15 February

• University Students’ Housing and Services / C+S Associati
  The students’ university housing in the former Fiat area at Novoli, Florence, was designed to adapt to the constraints of the brief – the perimeter of the lot, the alignment, the building height – and to use them as a spring¬board for original compositional and typological solutions that have produced a articulated, light-filled interior landscape inside severe walls. Despite the double-courtyard layout the building is far from inward-looking and imposes order on the wider context: the passageway that cuts crosswise through it is seen as a “city gate”, a way through the block and a focus for communal activities, as well as access to the students’ lodgings. The twin themes of “urban silence” and “constructed mass”, borrowed from historical city’s fabric but updated to reflect today’s different formal and plastic awareness, are evident on the solid though not impenetrable exterior facades.
  More information: http://www.archdaily.com/49294/university-students’-housing-and-services-cs-associati/

12 February

• (in French) 17 % d’augmentation dans les inscriptions des cours en ligne en éducation supérieure aux États-Unis en 2009
  Par Denys Lamontagne.
  4,6 millions d'étudiants universitaires en ligne. Données compilées de 2 500 universités et collèges. Rapport annuel.
  More information in French: http://www.cursus.edu/?module=document&action=getDoc&uid=71126

11 February

• Report from the frontline in the fight for education
  A shell exploding just feet away as pupils and teacher cowered in a shattered school in Kosovo brought home to journalist Brendan O’Malley in the harshest of ways the problem of education under attack. Now with the launch of his second publication, Education under Attack 2010, he talks to EduInfo about how conflict and violence continue to pose a direct threat to the goal of Education for All. Brendan O’Malley, 48, was working as International Editor of the Times Educational Supplement when he first became exposed to the problem of education under attack.
  More information: http://www.unesco.org/en/education/dynamic-content-single-view/news/report_from_the_frontline_in_the_fight_for_
  education/back/9195/cHash/f82c50d8f5/

10 February

• UNESCO alarmed by rising number of attacks on education worldwide
  Teachers, students and school buildings are increasingly coming under attack by armed groups, even soldiers and security forces, says a report entitled “Education under Attack 2010” to be launched by UNESCO on 10 February at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
  More information: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/unesco_alarmed_by_rising_number_of_attacks_
  on_education_worldwide/back/18256/

8 February

• Culture Action Europe’s contribution to the EU 2020 consultation
  Culture Action Europe, a European platform of networks, associations and organisations active in the arts and culture fields across Europe and beyond, welcomes the European Commission's initiative to launch a public debate on the post-Lisbon strategy. It is crucial for the European Union and its Member States to adopt a new vision and action plan for its economic and social development that takes stock of the lessons of the past, refocuses on European values of equality, solidarity and openness, and paves the way for future societies where quality of life and inclusion prevail.
  More information: http://www.cultureactioneurope.org/images/stories/advocatepdf/
  caes%20contribution%20to%20the%20eu%202020%20consultation.pdf

• New Virtual Space de Interlocal
  Using this experimental network Interlocal, Transit Projectes and the Political Cultural Observatory of Zaragoza have begun to plan the work in relation to “Social Networks and Local Culture.” This is an initiative which will study the behaviour and influence of these models of social interaction in the political culture in a local Iber-American context. The study itself which we ourselves have undertaken obliges us to use the full potential of these diffusion networks.
  More information in Spanish: http://culturalocal.ning.com/

• New General Comment on the right to participate in cultural life
  At the end of 2009, the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights drew up a General Comment on the right of every individual to take part in cultural life. This document was elaborated thanks to the knowledge acquired on this topic from the information and talks maintained with the member States, as well as from the talks organized in 1992 and 2008 with representatives of international organizations and civil society. The document is based on a principle, according to which cultural rights are an integral part of human rights. The complete Comment can be accessed from :
  http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/gc/E-C-12-GC-21.doc

• 2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics
  The 2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics (FCS) is a collaborative effort by
  the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and the UNESCO Culture Sector. Based on
  the 1986 Framework for Cultural Statistics, this revised version of UNESCO’s cultural
  statistics methodology takes into account new concepts that have emerged since 1986
  in the field of culture, including those related to new technologies – which have so
  drastically transformed culture and the ways it is accessed – intangible heritage, and
  evolving cultural practices and policies.
  More information: http://www.uis.unesco.org/template/pdf/cscl/framework/FCS_2009_EN.pdf

• International Year of Chemistry 2011 – share ideas via a global network
  IUPAC, UNESCO’s major partner for IYC-2011, announced exciting enhancements to the chemistry2011.org website that enable a whole new level of communication and interactivity. New features include the ability to submit ideas and activities (including events), as well as integration with social media websites. Registered users of the Website can comment on ideas submitted by other users, and review comments that have been submitted about their own ideas. Users can also follow discussions about their favorite ideas and activities from their profile page. These enhancements will better enable chemists across the globe to connect with one another and share ideas, activities, and events related to the international year of chemistry.
  More information: http://www.chemistry2011.org/

"The place of culture in tomorrow's Europe > Synthetic Document"
Last 2009 a European forum took place in Montpellier, involving 1200 participants during 2 days and allowing exchanges on the basis of preliminary conclusions proposed by the project partners. Several other members of the EUROMEDINCULTURE(s) network had the opportunity to take part in this big public debate, thanks to the support of the Languedoc-Roussillon regional Council. This document is the result of this process. It will be widely disseminated with the aim of becoming a supporting tool for European institutions, contributing to give content to current reflections concerning the place of culture within future European policies.
http://citoyennete.euromedinculture.org/index.php?
option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=49&Itemid=54&lang=en