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The work of the Council of Europe in the field of higher education and research focuses on issues related to the recognition of qualifications, public responsibility for higher education and research, higher education governance and other fields relevant for the establishment of the European Higher Education Area by 2010. The Council of Europe also supports reform of higher education in the so-called priority regions, mainly the South East Europe, South Caucasus and CIS countries.

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European Wergeland Centre
The European Wergeland Centre is a European resource centre on education for intercultural understanding, human rights and democratic citizenship. It is established in cooperation between Norway and the Council of Europe. The centre was inaugurated in Oslo on 29 May 2009.
North-South Centre
North-South Centre's mandate: provide a framework for North-South co-operation to increase public awareness of global interdependence issues and promote policies of solidarity in conformity with the aims and principles of the Council of Europe

The Council of Europe does not recognize Higher Education Institutions

In light of the increasing number of higher education providers that claim to be recognized by the Council of Europe or other international organizations, we wish to make it clear that the Council of Europe does not recognize or in any other way bestow legitimacy on any higher education institution, programme or provision. Institutional recognition is normally within the competence of national authorities and is normally conditional on the institution or programme undergoing quality assessment.

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Lisbon Convention: How to Check Ratifications and Signatures
Tips for checking ratifications and signatures of the Council of Europe/ UNESCO Recognition Convention.

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20/11/2009

Council of Europe joins in celebrating the international students’ day

On 17 November, ESU and OBESSU celebrated the 70th anniversary of the international Students’ Day. 17 November was chosen to commemorate Czechoslovak student protests against the Nazi occupation and has come to symbolize student commitment to democracy also through student actions against the military dictatorship in Greece in 1973 as well as to the student contribution to the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989. The ESU and OBESSU event include various student activities as well as a solemn session with speeches by prominent actors in European higher education policies. In this session, the Council of Europe was invited to deliver one of the main speeches .
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27/10/2009

5th Informal Ministerial conference of Ministers of Education from the Western Balkans – conclusions

On 20-21 October 2009 the 5th informal conference of Ministers of Education from the Western Balkans took place in Ljubljana. Delegations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” participated in the conference. All participants at the conference engaged in a thorough and constructive discussion of higher education reforms in their countries within the context of the Bologna Process.  A set of conclusions was adopted.
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23/09/2009

Irish study on qualifications frameworks

The National Qualifications Authority of Ireland has just published the Framework Implementation and Impact Study Report [embed http://www.nqai.ie/framework_study.html], which was prepared by an external Study Team of national and international experts. The Study covers the first five years (2003-08) of the operation of the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) and its purpose was to:

    · assess the extent to which the NFQ is being implemented
    · support deeper implementation of the NFQ and policies on access, transfer and progression
    · identify progress in implementation
    · identify gaps and drivers/obstacles in respect of implementation
    · assess the initial impact of the NFQ.

The report puts forward 19 recommendations.
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3/09/2009

Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Moscow – Conference report available

The report from the conference on “Universities as Actors of Intercultural Dialogue in Wider Society”, which was held at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia in June, is now available.

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08/06/2009

Successful conference on universities as actors of intercultural dialogue

On 2 – 3 June, the Council of Europe organized a conference on “Universities as Actors of intercultural Dialogue in Wider Society”. The conference was coorganized with and hosted by the University of Peoples’ Friendship of Russia, whose Rector, Professor Vladimir M. Filippov, was a driving force behind the conference.

In her keynote speech, Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Director General of Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sport and Coordinator for Intercultural Dialogue and for the Anti-Discrimination Campaign, emphasized that “universities cannot be universities unless their mission and the education they provide is greater than the sum of its individual academic disciplines”. A key mission of higher education must be to develop the kind of societies in which we can live together as equals in dignity and which are fluent in intercultural dialogue. [more…

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18/11/2009

Council of Europe on intercultural dialogue at IAU conference

The Council of Europe contributed a plenary presentation on “Instilling the Culture of Dialogue in Higher Education” at the 2009 conference of the International Association of Universities. The conference was held at Notre Dame University in Louaize, Lebanon on the topic of “The Role of Higher Education in Fostering the Culture of Dialogue and Understanding”. It gathered some 180 university leaders and academics from 38 countries as well as representatives of IGOs and NGOs active in higher education policies. The Council of Europe White paper on Intercultural Dialogue was widely distributed at the conference, where Sjur Bergan, Head of the Department of Higher Education and History Teaching as well as Ana Persona-Fjeldstad, Executive Director of the European Wergeland Centre, gave presentations.
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29/10/2009

Spain deposits the 50th ratification of the Council of Europe/UNESCO Lisbon Recognition Convention

On 28 October, Spain deposited the instrument of ratification of the Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, also known as the Lisbon Recognition Convention. The Convention will enter into force with respect to Spain on 1 December 2009. This brings the number of ratifications to 50, while another 3 countries have signed but not yet ratified the convention.
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26/10/2009

Educating for personal and social responsbility

The Council of Europe participated in two sessions at the conference on “Educating for Personal and Social Responsibility: Deepening Student and Campus Commitments” organized by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Minneapolis on 1 – 3 October. [More]
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28/08/2009

International Association of Universities Conference on Intercultural Dialogue

The International Association of Universities will organize a conference on the role of higher education in fostering intercultural dialogue and understanding on 4 – 6 November 2009 at Notre Dame University in Louaize, Lebanon. This conference links very well with an important priority of the Council of Europe as demonstrated through the White paper on Intercultural Dialogue adopted in 2008 as well as with two recent conferences organized by the CDESR on the role of higher education in promoting intercultural dialogue on campus and in broader society.
Further information on the conference as well as on registration may be found here.
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23/07/2009

Belgium ratifies the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications

On 22 July, Belgium ratified the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (ETS no. 165), which will entry into force on 1 September 2009. This brings the number of ratifications of the Convention to 49.
The Convention has been jointly drafted by the Council of Europe and UNESCO and aims to facilitate the recognition of qualifications granted in one Party in another Party.

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07/07/2009

European Wergeland Centre: opening conference report available online

The opening conference of the European Wergeland Centre took place in Oslo on 28-29 May. The report of the conference as well as the presentations are available on the web site of the Centre.

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Council of Europe Higher Education Series

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