Ubiquitous ICT

for Sustainable Education and Cultural Literacy

SECL2008cover_Web.jpg Editors: Prof. Tapio Varis and Prof. Salem Al-Agtash


The University of Tampere, Hämeenlinna campus, a Finnish UNEVOC Centre, the Finnish National Commission for UNESCO and the German-Jordanian University have jointly published a new report: Ubiquitous ICT for Sustainable Education and Cultural Literacy.

This publication is a product of a collected effort by international leaders and aims to offer a tool for a better understanding of the challenges of global education and cultural dialogue. It provides findings and thoughts that can contribute to enhancing the accord among nations, and to building communities that will collectively lead to sustainable education in the global context. The findings of the report may be used to guide the efforts of governments to further a better cross-cultural understanding.

The report provides a summary of high level policy statements, research papers and practical experiences of advancing education around the world for better literacy with special reference to the Alliance of Civilizations movement, which was presented at the workshop “Ubiquitous ICT for Sustainable Education and Cultural Literacy”, Hämeenlinna, 6–7 October 2008. The seminar brought together scientists, public authorities, businesses, academics, civil society organizations and other interested groups and stakeholders to

  • develop a joint understanding of the challenges of sustainable education and cultural literacy in the global context;
  • identify the potential of ICT to advance and improve education;
  • share knowledge and best practices about successful policies in global education;
  • create venues of collaboration; and
  • consolidate responsible communities for multiple literacies.

The information in this report also features the activities of the University of Tampere UNESCO Chair in Global e-Learning (http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3333&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html) in the context of building a Global University System (http://www.uta.fi/~tapio.varis/EGEDL/outline/varis.htm) (GUS).

In addition, statements from the President of Finland, the Finish Ministry of Education, rectors of universities, the UN Global Alliance on ICT and Development (http://un-gaid.ning.com/), the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre, the European Commission, the United Nations University (http://www.unu.org), and the Global eSchools and Communities Initiative (http://www.gesci.org/) are featured.

The origin of this publication and the workshop lies an ongoing initiative of academics representing a consortium of institutions from Finland, Germany, Sweden, Jordan and other countries that collaborate on an EU Tempus funded project. The main objective of this project is to advance the frontiers of knowledge in ICT education as a core driver for national prosperity in Jordan. The scholars envision a collaborative atmosphere between Jordan and EU institutions to advance teaching, applied research, and staff/student exchanges, and to foster the development of high quality ICT education and relevance knowledge in a socioeconomic development context. The workshop in Hämeenlinna was financially supported by EU Tempus - Education and Training, Nokia, UNESCO-UNEVOC, the Finnish National Commission for UNESCO, HAMK University of Applied Sciences, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization, and Mediamaisteri Group.


Links

Report (http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Kansainvaeliset_asiat/kansainvaeliset_jaerjestoet/unesco/suomen_unesco-toimikunta/julkaisut/UNESCOSECL_842008_FINAL.pdf)

University of Tampere, Research Centre for Vocational Education in the UNEVOC Network Directory (http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/unevocdir3.php?akt=99&id=2533)


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