Challenges: A Higher Educational Agenda for International Collaborations.”

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“

Gender-based discrimination in education is, in effect, both a cause and a consequence of deeprooted differences in society.

Disparities, whether in terms of poverty, ethnic background, disability, or traditional attitudes about their status and role, all undermine the ability of women and girls to exercise their rights.

In the summer of 2009, the International Labour Organization (ILO) issued a report entitled “Give Girls a Chance: Tackling child labour, a key to the future”, which makes a disturbing link between increasing child labour and the preference being given to boys when making decisions on education of children. The report states that in cultures in which a higher value is placed on education of male children, girls risk being taken out of school and are then likely to enter the workforce at an early age. The ILO report noted global estimates where more than 100 million girls were involved in child labour, and many were exposed to some of its worst forms.

Much of the research around women and education highlights the importance of investing in the education of girls as an effective way of tackling the gamut of poverty.

This is in line with assertions made in numerous other references, which also point to a strong link between education, increased women’s (as opposed to girls’) labour force participation, the wages they earn and overall productivity, all of which ultimately yields higher benefits for communities and nations. In other words, it pays to invest in girls’ and women’s education.

Gender socialization In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Western feminist stalwarts, such as Simone de Beauvoir, were elaborating the difference between biological ‘sex’ and social gender. Anne Oakley in particular, is known for coining the term gender socialization (1979), which indicates that gender is socially constructed. According to Oakley, parents are engaged in gender socialization but society holds the largest influence in constructing gender. She identified three social mechanisms of gender socialization: manipulation, canalization, 34

Karam.indd 34

and verbalization (Oakley, 1972). Oakley noted that gender is not a fixed concept but is determined by culture through the use of verbal and nonverbal signifiers and the creation of social norms and stereotypes, which identify proper and acceptable behavior. The signifiers are then perpetuated on a macro level, reinforced by the use of the media, as well as at the micro level, through individual relationships.

The concept entered mainstream lexicon on gender relations and development dynamics, and through criticism and counter criticism, ‘gender socialization’ itself became an important signifier. As a tool to highlight discriminatory practices, laws and perceptions (including stereotypes), gender socialization is often identified as the ‘root cause’ which explains various aspects of gender identities, and what underlies many gender dynamics.

In 2007, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) defined gender socialization as “[T]he process by which people learn to behave in a certain way, as dictated by societal beliefs, values, attitudes and examples. Gender socialization begins as early as when a woman becomes pregnant and people start making judgments about the value of males over females. These stereotypes are perpetuated by family members, teachers and others by having different expectations for males and females.”

There is, therefore, a clear interaction between sociocultural values (and praxis) with gender socialization. This only partly explains why it is that in many developing societies there is a persistent prioritization of women’s ‘domestic’ roles and responsibilities over public ones. Most young girls are socialized into the ‘biological inevitability’ of their socially determined future roles as mothers. This is closely connected, in many relatively socially conservative contexts, with the need to ensure (the prerequisite of) marriage.

Most related studies maintain that women with formal education are much more likely to use reliable family planning methods, delay marriage and childbearing, and have fewer and healthier babies than women with no formal education. The World Bank estimates that one year of female schooling reduces fertility by 10 percent, particularly where secondary schooling is undertaken.

In fact, because women with some formal education are more likely to seek medical care and be better informed about health care practices for themselves and their children, their offspring have higher survival rates and are better nourished. Not only that, but as indicated earlier, these women are less likely to undergo early pregnancy. Being better informed increases the chances of women knowing how to space their pregnancies better, how to access pre and post-natal care, including prevention of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and family planning in general. The World Bank estimates that an additional year of schooling for 1,000 women helps prevent two maternal deaths.

AZZA KARAM  EDUCATION AS THE PATHWAY TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY

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United Nations

“

The education of girls and women can lead to a wide range of benefits from improved maternal health, reduced infant mortality and fertility rates to increased prevention against HIV and AIDS. The World Bank, along with

UNICEF and the United Nations

Population Fund highlight in several of their reports the intergenerational benefits of women’s education. An educated mother is more likely, it is maintained, to attempt to ensure educational opportunities for her children. Indeed, the World Bank specifically notes that “in many countries each additional year of formal education completed by a mother translates into her children remaining in school for an additional onethird to one-half year”.6 In short, girls’ education and the promotion of gender equality in education are critical to development, thus underlining the need to broadly address gender disparities in education.

The rhetorical question that needs to be raised here is whether the consistent elements of gender socialization in the region, and the confusing messages for both sexes, can only lead to entrenching processes of gender inequality. At the very least, it is safe to argue that gender socialization, combined with the continuing discrepancies in education opportunities and outcomes not only provide a

negative feedback loop, but effectively contribute to entrenching patriarchal norms.

Political events and the endorsement of political leadership are often catalytic, if not necessary determinants, of policy change. In fact, most education reform programmes are often linked to political dynamics.

To date, such reforms are typically launched through a political or legal act. In most cases, countries prioritize aspects such as forging a common heritage and understanding of citizenship, instruction in particular language(s), and other means of building capacities as well as popular support for party programmes. All developing country governments have, at one time or another, put special effort into including girls in the education system. While there is a continuous role for policymakers and governments, it is increasingly clear that the socio-cultural terrain is where the real battles need to be waged in a studied, deliberate and targeted fashion.

Influencing the way people think, believe and behave; i.e., culture is the single most complicated task of human development. And yet, in policy and advocacy circles globally, this particular challenge still remains largely considered as ‘soft’ and, at best, secondary in most considerations. What is maintained here is that within the current global geopolitical climate, particularly where an increasing number of young men—and now also young women—are reverting to extremes such as inflicting violence, and where this is often exacerbated by socialization processes which often enforce certain harmful practices (e.g., early marriage) and outdated forms of gender identity and roles, then culture needs to be a high priority.

