The theme of Bridging the Development Gap will encompass key issues that emerged out of the latest UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education, as well as the ICDE World Conference in Maastricht and Shanghai and Barcelona Standing Conference of Presidents meetings.
It is clear that the world expects much from leaders within open and distance education, and SCOP 2010 will aim to harness creative energy in generating the momentum and agenda for change that open and distance learning must make in the coming decades. The issues facing ODL are so profound that for this particular SCOP meeting, Presidents and Vice Chancellors who cannot attend may delegate a deputy who can speak fully on behalf of their institution or region. A closed session for executive heads will be held within the programme.
Keynote speaker
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The keynote speaker on 14 September will be new Assistant Director-General for UNESCO’s Africa Department, Dr. Lalla Ben Barka of Mali, a leading figure in the implementation and reform of education policy throughout Africa.
Dr. Ben Barka was until recently Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Africa, and was Director of UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Education in Africa from 2004-2007, providing intellectual, strategic and operational leadership for programmes promoting education across sub-Saharan Africa. In the course of her career, she has contributed to the development of the education systems of twelve West African countries.
Welcome address
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The formal welcome dinner on 13 September will be hosted by the first Minister for Higher Education and Training in the Republic of South Africa, Dr Emmanuel Bonginkosi Nzimande, well known as Blade, who will deliver a welcome address.
The Minister was Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Education in South Africa’s first democratic parliament, and prior to that Director of the Education Policy Unit at the University of Natal.
The Minister has a PhD in Industrial Sociology from the University of Natal and is a qualified Industrial Psychologist.
Policy Forum
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Dr. Nicholas H. Allen will chair the Policy Forum entitled Education for All? Access? Equity? Quality? to be held 13 September. Dr. Allen is provost emeritus of University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and has overseen UMUC’s emergence as one of the world’s largest virtual universities with online enrollments reaching over 196,000 in 2009.
A morning panel session will provide overviews of developments in different regions with examples from national contexts. This will be followed by group discussions on regulations which either support or hinder quality in ODL and the realization of Education for All. These discussions will also seek to define reasonable regulation within ODL. The groups will also be asked to present recommendations concerning aims and conditions for a task force which will explore opportunities for increased exchange between regions on ODL policy, and how to promote intra-regional collaboration. The day will conclude with a plenary session.
The Policy Forum is one of a number of ICDE initiatives to bring regional bodies, NGOs and the education sector internationally together in order to develop an understanding of the values and potential of distance education as an instrument for lifelong learning and towards the UNESCO Education for All goals.
Programme outline SCOP 2010 and Policy Forum website
Kindly note that preferential rates for hotel reservations will end on 13 August.
26 July 2010
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