IAU-HEEFA Newsletter No. 2

HEEFA Newsletter, No. 2, 15 December 2009
Linking the HE Community to EFA and related MDGs                             
http://www.heefa.net
 

I. News on the HEEFA Portal
 
New
We are pleased to announce that the Expert Database is now searchable; some Experts have entered their CV. We warmly thank them and encourage other experts to follow their path.
 
Coming soon: the French version of the portal
Nonetheless, if you’re an expert you can already complete your online CV and enter projects in either English or French. The policy of the portal being that all content be searchable in English or French and that content be displayed in the language they are entered.
 
Missed an issue of the Newsletter?
All HEEFA Newsletters are now archived on the HEEFA Portal at http://www.heefa.net/taxonomy/term/568
 
Work in progress
Help us improve HEEFA. Send your comments or feedback to n.kymlicka(at)iau-aiu.net 
 
 

II. Latest entries on the HEEFA Portal
 
Get to know the experts
James Greenlaw, from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada, was the project manager of the Bhutan-led initiative to strengthen school leadership in basic primary education. Thierry Karsenti, President of the Association universitaire de la Francophonie network on teacher trainer education, is active in reinforcing teachers’ and teacher trainers’ capacities in ICT. Leondro Tessler, from the State University of Campinas, Brazil, has worked with universities and Ministers of Education to develop programs that ensure all students have access to quality education. 
And add your CV to the Experts Database
Read tips on how to enter your name in the Experts’ Database
 
Read about Prize-Winning Projects
In this issue, we are pleased to share with you a selection of projects which have won an award and which are included in the Project Database.
The International Centre for Development and Decent Work at the University of Kassel, cooperating with five higher education institutions from the South, has won the Excellence in Development Award. This annual prize is managed by the German Academic Exchange Service, the German government’s agency responsible for higher education cooperation.
The American Dream Academy of the Arizona State University, winner of the 2009 Peter Magrath University Community Engagement Award improves education chances of disadvantaged local school children by reaching out to parents and helping them transform their children’s educational experience.
While on a broader scale, Shanghai TV University, winner of the UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize, reaches reaches to over 230 community learning centres located even in the most remote areas to address the need for digital literacy of students, teachers, adults and lifelong learners. 
And add your project to the Project Database
Read tips on how to enter a project in the Project Database.
 

 
III. Selected News – EFA and Related MDGs (October–December 2009)
 
UNESCO elects new Director-General: Ms. Irina Bokova, a Bulgarian diplomat, takes over the position. At her inaugural speech, she called for a “more coherent and holistic vision of education…that integrates the many dimensions of quality education, in both formal and non-formal settings, from primary to higher levels”.
 
Calls for Proposals:
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities: Calls for outstanding university initiatives in outreach for the C. Peter Magrath/ W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Award. Deadline: 19 March 2010 www.aplu.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx
Global Alliance on Community-Engaged Research (GACER): Academics are invited to submit their experiences of community-university research partnerships to feed a study which aims to encourage the need to strengthen such partnerships. Contact: bhall(at)uvic.ca with the subject line: GACER communityresearchcanada.ca/
Network for Policy Research, Review and Advice on Education and Training (NORRAG): NORRAG will examine how international reports regarding EFA translate concretely into local-driven policies. The views of academics are sought. Deadline: 11 January 2010 Contact Kenneth.King(at)ed.co.uk www.norrag.org/nonnn_article.php
 
Conferences:
Fourth Conference of Ministers of Education of the African Union (COMEDAF IV): Education Ministers requested the African Union to compile a database of all agencies and institutions working on eductaion in Africa to launch an African Cluster on Education Development.  www.africa-union.org
Sixth International Conference on Adult Learning (CONFINTEA VI): University rectors and other higher education representatives were present to produce and ratify the Belem Framework of Action. Working under the same principle as the Dakar Framework of Action in EFA, this document lays out concrete benchmarks to ensure commitments to adult learning and non-formal education are met. Higher education institutions are seen as key partners in achieving these goals. www.unesco.org/en/confinteavi/
 
Sources of information
Global University Network for Innovation’s Universities and Social Commitment Observatory has published a list of selected initiatives that illustrates the social commitment of higher education in Africa. www.guni-rmies.net/news/detail.php
The first issue of the newly launched online Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education of the Indiana State University comprises a research article on Transformative opportunities for community engagement within teacher education. discovery.indstate.edu/ojs/index.php/joce/issue/view/5
Revitalizing Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: The United Nations University worked with four universities to study the education sector in their respective countries and recommended that they become think-tanks in the matter. www.unu.edu/africa/files/UNU_RevitalizingHigherEducation.pdf
 
 
IV. Selected Upcoming Events – EFA and Related MDGs (January – February 2010) 
9-11 January 2010, World Universities Forum, Davos, Switzerland Stream Six: Community Service
ontheuniversity.com/conference-2010/ 
14-16 January 2010, UNESCO-Bangkok Next Generation of Teachers’ Project, Penang, Malaysia, Theme: ICT-Pedagogy Integration Workshops for Teachers
www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/teachertraining/next_gen
19 January 2010, Launch of the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010, Theme: Teaching the marginalised
www.unesco.org/en/efareport/ 
23-25 February 2010, Ninth High Level Group on EFA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
 
The HEEFA Team
 

Next issue: 15 February 2010