Tapio Varis is Professor Emeritus of Professional Education, with an emphasis on global learning environments, and the UNESCO Chair in Global E-Learning (University of Tampere, Finland). He is a Principal Research Associate at the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and a member of the Governing Board of the UNESCO IITE, as well as the European Commission Media Literacy Expert Group. He is also the acting President of the Global University System and a Media and Journalism Scholar at the University of Helsinki. He is a Board Member of the Center for Peace and Media Initiative based in New York and Member of the Board of Trustees of  the Millennium Institute, Washington D.C. Prof. Varis has held various posts throughout his career: Rector of the University for Peace (established by the UN) in Costa Rica; Chair of Media Studies at the University of Tampere, Finland; and Director of Tampere Peace Research Institute. He has been visiting professor in many parts of the world, including Mexico, Venezuela, the United States, Spain, and Austria. In 2012, he was Visiting Professor at UNIVATES, Rio Grande do Sul. Prof. Varis has authored approximately 300 scientific articles on the topics related to “Global Peace through the Global University System.” His most recent work co-authored with J.-M. Perez Tornero “Media Literacy and New Humanism” (UNESCO IITE, 2011) was also published in Spanish “Alfabetizacion Mediatica y Nuevo Humanismo” in Barcelona 2012. He holds the degrees of Master and Doctor of Social Sciences from the University of Tampere, Finland.

Presentation title: The Role of Mediation and Communication in the New Learning Culture