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ROUND TABLE
DISCUSSION
Building Communities of Learning
and Practice in Challenging Times
Scope
The aim of the round table
discussion is to exchange experiences that could help us better
understand the role of education (broadly defined) in the global
crisis, taking Greece as an example, and find ways to help each
other navigate through opportunities and challenges.
Change is a constant in life but
during some eras and in certain countries the call for change
permeates life itself, requiring shifts that are often of a
transformative nature. Such moments in the lives of both
individuals and countries afford opportunities for growth. The
country of Greece, while center stage at the moment, is a
microcosm of issues facing all of humanity. Come and participate
in a dialogue about some of these key issues and their relevance
to you, your country, and humanity.
Last year (2011) Marcie Boucouvalas, Ph.D., Clare D. Klunk,
Ph.D., and Linda M. Morris, Ed.D., facilitated the workshop
“Engaging Lifelong Learners in the 21st Century: UNESCO as a
Beacon and Binding Force”.
The objectives of the workshop were to:
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Provide a foundational
understanding of UNESCO’s relevance to this conference and
lifelong learners in the 21st century.
-
Build a collective understanding
of UNESCO’s reach in ICTs and Education.
-
Have a glance at the history and
ongoing projects of the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS).
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Better understand the concerted
efforts of UNESCO’s Education Sector
-
Examine the broader deeper
perspective on education offered by UNESCO.
-
Catalyze a dialogue spotlighting
the relationship of the UNESCO discussion to the keynote
address (“Continuing Education and Distance Education: A
Marriage of Convenience”).
-
Provide a participatory forum
for action planning.
This year Marcie will discuss the
findings of her exploratory research project “ADULT LEARNING FOR
SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT IN GREECE: A COLLABORATIVE EXPLORATION OF
DRIVING AND RESTRAINING FORCES” (including but not limited to
understanding and applying 2 key UNESCO documents from major
Assemblies in (a) Adult Learning and (b) Higher Education).
The concept of learning embraced the UNESCO rendition of
learning to do, think and know, be, live together, and learning
to change (i.e., to transform self and society).
Dr. Boucouvalas undertook this
project as a Fulbright Scholar to Greece (February to June,
2012). Established by Senator William Fulbright in 1946,
Greece’s Fulbright partnership with the USA is the oldest in
Europe, having begun in 1948. For more information about the
Fulbright Foundation in Greece please see
www.fulbright.gr.
Those of you who wish to contribute by sharing your experiences
at the round table discussion may submit your ideas
HERE.
Suggested Readings:
UNESCO
Education
Delors, J. (1996). Learning: The
treasure within (Report to UNESCO of the International
Commission on Education for the twenty-first century.) Paris:
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. (266 pages). ISBN-10: 9231034707; ISBN-13:
978-9231034701
Confintea VI (2010). Belem Framework for Action: Harnessing the
power and potential of adult learning and education for a viable
future. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. (39 pages). All
rights reserved. Can be downloaded at
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001877/187789m.pdf
Follow-up Strategy of the Sixth International Conference on
Adult Education
http://uil.unesco.org/fileadmin/keydocuments/AdultEducation/en/Confintea6Follow-upStrategy.pdf
Lifelong Learning / Lifelong Education Bibliography No. 68,
2010. A bibliography published annually by the Documentation
Center of UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) to inform
UNESCO Staff, researchers and institutions. Can be downloaded at
http://uil.unesco.org/fileadmin/download/en/lifelong-ed-bibliography/No.68.pdf
Boucouvalas, M. (2011-2012). Our
global reach: UNESCO and ICAE as catalyst. Adult Learning,
22(4), 23(1), 4-8. (Special theme issue). [A free copy of the
paper can be downloaded
HERE]
World Summit on
the Information Society (WSIS)
Home page for the 2011 World Summit
on the Information Society (WSIS) held in Geneva, Switzerland
May 16-20 2011. An interactive website to include overview and
timelines of WSIS, U2 videos of key presentations, executive
briefings, news briefs, outreach, twitter, facebook,
testimonials on all aspects of the 2011 WSIS. Check it out:
http://groups.itu.int/wsis-forum2011/Home.aspx
World Summit on the Information Society (2011). WSIS forum
2011: Outcome document (draft). Can be downloaded at :
http://groups.itu.int/wsis-forum2011/Agenda/OutcomeDocument.aspx
Souter, D. (2010). Towards inclusive knowledge societies: A
review of UNESCO’s action in implementing the WSIS outcomes.
Published five years after the Tunis phase of WSIS, this report
examines what was achieved, what are the challenges in
implementation of WSIS outcomes. The report can be downloaded at
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=30452&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
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