Barcelona to host the World Higher Education Week
From 16 to 20 May, Barcelona will play host to the World Higher Education Week, organised as part of the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference, which will take place in Barcelona from 18 to 20 May.
This week, Barcelona is the capital of higher education with the celebration of the World Higher Education Week, held from 16 to 20 May; it will also play host to the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference which will take place from 18 to 20 May. The organiser of both events is the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi), presided and coordinated by the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP), with the direct support of the Government of Spain, the Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council and the Barcelona Provincial Council. During this week, over 2000 people from around the world will attend in person, and over 8,000 participants will log on to the event online.
World Higher Education Week
From 16 to 20 May, several local and international institutions have organised a series of side-events around Barcelona to debate on the future of higher education and university policies. In addition to celebrating the UNESCO conference, this World Higher Education Week includes some 15 events organised by a total of 22 institutions. With an eye to the future of the university sector, Barcelona will lead the way in international reflection, innovation and transformation of higher education. Among the participating institutions are the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP), the journal Times Higher Education, the "la Caixa" Foundation, several international university networks, the Spanish Ministry for Universities, the Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, the ACUP and the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE).
Among these activities, the UAB Vice Rector for International Relations Màrius Martínez will be moderating a debate entitled "Universities, key institutions for the social, economic and cultural advancement of the territory. How can city-university synergies be strengthened?" as part of the seminar on Cities and universities: Creating alliances for the social and economic progress of the territory organised by the ACUP, the Barcelona City Council, the CRUE, the Spanish Ministry for Universities and the Catalan Ministry for Research and Universities.
The full programme of the World Higher Education Week 2022 can be found at the following website: https://setmanamundialeducaciosuperior2022.org
World Higher Education Conference
Barcelona will also host the third UNESCO World Higher Education Conference (WHEC2022), a global reference event bringing together 2,000 people in person and almost 8,000 people online. Thus, Barcelona will become the higher education capital of the world during this week. In the inaugural ceremony, which will take place on 18 May at 12 noon at the Montjuïc Convention Centre, will include a performance by the UAB Chamber Choir.
Held in 1998 in Paris, the first World Higher Education Conference aimed to be a decennial event. For the first time, in 2022 the WHEC will be held outside of the UNESCO headquarters. In this occasion, Barcelona will bring together a great variety of participants, with high government representatives and university rectors from all over the world, heads of international university networks, students, institutions, NGOs and companies, as well as other experts in the field of higher education.The objective of the WHEC2022 is to rethink ideas and practices found in higher education to guarantee the sustainable development of the planet and humanity. Through a collective effort put in by the numerous represented sectors, the conference seeks to become a global discussion built on different higher education narratives. Under the framework of the WHEC2022, UNESCO will present its roadmap to help guide the university sector during this next decade with the aim of converting it into a key actor in overcoming the currently existing difficulties and socio-sanitary crises.
Among the events include within the conference are the presentation of the new GUNi Global Report, entitled New Visions for Higher Education Towards 2030. The report included the involvement of over 90 experts from around the world and its objective is to reflect upon the need to transform universities in views of new social, economic, cultural and technological challenges, as well as to comply with the UN and 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals. The presentation will take place on 20 May at 9:30 a.m.. After the presentation, the report will be made available online with the aim of sharing its finding with the rest of the world. The WHEC2022 receives direct support from the Spanish and Catalan governments, from the Barcelona City Council and from the Barcelona Provincial Council. The event is organised by the UNESCO, in collaboration with the GUNi and the ACUP as strategic local partners.
More information can be found at https://www.unesco.org/es/education/higher-education/2022-world-conference