Download higher education, intercultural dialogue and social dimension

HIGHER EDUCATION,
INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE AND
SOCIAL DIMENSION
Sjur Bergan
Council of Europe
Nicosia, April 4, 2008
LIVING IN THE AGE OF THE
ECONOMY?
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

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Employment
Competitiveness
Use of resources
Purchasing power as a political issue
Economic performance
ONLY THE ECONOMY?
 Four events end 2007:
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Pakistan
Kenya
Hand over of EU Presidency from Portugal to Slovenia
Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and the International
Panel on Climate Change
 And one on April 4:
– Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King 40 years ago
SO IT IS NOT JUST THE
ECONOMY
 Environmental sustainability
– Climate change
– “An inconvenient truth”
 Coping with diversity
– Cultural
– Linguistic
– Religious
– Living conditions
 Social cohesion
HIGHER EDUCATION
 Fundamental to developing democratic
culture
 Not a once in a lifetime experience
 Provides individuals with opportunities
 Allows societies to make the best possible
use of the potential of its members
 The contribution of HE to the economy is
important, but does not exist in a vacuum
MAJOR PURPOSES OF HIGHER
EDUCATION
 Labor market
 Democratic citizenship
 Personal development
 Knowledge base
HIGHER EDUCATION ON
CAMPUS
 Higher education is international…
 .. but is this reflected on campus?
 A community of many nationalities or
many national communities?
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTION
 Students and staff of all nationalities and
cultural backgrounds interact easily
 Your background does not determine your
social life
 Cultural differences are fully respected
– By the institution
– By its members
 Campus: a venue of dialogue
HIGHER EDCUATION IN
BROADER SOCIETY
 Provide learners with a set of competences
– must include ability and willingness to engage in
intercultural dialogue
 Develop attitudes and abilities
 Show good practice
– “Practice what you preach”
 Actors in broader society: societal
responsibility
INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE
AND DEMOCRATIC CULTURE
 Require open minds…
 …but also convictions
 Willingness to question our own ideas,
opinions and behavior…
 …but also those of others
 Intellectual curiosity
ULTIMATE QUESTION
 Education: for what? =
 What kind of society do we want?
– Cf. Eugenio Tironi: El sueño chileno. Comunidad,
familia y nación en el Bicentenario