Needed cultural shifts require several key conditions. One of these is the importance of bridging the activism around gender equality and doing so by involving both men and women.

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ACTIVITY REPORT Dongseo University — Republic of Korea

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

In 2012-2013, Dongseo University and its partners have worked to support the 10 UNAI principles, focusing primarily on promoting higher education, global citizenship through education and intercultural dialogue and understanding. The University’s activities included the: * Annual Meeting of the Asian University Presidents Forum — October 2012 Dongseo University hosted the 11th annual meeting of the Asian University Presidents Forum, bringing together 68 universities from 17 countries. The Forum’s theme was “The Era of Asia: Creating a Cooperative Network of Asian Universities.” Participants discussed potential cooperation programmes, trends in the Asian education market, the impact of internationalization, how to prepare students for a global workforce and how to reduce inequality in higher education. * Annual Meeting of the Border Regions in Transition Conference — November 2012 The University co-hosted the 12th annual meeting of the Border Regions in Transition conference. The Conference’s theme was “Borderland Voices: Shaping a New World Order.” * Annual Meeting of the Asia Summer Programme — July 2013 The University hosted the 2nd annual meeting of the Asia Summer Program, involving 33 universities from 13 countries. Students participating in the programme experienced a highly international environment, enabling them to learn directly about the diverse cultures of Asia.

Going forward, Dongseo University hopes to further promote the participation of students from least developed countries (LDCs) in this international education programme.

To further promote these initiatives, Dongseo University has sought to establish a cooperative network of Asian universities for the promotion of collaborative research and study.

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While this still remains anathema to many women’s rights activists, it is nevertheless necessary that men become more engaged in gender equality work, and that women realize that their rights are incumbent on the systematic partnership with men and on appreciating the specific needs and challenges that young boys and men themselves are struggling with.

Another critical determinant of cultural change is that it has to be from within. Those who have worked with human rights issues more broadly have had to learn the hard way that any change that appears to be induced ‘from outside’, even if responding to a dire need and with perfectly sound reason, is destined for failure in many cases. Sustainable change has to be owned and operated locally. This points to the importance of identifying the ‘cultural agents of change’ in any given society, which include both its men and women activists, religious leaders, traditional and community leaders (in some cases these categories converge), media figures, charismatic community mobilizers, and especially youth themselves, who are the most critical agents of change.

At the same time, it is a fallacy to think that there can be no linkages whatsoever between local ownership and external dynamics. International, especially multilateral, development partners have an important role to play in facilitating the bridge building between and among the cultural agents of change themselves on the one hand, and between them and their respective policymakers on the other. But in this day and age of technology and increasing speed of technology, international development actors, as well as transnational academic actors, are already facilitating the building of bridges between youth. Some of this is already happening through a plethora of fora (including social websites), and the impact remains difficult to gauge.

All this points to the fact that education in the traditional sense of school enrolment, drop-out rates, curricula development, and structural dynamics thereof are in multiple stages of transition. It remains to be seen how, and in what way, new forms of education, knowledge acquisition, and information sharing will significantly change patterns of gender socialization itself. It is too soon to definitely assess the shifting sands we are standing on. Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to either overestimate the power of entrenched patriarchy, or to underestimate the capacity of women and men to significantly refashion their realities. At the same time, the changes in the culture of international development goal setting are already producing critical insights and inputs which are shaping the agenda of global, regional and national dynamics for upcoming decades. unc The opinions expressed in this article belong to the author only and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of any institution, Board or staff member.

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Notes 1

2 3 4

5 6

UNICEF and UNESCO: The World We Want—Making Education a Priority in the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Report of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, 2013. Available at http://www.unicef.org/education/files/ Making_Education_a_Priority_in_the_Post-2015_Development_ Agenda.pdf.

Ibid.

“Making Education a Priority in the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Report of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda”.

All the figures and data herein presented from UNESCO. 2011b. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011. The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education, Paris and UNESCO. World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education. Paris, 2012.

UNESCO—http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/ leading-the-international-agenda/gender-and-education/ Ibid.

References ALGER, Chadwick. “Religion as a Peace Tool”, The Global Review of Ethnopolitics, vol.1,4: 94-109. (June 2002).

DIAMOND, Larry (ed.). Political Culture and Democracy in Developing Countries (Boulder and London, Lynne Rienner, 1994).

HUNTINGTON, Samuel. ‘The Clash of Civilizations?’, Foreign Affairs, vol.

72, No.3, Summer 1993, pp. 19-23.

JOHNSON, Chalmers. Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire (New York, Henry Holt and Company, 2000).

KARAM, Azza. Transnational Political Islam: Religion, Ideology and Power (London, Pluto Press, 2004).

LEFTWICH, Adrian (ed.). Democracy and Development: Theory and Practice (London, Polity Press, 1996).

MACRAE, Joanna. Aiding Recovery? The Crisis of AID in Chronic Political Emergencies (London and New York, Zed Books in association with ODI, 2001).

PILCH, John J. “Beat His Ribs While He is Young” (Sir 30:12): A Window on the Mediterranean World”, Biblical Theology Bulletin: A Journal of Bible and Theology, vol. 23, 3 (1993) pp 101-113.

TYNEDALE, Wendy. (ed.). Visions of Development: Faith-based Initiatives (UK: Ashgate, 2006).

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)’s Arab Human Development Report (New York, 2002, 2004, and 2005).

UNESCO, “Key Messages and Data on Girls’ and Women’s Education and Literacy” Paris, April 2012.

UNICEF and UNESCO, The World We Want—Making Education a Priority in the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Report of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, 2013. Available at http://www.unicef.org/education/files/Making_ Education_a_Priority_in_the_Post-2015_Development_Agenda.pdf.

UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (UNFPA) State of World Population Report: Reaching Common Ground—Culture, Gender and Human Rights (2008).

WILLIAMS, Brett (ed.). The Politics of Culture (Washington D.C., The Smithsonian Institution, 1991).

WORLD BANK MENA Report: The Road Not Travelled: Education Reform in the Middle East and North Africa, (Washington D.C. The World Bank, 2008).

AZZA KARAM  EDUCATION AS THE PATHWAY TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY

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THE JOURNEY OF A DENTAL SURGEON INTO INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

By LAVERN SAMUELS

W

hen I was a student of dentistry, a caption on a T-shirt during the annual dental students’ orientation programme captured my attention. It read ‘Dental Students—BUILDING BRIDGES IN SOCIETY’. It had graphic visuals that illustrated this caption. As a student, I became increasingly involved in the broader role that health professionals play in society and the influence that they have in being able to positively change the lives of members of society.

Later, as part of my studies I was awarded a student exchange scholarship at the University of Melbourne in Australia and the Royal Dental Hospital which

was attached to the university’s faculty of dentistry. This was an eye opening experience that not only exposed me to differences within societies but also the common threads that run through humanity. Although I was involved in a field of study that was very much focused on health and medicine, and my subsequent working life was as a clinical dentist in both private practice and the public sector and thereafter as an academic in various sub-disciplines within dentistry, my sojourn into the international dimension had begun much earlier without me being fully cognizant of the strong influence it would have on my future career and my present activities.

MAP OF SOUTH AFRICA’S HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

13. University of the Free State 14. Central University ofTechnology, Free State 15. Vaal University of Technology 1. University of Cape Town 16. North-West University 2. University of the Western Cape 17. University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 3. Cape Peninsula University of Technology 18. University of Johannesburg 4. Stellenbosch University 19. University of Pretoria 5. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University 20. Tshwane University of Technology 6. Rhodes University 21. University of South Africa 7. University of Fort Hare 22. University of Limpopo 8. Walter Sisulu University 23. University of Venda 9. University of KwaZulu-Natal OTHER: 10. Durban University of Technology 24. Sol Plaaitjie University 11. Mangosuthu University of Technology 25. University of Mpumalanga 12. University of Zululand LAVERN SAMUELS is President of the International Education Association of South Africa and Director, International Education and Partnerships at Durban University of Technology, South Africa.

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United Nations

ACTIVITY REPORT Higher Institute of Political and Administrative Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik — Lebanon

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

In keeping with the tenets of the UN Academic Impact, the Higher Institute of Political and Administrative Sciences of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik undertook several activities during the 2012-2013 academic year. The University’s efforts focused on higher education and, more specifically, capacity building in systems of higher education. * UN Security Council Simulation – April 2013 Students completing Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in International Relations initiated a student-run simulation of the UN’s Security Council. * Institute of Political Science courses The University’s Institute of Political Science incorporated several courses relating to UNAI principles into their Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes. These courses are entitled: ùù Negotiations and Conflict Resolutions ùù Sustainable Development and

Regional Cooperation ùù Regional and International Organisations ùù The Arab-Israeli Conflict ùù Foreign Policy ùù Analysis of the Decision-Making

Process and Case Studies ùù Mediation and Conflict Resolution ùù Terrorism and International Security * Consultative Meeting of Academics: Integrating Intercultural Dialogue and Conflict Transformation in Higher Education Studies – November 2012 In collaboration with UNESCO and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the University of Kaslik held a Consultative meeting of academics to discuss the development of a Master’s programme in peace and conflict studies. This programme would place a strong emphasis on multidisciplinary learning and the practical application of the skills acquired through internships. The programme’s pedagogy would focus on teachings of peace and the narrowing of the gap between theory and practice. The Master’s degree would involve the University of Kaslik and two Italian universities.

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During my tenure as a full-time academic and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, I was asked by the Vice Chancellor if I would initiate the building of an international culture at Durban University of Technology. That was the beginning of a journey that would lead to a significant shift in my career options and an adventure that I had never even imagined. My initial engagement with international education was purely from the perspective of an academic. I was able to use this lens to learn about a new area of knowledge. Initially I thought this would be a major disadvantage as I was not steeped in the administrative procedures that are a crucial part of academic mobility in internationalization. However, increasingly, I have come to appreciate both the tools and the lens that my academic background afforded me when engaging with internationalization of

higher education. It has allowed me to appreciate internationalization as something that is greater than a series of international activities, projects and partnerships, but also as something that profoundly inf luences both the core activities at a university as well as the attributes of the graduates that emerge from our universities.

Internationalization is a powerful transformative tool that can inf luence the teaching, learning and research at a university. It is also a potent quality enhancement tool that can positively shape the graduate attributes of our students giving them knowledge, skills and competencies, not only in their chosen disciplines but also in the areas of cultural competence and global citizenship.

Internationalization has gone through several iterations over the ages. The ancient universities embodied the notion of universality and a university being a

Durban University of Technology—Sultan Campus.

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© Durban University of Technology

LAVERN SAMUELS  THE JOURNEY OF A DENTAL SURGEON INTO INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

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United Nations

repository of global knowledge rather than narrow parochial knowledge. Over the years, international education has witnessed numerous transitions from a phase where the focus had been largely on commercialization and the economic benefits that academic mobility could bring to the economy of countries that hosted international students.

It has gone through phases that have been activity focused, such as the learning of a foreign language or taking a course in English. There have also been phases where internationalization of higher education was seen simply as academic mobility for students and staff from different universities. However, it is heartening to note that the modern trends in international education embody a more comprehensive approach to internationalization, one that encourages the embedding of international dimensions in all activities of the university and promotes the benefits of internationalization to all students and staff at universities and not just for those that are able to engage in academic mobility. This has taken the form of strong internationalization in home programmes and internationalization of the curriculum.

