Toward Participatory and Sustainable Development: Reinventing Higher Education
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The theme of the 11th UNESCO-APEID International Conference was "Reinventing Higher Education: Toward Participatory and Sustainable Development." This begs the question: "Do we need to reinvent higher education?" If yes, then "what needs to be reinvented?" and "how should we do it?"
UNESCO has, indeed, identified a need to question the role of higher education in promoting and educating about sustainable development. Coincidentally, the International Forum on Universities and Participatory Development, hosted by the University of British Columbia (UBC) in November 2006, explored how higher education systems can incorporate participatory approaches to development. The UBC and some universities in Thailand have also been collaborating on the concept of ‘sufficiency economy,' a theme close to the heart of His Royal Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand.
The 11th UNESCO-APEID Conference, held in Bangkok from 12-14 December 2007, was structured around four sub-themes - Paradigms of Development, Possibilities of Development, Partnerships in Development and Permitting Development. It covered a broad range of issues, and provided a forum for a rich and lively exchange of information.
Based on feedback from the participants, I believe that we all left the Conference very much inspired by what we had heard and discussed. I also believe that the Conference has paved the way for further dialogue, interaction and collaboration to reinvent higher education towards more participatory and sustainable development. I hope that we have collectively started the process of removing the walls that often surround higher education institutions. I also hope that these institutions will play a greater role in re-balancing social inequalities and in formulating sustainable solutions to the challenges of development with - and for - the people, based on the conviction that development itself needs to be grounded in the people's own cultures and priorities.
This volume, a collection of speeches and papers presented at the Conference, will serve to continuously remind and inspire us to keep that vision alive.
Sheldon Shaeffer
Director
UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education
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