UNESCO-IHP
releases final report of the expert advisory group on Water and
Cultural Diversity
The expert advisory group for the project on Water and Cultural
Diversity had its first meeting in Paris, France, in January 2008.
The meeting was organized as part of the work of UNESCO’s
International Hydrological Programme (IHP) on “Strengthening
Water Governance for Sustainability” for the biennium 2008
– 2009, in the broader context of the seventh phase of the
IHP (IHP-VII: 2008 – 2013): “Water Dependencies: Systems
under Stress and Societal Responses”...
UNESCO. Water Portal. Newsletter Nº
201. Publicated: 18-4-2008
------------------------ Newsletter Nº 26
Secretary-General
welcomes entry into force of convention on rights of persons with
disabilities and its optional protocol
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: The Secretary-General welcomes
the twentieth State depositing a ratification or accession today,
which triggers the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities and its Protocol, on 3 May 2008. The
Secretary-General congratulates the States that have already ratified
or acceded to the Convention for enabling the entry into force only
a year-and-a-half from its adoption by Member States on 13 December
2006.
UN. Secretary-General. News. Publicated:
8-4-2008
Modern
agricultural practices must change, concludes report to be presented
at UNESCO
At a time of record high prices for agricultural products, the International
Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development
(IAASTD) will release its report on the state of global agriculture
on 15 April at UNESCO. The report considers such major issues as
biofuels, GM crops, use of traditional know-how, impact of climate
change, and underlines the pressing need to change the rules of
modern agriculture.
UNESCO. Media Advisory No. 24-2008. UNESCOPRESS.
Publicated: 07-04-2008
The
UNESCO Courier number 3 - 2008: Planet Hot-Spot
Manage the unavoidable to avoid the unmanageable – that’s
where we are at according to Italian climatologist Filippo Giorgi.
Even the most optimistic forecasts indicate that we will need twice
the amount of our planet’s natural resources by 2050, estimates
Mathis Wackernackel, the inventor of the ecological footprint, a
new measuring unit that helps calculate the necessary surface to
respond to the needs of a person according to his lifestyle. Climate
change endangers peace, declares Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2007 Nobel Peace
Prize, in this issue of the Courier devoted to the International
Year of Planet Earth that aims at taking advantage of the knowledge
of the 400 000 specialists in Earth sciences.
UNESCO. The Courier. Nº 3 - 2008.
Publicated: 1-4-2008
Europe
to link researchers and students worldwide
On the 14th of January, the Commission has announced that GÉANT,
a European network linking national research and education networks
will be connected to its equivalents in other regions of the world
to create a global research network allowing seamless cooperation
between scientists and students from Finland to Latin America. "With
GÉANT´s massive data processing capacity, Europe can
now bring together the best minds in the world to tackle the challenges
that we all face," said Information Society Commissioner Viviane
Reding, as she announced an extra €90m of Community funding
between 2008 and 2012 for the "third-generation GÉANT".
The network was launched in 2001 as a first step towards the establishment
of the European Research Area (ERA). Its aim is to provide an infrastructure
to support the advanced communication needs of the scientific community
and to research state-of-the-art communication technologies. The
network was upgraded to GÉANT2 in 2005, providing faster
and more powerful services and end-to-end connectivity for the scientists.
The network currently connects 34 countries through 30 national
research and education networks (NRENs) and is co-funded by the
Commission and the NRENs themselves. The upgraded GÉANT3
will now establish high-speed computer links with emerging regional
research network infrastructures in the Balkans, the Black Sea and
Mediterranean regions, as well Asia, southern Africa and Latin America.
EU. Education. Higher Education in Europe.
Publicated: 1-4-2008
Universities
urged to identify full costs of their activities
Invited to attend the experts Conference “Towards Financially
Sustainable European Higher Education Institutions Universities”,
organised by the European University Association in Brussels on
the 7 and 8 of February, the Commissioner in charge of Education,
Ján Figel' stressed that universities the budgets of which
are currently "black boxes", need to define the full costs
of their activities to justify the use of public and private money.
“Universities should be paid "for what they do. Public
and private parties need to know how their money is spent,"
Commissioner Figel' added. The conference, which explored the links
between university funding, governance and accountability, was aimed
to formulate concrete recommendations for universities on the further
development of their financial management towards full-cost accounting.
According to Commissioner Figel': “Universities should become
responsible for their own longterm financial sustainability by tapping
public and private sources.. public spending needs to be a function
of outputs rather than inputs. Universities need to be paid for
what they do and not just for what they are or have been" he
concluded.
EU. Education. Higher Education in Europe.
Publicated: 1-4-2008
Exchange
and Cooperation between business and universities
On 28-29 February, the European Commissioner Ján Figel launched
in Brussels the first European University/Business Forum in the
presence of around 250 participants from Higher Education Institutions
and associations, from companies and business associations, and
from public authorities This inaugural meeting aimed to facilitate
the exchange of good practice between universities and businesses,
provided for mutual learning and networking, and inspired further
action in the Member States. The Forum responds to calls from universities
and companies for there to be a regular, lasting platform for dialogue,
exchange, sharing and learning. This Forum looked into four main
topics: Curricular development; Continuing education; The modernisation
of governance structures within universities and Development of
mobility, including student mobility, but also mobility of researchers
and teaching staff, between academia and businesses, and vice versa.
With this initiative, the Commission is giving tangible support
to the efforts of the Member States and the relevant stakeholders
in this area.
EU. Education. Higher Education in Europe.
Publicated: 1-4-2008
European
Arts Management (EAM) Project Report on Course Sylabusses
Professors participating in the European Arts Management Project
(EAM) tested simultaneously during October 2007 and January 2008
new course syllabuses –summary of topics to be covered in
a course- focusing on developing skills for future cultural managers
and professionals in working with new audiences and disadvantaged
groups. Supported by the Leonardo da Vinci programme, the EAM project
(in which ENCATC is partner) is a 2-year pilot project aimed to
develop new vocational training tools. The project meets social
objectives of increasing employability, and accessibility to arts
and cultural activities...
ENCATC Newsletter. Issue 2-2008. Publicated:
1-4-2008
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