These concepts bring internationa lization into classrooms, academic departments and university activities. It concerns not just the design and content of the curriculum but also the dynamic ongoing deliver y of the broader curriculum. The creative and innovative ways in which a curriculum can be internationalized is an exciting and fascinating field with endless possibilities. Modern technology adds a fresh and exciting twist to these possibilities.

Internationalization in higher education also offers a different way through which the world is engaging, one that promotes better

understanding and non-adversarial engagement. Imagine the benefits of an internationalized curriculum for a student in Maritime Studies who will spend nine months of the year with people of various nationalities in the confined environment of a ship. There is need now more than ever for an understanding and appreciation of the other and what is different. The need for global citizenship and cultural competence has never been more relevant than it is now.

A major question that emanates a rou nd i nter nat iona l i z ation is whet her it is a core or periphera l issue at universities.

For me the answer is clear—one cannot speak of quality teaching and learning without speaking of international benchmarks and best practices. One cannot spea k of quality research without speaking of international partnerships and collaboration.

We need global solutions to the major global challenges like renewable energ y, food security, HIV/ AIDS and global warming. Equally, we need to take local knowledge and local challenges to the global stage.

Personally, the greatest benefit of internationalization of higher education is the bridge that it builds between the loca l and the global—it allows local voices, previously silent and unheard, to be hea rd. It a l lows for new lenses a nd epistemolog ies w it h wh ich to appreciate k nowledge, a nd it enriches the world with new narr at ive s pre v iou sly u n he a rd or unwritten. This is epitomized by the old African proverb that says: “For as long as the lion does not have a story teller, the story of the hunt will always glorif y the hunter.” I invite you to explore a world where the plura lit y of participation and discourse is both encouraged and appreciated. unc UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

Black Sea Universities Network – Romania The Black Sea Universities Network (BSUN) organised many activities for 2012-2013 in support of the UN Academic Impact principles. Two of the more noteworthy initiatives were: * BSUN Joint Master Degree Study Program on the Management of Renewable Energy Sources, ARGOS – Financed under the Joint Operational Programme of the Black Sea Basin 2007-2013, this project is aimed at achieving a stronger regional partnership and cooperation between the universities of the Black Sea Basin. * International Summer School on High Performance Computing and Cloud Computing for Sustainable Development In cooperation with Hewlett Packard Romania and other partners, BSUN has organized a summer school aimed at evaluating high performance computing, cloud computing hardware and software solutions for the development of education and scientific research. Additionally, the school aims to present end-user applications in the field of multi-criteria analysis of sustainability and other scientific research and education.

In addition to these endeavours the BSUN was also involved in a UNAI Workshop on Pathways Towards a Green Economy & Energy from Waste: Biogas Production, a seminar on Black Sea in the Era of Green Economy, the Rio+20 International Conference, a seminar on Green Economy: The New Paradigm for Science and Education, a forum discussing Academic Cooperation for Peace & Welfare in the Mediterranean & Black Sea Region, the development of the UNESCO Chair in Water for Ecologically Sustainable Development in Belgrade and the establishment of the UNAI-BSUN International Youth Centre in Simferopol.

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THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE GERMAN TERTIARY EDUCATION SYSTEM Towards Furthering the United Nations Academic Impact Initiative

T

By ARNOLD VAN ZYL

his article briefly reviews the German tertiary education system and illustrates how it contributes towards furthering the principles underlying the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) initiative.

The German tertiary education system is highly differentiated in structure and comprises 392 higher education institutions with a combined student population of approximately 2.4 million. These institutions are grouped into 121 universities, 215 universities of applied sciences (“Fachhochschulen”) and 56 colleges of art or music.1

artistic teaching, practice and research and provide practical and theoretical training to the PhD level.

There are approximately 9,500 different undergraduate programmes and another 6,800 postgraduate degree programmes offered at higher education institutions throughout Germany.

In addition to the two university level academic qualifications (Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees), there are some courses that lead to state certified exams; for example, medicine, law and the training of teachers. Finally, there are still some remaining degree programmes that lead to a “Diplom” qualification.

© wikemedia commons/ Graphics by Otto Rohse

Deutsche Bundespost (DBP) 1986—Commemorating 600 years of the University of Heidelberg.

In general, universities focus on basic research with a theoretical and research orientated curriculum. The German universities are traditionally responsible for the training of the next generation of academics and are accredited to offer, among others, Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD degrees.

The curricula of the universities of applied sciences, on the other hand, are more application oriented and include integrated and supervised work assignments within industry and/or other relevant institutions. The universities of applied sciences only offer Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.

The colleges of art and colleges of music aim at integrating ARNOLD VAN ZYL is Rector, Technische Universität Chemnitz, Germany.

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The diverse structure of the German university system inherently supports one of the basic principles of UNAI “… to provide the opportunity for every interested individual to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary for the pursuit of higher education”.

The higher education system is also regionally differentiated. Each of the 16 Federal States (Bundesländer) has a distinctive higher education legislation. To allow mobility of students and academics within Germany, however, certain generic principles apply to the formulation of the respective education legislations. For instance, the German Federal Constitution specifically grants academic freedom in article 5, paragraph 3:

ARNOLD VAN ZYL  THE CONTRIBUTION OF the GERMAN TERTIARY EDUCATION system

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United Nations

“Art and science, research and teaching are free…”. This basic constitutional provision underpins another core principle of UNAI “… a commitment to freedom of inquiry, opinion and speech.”

Germany, at the Federal level, has recently experienced an increasing financial commitment to research in higher education institutions through the so-called excellence initiative.

