Delegates to the first World Conference on Higher Education adopted a declaration and action statement last week in Paris that focused on improving global access and cooperation in higher education.
The conference, which was coordinated by the United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), drew delegations from 183 countries and over 4,200 participants.
Two years of regional conferences and planning culminated in a fruitful week of debates, according to Marco Antonio R. Dias, director of the UNESCO division of higher education.
"All these people together were able to establish and agree to make a consensus on principle," Dias said. "These principles go to the importance of universalization of higher education."
The countries unanimously passed a declaration and action framework that each delegation will take back to national governments and educational associations.
The declaration calls for non-discrimination in admissions, the elimination of gender stereotypes in higher education and an evaluation on curricula based on a comparison between what society expects of institutions and what they actually do.
U.S. Ambassadors
The U.S. delegation, coordinated by the Department of Education, was the largest at the conference.
Harvard, though usually in the vanguard among U.S. institutions of higher education, was noticeably absent from this group. Several associations the University is a part of attended.
"I can't tell you how we selected our delegation," said David A. Longanecker, the assistant secretary for post-secondary education who chaired the U.S. delegation. "I had no involvement in the selection of the delegates."
He added that the U.S. was one of the few nations that did not include students in its delegation.
"The students' voice is a political voice to other nations," he added.
Many of the conference goals are synonymous with Harvard's recent initiatives. For example, President Neil L. Rudenstine has initiated a plan to establish Harvard satellites in foreign countries. The first, a Business School satellite, opened in Hong Kong last spring.
In fact, several Harvard officials told The Crimson they were unaware of the conference.
The conference addressed several issues of particular interest to Harvard and to higher education in the United States in general.
Read more in News
Sweet SixteenRecommended Articles
-
May I Take Your OrderCertain organizations are renowned for their superior customer service. Harvard isn't one of them. At upscale department store chain Nordstrom's,
-
Harvard as number oneT he times they are a-changing. At the turn of the century, higher education in America made a dramatic transformation
-
Vartan Gregorian on HarvardVartan Gregorian, the President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and an authority on higher education, recently spoke to
-
Campus Security Measure DebatedIn an attempt to increase safety on college campuses, two members of the U.S. Congress introduced a bill into the
-
Mass. Higher Education System Faces Tough TimesWhen it comes to funding for higher education, the Bay State is clearly exceptional. Every other state in the nation
-
McElroy Asks Conference on College NeedsThe Administration is seriously considering a national conference on higher education, according to Marion B. Folsom, Secretary of Health Education
