PARIS, France, 7 September 2021. Faced with the challenge of growing student populations, the third UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education will take place from 18 to 20 May 2022 in Barcelona, Spain, to chart a renewed vision for higher education in the next decade.

There are 235 million students enrolled in higher education worldwide, a number that has more than doubled in the last twenty years and will likely double again over the coming decade. Faced with such growing demand, how can quality higher education be ensured and adapted to contemporary challenges such as sustainable development? How can international academic mobility be supported? What lessons can be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic? These questions will be at the heart of the World Conference.

More than 1,500 participants are expected from universities, governments, multilateral agencies, the private sector and civil society, to share their experience and ideas with a view to drawing a common global roadmap for the coming decade. The Conference will be opened by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay; the Spanish Minister of Universities, Joan Subirats; the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès; and the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau.

Democratising access

Démocratiser l’accès

Despite a remarkable 200 per cent increase in enrolment over twenty years in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and South and South-East Asia, disparities persist. Between 40 and 50 per cent of an age group are enrolled in higher education in East and South-East Asia, and in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Central and South Asia, however, only 25 per cent are enrolled, and the figure falls to 9 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.

Expanding access to education is necessary, but it carries major logistical and budgetary implications for governments, particularly in developing countries. In many places there has been a trend towards higher tuition fees and other indirect costs, placing a burden on the finances of students and their families.

Increasing student mobility

Accroître la mobilité étudiante

Six million students are studying abroad, and this number is expected to rise to 8 million by 2025. International frameworks are needed to support this mobility, which is not only an academic asset for students but also a source of knowledge sharing and mutual understanding.

At the Barcelona Conference, UNESCO will call on its Member States to pursue ratification of the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, the first United Nations treaty to strengthen inter-university cooperation and cross-border academic research. Fourteen States have already ratified the text, and only seven more ratifications are required for it to enter into force.

Learning from the pandemic

Tirer les leçons de la pandémie

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged higher education systems, resulting in learning losses and increased inequalities. It has also shown that higher education systems with significant public funding are more resilient in the face of a global crisis, and better able to ensure continuity of provision and the inclusion of the largest number of students. The Conference will draw on the lessons of the past two years to design systems that are both stronger and more resilient.

Ten themes for 2030

Dix thèmes pour 2030

To develop the roadmap for higher education to 2030, the Conference will focus on the following themes:

1. The impact of COVID-19 on higher education.
2. Higher education and the Sustainable Development Goals.
3. Inclusion.
4. Quality and relevance of programmes.
5. Academic mobility.
6. Governance.
7. Financing.
8. Data and knowledge production.
9. International cooperation.
10. The futures of higher education.

The International Science Council, the International Association of Universities (IAU), the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi) and the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) are among the partners of the Conference.

ENDS