According to the German rectors conference, €41.2 billion euros was spent on tertiary education in 2010. Currently, only the State of Lower Saxony charges tuition fees. In the other 15 states no tuition fees are levied. The financial support for universities and the broad commitment to free education at the tertiary level for German as well as foreign students demonstrates a further commitment to the principles of UNAI “… building capacity in higher education systems across the world and educational opportunity for all people regardless of gender, race, religion or ethnicity”.

In addition to the classic Humboldtian functions of research and teaching, German universities are increasingly fulfilling additional functions within their communities. These functions are described as the third mission of the university.2 In Germany, the third mission of the universities is focused on knowledge transfer to industry partners through codified knowledge produced by the university in the form of intellectual property such as patents, licenses or copyright or through coproduction of knowledge via contract research with industry. Further aspects of the third mission focus on entrepreneurship with the university and regional authorities providing the required incubator function for spin-off companies. Expertise from universities is also increasingly applied in the shaping and/ or implementation of policy.

Integrating the third mission in a meaningful way with the classical functions of teaching and research is a challenge and source of controversy within universities. Nevertheless, it is

an essential aspect of tangibly demonstrating the added value of universities within society. The growing awareness and implementation of the third mission of universities underscore the contribution to another basic principle of UNAI “… a commitment to promoting societal sustainability.”

At present, German higher educational institutions have around 11.3 per cent foreign students. The rationale for internationalization is, among others, the recognition that universities have the responsibility to educate the next generation of global citizens and leaders. Furthermore, research collaboration allows a global perspective on challenges such as climate change, poverty and energy security. The German Academic Exchange Service and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation are major partners of the German tertiary education system to support student and academic exchange. In doing so, the German academic environment is enriched by a diversity of people and ideas and effectively integrated into a global academic network. These internationalization activities support additional principles of UNAI “… encouraging global citizenship through education and a commitment to promoting inter-cultural dialogue and understanding, and the ‘unlearning’ of intolerance”.

In Germany there exists a broad societal consensus that tertiary education is a powerful agent of personal and societal transformation. To such an extent a new culture of intellectual social responsibility as proposed by the UNAI initiative resonates well with the German tertiary education system. unc Notes 1 2

German Rectors Conference (HRK): Higher Education Compass, Summer Semester 2013.

Laredo, Philippe, “Toward a third mission for Universities”, presented at the UNESCO research seminar for the Regional Scientific Committee for Europe and North America, Paris, 5-6 March 2007. Available at: http://portal.unesco.org/education/ es/files/53913/11858787305Towards_a_ third_Mission_universities.pdf/.

UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences— Austria

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) conducted a number of activities in support of the United Nations Academic Impact’s principles. Particular noteworthy activities included: * Receiving the Austria Sustainability Reporting Award BOKU presents an annual sustainability report to the Ministry of Science and Research as well as to stakeholders and the general public. This year, the University was awarded the Austria Sustainability Reporting Award.

Going forward, BOKU is developing a sustainability strategy covering research, education, know-how transfer and management. Additionally, BOKU cooperated with the University of Graz to initiate the Alliance of Sustainable Universities in Austria. The goal of this project is to promote crossuniversity activities and the exchange of knowledge and good practices between universities. * Being the University with the highest number of APPEAR projects APPEAR projects are sponsored by the Austrian Development Agency. The ADA provides funding for projects in key regions to improve the quality of teaching, research, management and administration at selected institutions.

This past year, BOKU took on the most APPEAR projects. * The First Time in Austria Workshop In an effort to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding, BOKU organized a “First Time in Austria” workshop for international students from non-European Union countries.

In addition to these projects, BOKU ran projects entitled “Changing Minds and Structures: The Nicaraguan Agricultural University’s Growing Involvement with Rural Communities,” “WATERCAP: Strengthening Universities’ Capacities for Mitigating Climate Change Induced Water Vulnerabilities in East Africa,” and “TRANSACT: Strengthening Rural Transformation Competences of Higher Education and Research Institutions in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia.”

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B

International mobility of students in

Brazil

By CARLOS EDUARDO VERGANI

y the early 1990s, Brazil’s economy had hit rock bottom. During the past 20 years a different scenario has emerged, and Brazil has become the sixth largest economy in the world. Experts predict that it could soon become one of the world’s top five economies.

CARLOS EDUARDO VERGANI is Full Professor and Deputy Head of the International Office, São Paulo State University, Brazil.

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Carlos Eduardo vergani  International Mobility of Students in Brazil

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United Nations

“

...Brazil needs to pursue research and technology transfer links. That is where international student mobility and exchange can play a very important role.

In response to the increasing demand for skilled human resources, active student mobility will help create a qualified workforce in Brazil.

While Brazilian society became modernized and its economy grew, higher education institutions also expanded in size and quality. Nowadays, the Brazilian university system reflects world standards and, according to some rankings, some of Brazil’s universities are among the 200 best in the world. Higher education could not have grown without economic development and the reverse may become true in the future in the new era of knowledge economy. For that to become a reality, Brazil needs to pursue research and technology transfer links. That is where international student mobility and exchange can play a very important role. In response to the increasing demand for skilled human resources, active student mobility will help create a qualified workforce in Brazil. Student

mobility in Brazil, particularly at the graduate level, has a long history that includes the international mobility of PhD candidates and researchers, a process that started in the early 1950s with the creation of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a significant number of Brazilians training abroad. After returning home, these scientists contributed to the vigourous development of the science and graduate education in Brazil. CAPES and CNPq have played an important role in this process through funding several bilateral projects with different countries. Nevertheless, although Brazilian science has demonstrated significant growth in recent years, the interaction between the academic research and the business sector still needs to be drastically improved.

