The 3rd World Conference on Higher Education (WCHE2022) will set the course for the decade ahead to serve the sustainable development agenda and be inclusive of all learners, affirmed UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education, Stefania Giannini, at a presentation ceremony held in the historic building of the University of Barcelona on 30 November 2021.
It is the first time that the Conference, to be held from 18 to 20 May 2022, takes place outside UNESCO headquarters, a source of pride for Barcelona, as expressed by all authorities present. For Mayor Ms Ada Colau, the Conference confirms that city’s standing as one of “higher education knowledge, research, culture and critical thinking.” She said that the Conference should “make higher education a lever of social change, broadening rights and well-being” to reduce inequalities and facilitate access to learning throughout life.
Transformation, equity, inclusion were highlighted in all interventions. “Universities have a key responsibility in setting the world on a more sustainable path and forging a new social contract for education,” said Ms Giannini. “But for this, higher education has to transform, to be more inclusive, innovative and resilient to respond to current crisis and be at the service of society. The purpose of this Conference is to open doors to innovative and visionary models of higher education.”
Manuel Castells, Minister of Universities of the Government of Spain, stressed the need for universities to adapt to 21st century disruptions on the basis of their foundational principles of independence, quality teaching and youth empowerment. “Universities of the 21st century must change mindsets, combine science and research to fight obscurantism and include new values, first and foremost environmental sustainability.” He stated that “universities need to lead the greatest cultural transformation of our times - gender equality at all levels.”
This transformation also implies more collaborative and open partnerships. Ms. Gemma Geis, Minister for Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia, stressed the importance of citizen science and stronger linkages between universities and the busines sector.
Javier Lafuente, President of the Global University Network for Innovation, UNESCO’s main partner for the Conference, concurred that “Universities should become key institutions in knowledge societies but they need to rethink themselves, to become closer to real problems of the economy and society and engage citizens in the mission of creating knowledge.”
The Conference will focus on ten themes, namely: the impact of COVID-19, the Sustainable Development Goals, inclusion, quality and relevance, academic mobility, governance, financing, data and knowledge production, international cooperation and the future of higher education.
As a “global conversation on reimaging higher education’s role, the Conference will bring on board all voices, including faculty, research communities, young people, governments, multilateral organizations, international networks, NGOs and the private sector. It will leverage digital technologies, offering hybrid delivery formats and dynamic and diverse opportunities for exchange.
The presentation ceremony was also attended by Núria Marín, President of the Barcelona Provincial Council and Joan Guàrdia, Rector of the University of Barcelona who affirmed that “education is the center of the human future.”
Alongside the official announcement of the Conference, the Technical Expert Group held its first in-person meeting. Composed of eminent experts, the Group is preparing background documents to inform the Conference’s main themes and leading consultations with other experts worldwide.
- More on the 3rd World Conference on Higher Education
- More on UNESCO’s work in higher education