To encourage the internationalization of technology and innovation, there are currently many initiatives aimed at raising the intensity of international student and/or faculty mobility in Brazil. In July 2011, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff announced an audacious scholarship programme known as Brazil Scientific Mobility (formerly Science Without Borders), an initiative which aims to send up to 101,000 fully funded Brazilian students abroad for training in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields by 2015. The total budget for the period of four years is estimated to be around $2 billion dollars. After two semesters and an internship, the students will return to Brazil to obtain their degrees.

The main challenge for many Brazilian students applying for study abroad programmes is their lack of foreign language skills, mainly English. Thus, English Without Borders, a government-sponsored English language training programme was created, with the aim of preparing students to meet the Brazil Scientific UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT

Monmouth University— United States

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

In 2012-2013, Monmouth University undertook two major projects in support of UNAI. * Project BAM Project BAM is a dynamic mentoring programme linking Big Brothers and Big Sisters with Asbury Park High School. The primary purpose of the project is to interest and prepare students for college by promoting social skills and allowing them to explore new opportunities in a welcoming environment.

Through this project, Monmouth University held a number of academic and cultural events, mentoring sessions, a non-violence t-shirt project, a debate workshop and an interfaith presentation. * Monmouth Dialogue Group The Monmouth Dialogue Group (MDG) is composed of Arab Americans (both Christian and Muslim), American Jews and friends of both communities. The 25 member group represent a wide variety of professions and, together, they work to promote Arab-Jewish understanding in New Jersey’s Monmouth County and beyond.

The group meets on a regular basis to examine issues of mutual concern. Participants discuss relevant books, attend interfaith lectures and multicultural events, visit Arab and Jewish cultural and religious sites, and seek to generate positive change in their community. Such activities are crucial for creating group cohesion and for enriching the group’s outlook and repertoire. Finally, the MDG holds public events where speakers and panellists are invited to show and discuss relevant movies in support of dialogue themes. MDG has met several times at Monmouth University and participated in a wide variety of activities in the local community.

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Mobility language requirement, as well as other scholarship programmes requiring English proficiency. In addition, the Brazil Scientific Mobility programme provides Inbound Fellowships with the aim of bringing to Brazilian universities and research centres early-career researchers and senior scholars under an unparalleled funding scheme.

The Young Talent awards fully fund 1-3 year research stays in Brazil with a package that includes round-trip tickets, relocation expenses, a tax-free lecturer-level monthly allowance, a contribution toward research costs and funding for research assistantship. A 2-3 year grant is available to senior researchers through the Special Visiting Researchers fellowship with round-trip tickets for every 1-3 month annual visit to Brazil, a tax-free senior-level monthly allowance, a contribution toward research costs and funding for a Sandwich PhD in their home country and a Post-doctoral Fellow in Brazil. According to Christian Müller, Director of DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service in Rio de Janeiro, “Science Without Borders has put Brazil on the map of International Education”. So far, 38,272 Brazilian scholarship students have been placed at host institutions from more than 30 countries. The top 10 destination countries are the United States, France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Ireland. The candidates are first nominated by their Brazilian university and their participation must be approved by CAPES or CNPq. The final decision to accept a student in the programme is made by the participating host institution.

Other similar initiatives have been successful in fostering the international mobility of Brazilian undergraduate students. Some universities have implemented specific strategic plans for internationalization, using part of their budget to finance the mobility of students and faculties at specific international partners. Since 2011, state research foundations, such as the São Paulo Research Foundation, have offered scholarships to students enrolled in undergraduate, Masters and PhD programmes to spend up to one year in a research laboratory or institution abroad doing work related to their project in Brazil (Grant for Research Studies Abroad).

“

In July 2011, Brazilian

President Dilma Rousseff announced an audacious scholarship programme known as Brazil Scientific Mobility (formerly Science Without Borders), an initiative which aims to send up to 101,000 fully funded Brazilian students abroad for training in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields by 2015.

The private sector has also become a rising force in promoting student international mobility. Santander Bank ’s mobility programme and Fundação Estudar’s studying-abroad programme are examples of such practice. Erasmus Mundus is another important programme by which students have acquired international academic experience. Since its inception in 2004, more than 540 Brazilian students have been selected for Erasmus Mundus scholarships. Although most of the initiatives described here are mainly unilateral and not real exchange, it is expected that they will contribute in the internationalization process of the Brazilian universities.

One specific barrier that commonly discourages international students from studying in Brazil is the language, as very few Brazilian institutions offer undergraduate programmes or courses in English. This is a major challenge, and unless we address this in a fundamental way, our developmental goals may be undermined. Despite that, a number of successful double degree programmes in engineering have been established between Brazilian research universities and European or American institutions.

In most cases, courses in Portuguese as a second language to foreign graduate and postgraduate students are offered. unc Brazilian students on their first day at the Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland.

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WALTER A STORY OF RESILIENCE AND

HOPE

By INDRANI NAIDOO

T

he name Walter is taken from a Germanic name meaning “ruler of the army” (http:/www.behindthename.com), yet the Walter I was honoured to meet and connect with, like a mother to a son, is a beautifully made gentle soul, soft spoken, always smiling and showing no outer scars of a person exposed to some of the worst brutalities against humankind. On the contrary, he is poised, warm, friendly and grateful for his portion, for his cup in life, once empty even of basic needs that every child is entitled to and flung to the harsh elements of fate, is brimming with goodness and soon will overflow. This is because a young man realized that if he was so cruelly flung into the valley of death as a child, alone, confused, hungry, thirsty and lost in the crowds WALTER’S MOTHER WITH HIS BROTHER, NTIRAMPEBA LEON, ON THE LEFT, AND ABAYO INNOCENT, ON THE RIGHT.

© WALTER NSENGIYUMVA

© WALTER NSENGIYUMVA

of hurting people f leeing for their lives with empty hands and aching hearts, he was alive for a purpose. All they had was WALTER NSENGIYUMVA the sky above as their roof and each other—strangers by blood but brothers in circumstances. He remains beautifully made and hopeful that there is still goodness to be enjoyed.

Walter Nsengiyumva was born in Karengera, Cyangugu, Rwanda on 22 December 1984 to Leon Mbarushimana and Nukarubana Beatrice. His father is a tailor and his mother a primary school teacher.

Walter recalls that in 1990, when he was about 6 years old, conflict started in his country. He was attending primary school. The entwined story of the Rwandan monarchy, Tutsi rule and resistance, the country becoming a republic and the rising of the Hutus all resulted in war. Bombings, butchering, burning of villages, looting, gunshots, and violence against INDRANI NAIDOO is International Education Officer, International Education and Partnerships, Durban University of Technology, South Africa.

UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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United Nations

ACTIVITY REPORT Dongseo University – Republic of Korea

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

In 2012-2013, Dongseo University and its partners have worked to support the 10 UNAI principles, focusing primarily on promoting higher education, global citizenship through education and intercultural dialogue and understanding. The University’s activities included the: * Annual Meeting of the Asian University Presidents Forum – October 2012 Dongseo University hosted the 11th annual meeting of the Asian University Presidents Forum, bringing together 68 universities from 17 countries. The Forum’s theme was “The Era of Asia: Creating a Cooperative Network of Asian Universities.”

Participants discussed potential cooperation programs, trends in the Asian education market, the impact of internationalization, how to prepare students for a global workforce and how to reduce inequality in higher education. * Annual Meeting of the Border Regions in Transition Conference – November 2012 The University co-hosted the 12th annual meeting of the Border Regions in Transition conference. The Conference’s theme was “Borderland Voices: Shaping a New World Order.” * Annual Meeting of the Asia Summer Program – July 2013 The University hosted the 2nd annual meeting of the Asia Summer Program, involving 33 universities from 13 countries. Students participating in the program experienced a highly international environment, enabling them to learn directly about the diverse cultures of Asia. Going forward, Dongseo University hopes to further promote the participation of students from least developed countries (LDCs) in this international education program.

To further promote these initiatives, Dongseo University has sought to establish a cooperative network of Asian universities for the promotion of collaborative research and study.

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women and children were rife, resulting in the mass exodus of villagers. The working citizens of Rwanda in marketplaces, churches and other places where people congregated were targeted by insurgents and resulted in the senseless killing of the helpless and innocent. Confusion between tribes emerged. Tribal lines were blurred since the government and army were made up of the Hutus and Tutsis. The real reason for the war was no longer known. By July 1994, the RPF (Ugandan trained soldiers party) controlled most of Rwanda. Out of great fear, the people fled to surrounding countries. Most moved into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including Walter and his family. He continued his primary school education in exile. In 1997, rumblings of conflict in the DRC were heard. Refugee camps were attacked and, once again, the senseless slaughtering of the innocent and helpless occurred.

Once again, the family was uprooted and fled from this battlefield of bombs and bullets. Heartbroken and homeless survivors had to literally walk through pathways of death, through parts of the central African jungles face-to-face with wild animals, hunger and illness. The stench of fear and death filled the air. Dead bodies, with missing body parts, were disrespectfully strewn all over. Walter recalls at a certain point on this deadly walk many people, already weak from starvation and thirst, jumping over corpses who became violently ill. Nobody was allowed to speak to avoid being heard by fighters who would detect the nearby passersby. Many crying and dying children were carried by helpless, grief-stricken parents. Family members had to make the painful decision to move while leaving behind the fatigued, hurt and sick including their own children. After six months of walking, seeking refuge in that forest, they were attacked at the Congo River, which is wide and filled with crocodiles, hippos and venomous snakes, causing people to become scattered. Gunshots were heard in the direction of the water which forced the crowds to move into the water. Many separations occurred.

Walter’s parents and siblings were all separated. It became a walk with strangers. Refugees clung to one another for companionship and direction.

Walter recalls that at one point he was feeling sick and had to lie down on a small concrete area where small boats come in to dock on the side of the river. He heard gunshots and saw two dying women next to him. One of the soldiers called out to Walter beckoning him to halt. Walter was terrified and took to safety by running into the water, sinking into the mud and river weeds. The weeds anchored him as he choked in mud. He managed to come up but the water currents were too strong for this young child and he was carried downstream.

As he continued his way down the river he saw a man fishing.

They did not speak the same language but the man noticed that Walter was sick. The man gave Walter a piece of dried fish and cassava to eat and guided him by showing him the 46

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way forward. Alone, fatigued, cold and filled with fear, Walter continued his walk in the forest. As daylight curtains were closing, he met a group of about 20 survivors who had fled an earlier shooting. They were met by a Congolese pastor who had a strategic hiding place. He managed to assist their crossing of the river on his small boat. Crossing during the day was dangerous and the pastor requested the survivors to wait till dark. Morning broke and they found their way at sunrise. The people walked for about one-and-a-half days. Walter spotted his baby brother, Abayo, sitting on the forest pathway crying as he was in severe pain from a wounded and swollen foot. Ten-year-old Walter picked up his four-year-old baby brother and placed him on his back. He was heavy but Walter was now his brother’s keeper. It was a bittersweet reunion and they comforted one another. They struggled to catch up with the others but their little limbs were fatigued. With each moment the separation gap became wider. They managed to come to the main road where they followed the footprints of other refugees ahead of them. A hunter in the forest spotted Walter wearing a belt and requested that it be handed over or he would shoot him in the chest with the arrow. Walter carefully put down his little brother, removed the belt, handed it to the hunter, lifted his brother and placed him on his back.

They silently continued to walk. Starvation continued for days. Night was approaching and they could not move anymore. They decided to rest on the side of the grassy pathway.

Armed soldiers who were following the refugees passed by.

One soldier stopped and almost brushed past Walter and his brother in the dark. The soldier began to urinate unaware that he did so on the two little boys who were too terrified to move in case they were shot in the dark.

In the morning, Walter and Abayo continued to walk.

Days later, they met a lady praying with a rosary in her hand. Walter was also wearing his rosary. She saw them come towards her and embraced them, cried and begged them to stay with her. At first, Walter refused but the boys were helpless, fatigued, starving and hurt so his better judgment won. The woman’s husband was a chief in that particular village. The boys lived with them for two months. The daughter of the chief was a religious sister and she assisted with speeding up the process of family reconciliation. The International Committee of the Red Cross came to fetch refugee children who were lost in the Equatorial Forest.

Walter and Abayo, along with other children, were brought to Rwanda. After 9 years of painful separation, the two were reunited with their relatives and then with their mother.

After 10 years of separation, they received news that their father was alive. Walter completed secondary school. His family, refugees from Rwanda in the DRC, then took root in Brazzaville, Congo. Walter is now in South Africa studying towards a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering at the Durban University of Technology. He is completing his

indrani naidoo  WALTER—A STORY OF RESILIENCE AND HOPE

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United Nations

“

Displaced people often lose hope, their humanity and their ability to trust and love. Children are stripped of the things we take for granted—morning hugs, greetings, breakfasts with family or even praying together.

They have no land, home or sense of belonging.

third year and has produced outstanding results so far. Industry usually gives first preference to local students but Walter’s results were so exceptional that they opened doors for him.

His studies were sponsored by an Italian company and he is now being recruited by a German company, prepared to send him to Germany to do practical work. Baby brother, Abayo Innocent saw Walter as his role model and decided that he would join him in South Africa as he was completing high school. On 4 March 2012, there was a series of blasts at an army arms dump in Brazzaville which was close to the school that Abayo Innocent attended. Sadly, he was one of the many who were tragically killed. At the age of four, Abayo walked for years to find refuge and, despite his innocent spirit being weighed down by painful circumstances, he too blossomed into a promising young man, filled with potential to give to mankind, but cruelly taken at age 19.

Walter was in South Africa at the time and was unable to say goodbye to the little brother he carried through the snares of life or to even comfort his parents.

Stripped of material possessions but armed only with a strong spirit together with faith and hope in each hand, Walter vowed that he will make a success out of his life. Education would enable him to help his family fight the scourge of poverty and injustices heaped upon the helpless and voiceless. With encouragement from his parents, Walter felt motivated. He realized that education was the vital key that would open doors to a meaningful and fulfilling life since education can endow a human being with dignity, independence, power to make the correct decisions, vision to see potential, a voice to debate, negotiate and have opinions. Although education is a basic human right, young budding minds of refugees are robbed of this stimulating nutrition.

Education empowers and gives much needed hope so that the total person can make a meaningful contribution to a world often starved of peace.

Displaced people often lose hope, their humanity and their ability to trust and love. Children are stripped of the things we take for granted— morning hugs, greetings, breakfasts with family or even praying together.

They have no land, home or sense of belonging. Against all these odds Walter is a focused young man who believes that God has been gracious and generous by sending helpers who assisted his safe passage.

At conception, God places a ‘Resilient Seed of Hope’ in the heart of every human being and despite the weeds around us, if appropriately nourished and allowed to sprout, grow and blossom, then that tree will bear flowers and fruit for all God’s creatures to enjoy. Walter is a living example of that. Walter is a living sign of resilience and hope for all. unc UN CHRONICLE  No. 4  2013

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ACTIVITY REPORT

Many Languages One World Essay Contest 2013-2014 Sharing a Culture of Intellectual Social Responsibility

University of Salento— Italy

This year, the University of Salento

demonstrated its support for the 10 UNAI principles by focusing its efforts on human rights. The most important project the University undertook was the implementation of a strategy to better integrate students with disabilities and, in November 2012, the inauguration of a new Centre for the Integration of Students with Disabilities (“Centro per l’Integrazione”).

The mission of the new Centre is to

ensure that all students with disabilities have equal access to educational opportunities at the University of Salento. The Centre offers a wide range of individually designed services based on the specific needs of each student.

The Centre for the Integration of

Students with Disabilities is just the latest example showing that the University of Salento is committed to working towards an important objective: equal access to educational opportunities for all of its applicants and students.

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“What role does multilingualism play in a globalised world?”

Write an essay in one of the UN’s six official languages, and win a ticket to United Nations Headquarters in New York!

Essay Submission

• Write an essay under 2,000 words on “the role of multilingualism in a globalised world”.

• The essays will have to be written in one of the six official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish), but cannot be the student’s mother tongue and/or principal medium of instruction.

The deadline for submitting entries is 21 February 2014 (International Mother Language Day).

Complete the submission form at: http://www.els.edu/ManyLanguagesOneWorld

Eligibility

Winners

• Open to college and university students 18 years and older.

• Teacher certification about the language requirement and the essay’s originality.

• Only one submission per student.

The winners will be invited to New York to participate in a series of events between June 25 and June 29, 2014.

USD $8.00 USD $8.00 ISBN: 978-92-1-101300-9 ISBN: 978-92-1-101296-5

Requirements

United Nations Department of Public Information

This event is organized by the United Nations Academic Impact (outreach.un.org/unai) and ELS Educational Services.

For additional information, please contact: academicimpact@un.org; and/or Lsoto@els.edu COVER.indd 2

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