Background
	The mission of the Global Forum is to provide a platform for dialogue by linking existing frameworks dealing with international issues of quality accreditation and the recognition of qualifications, and develop an international policy framework for dealing with the impact of globalization and cross-border higher education providers, reconciling the interests of national governments, the traditional public higher education sector, for-profit providers and the needs of students and the general public interest. The Global Forum was officially launched at its First Meeting at UNESCO, Paris (17-18 October 2003). The initiative to establish a UNESCO Global Forum on International Quality Assurance, Accreditation and the Recognition of Qualifications sprang from an Expert Meeting organized in Paris (10 - 11 September 2001). The Global Forum was established as part of UNESCO's mission "to respond to emerging ethical challenges and dilemmas as a result of globalization". It also reflected growing demands by the international community that UNESCO take a more proactive role in issues concerning the impact of globalization on higher education. The prospective liberalization of trade in educational services through the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) established under the WTO was highlighted in this regard.

 

In the heated debates worldwide there is a growing polarization between the education and the trade communities. Some of the stakeholders of higher education, the teachers' unions and the students being the most vocal, followed by institutions, consider that education is not a tradable commodity, and that higher education should remain a public good and a public responsibility. GATS is perceived as a threat to national sovereignty and culture and as a serious attack on the core values of the university and the quality of teaching. Trade promoters, on the other hand, try to point to its benefits - competition, motivation for traditional institutions to innovate, establishment of professional networks, providing enhanced opportunities for access to higher education etc. Preserving the quality of higher education and protecting/empowering the learner become key issues in response to this phenomenon. UNESCO is well positioned to overcome this conflict and provide some common ground, primarily by providing a platform for dialogue. UNESCO has its normative instruments as a legal framework for action. Reinforcing, revising and updating the existing conventions on the recognition of studies could provide an international qualifications framework - relevant in the context of the GATS debates. Reinforcing links between recognition of qualifications, quality assurance and accreditation networks could constitute a more acceptable approach to overcoming obstacles in cross-border mobility as well as promoting non-profit internationalization and 'fair trade', in the interest of the learners. Activities The 2 main areas of Global Forum activities are: • Standard-setting activities - exploring policy issues related to cross-border providers of higher education; review of the regional/inter-regional conventions on the recognition of qualifications; • Capacity building/information activities - research and analytical studies on the impact of new higher education developments in different regions; and elaboration of tools to inform stakeholders on recent developments in higher education. Partners In addition to the Regional Committees for the Application of the Conventions, the partners of the Global Forum involve as major intergovernmental organizations active in this field including: - The World Bank (cf. new strategy "Constructing Knowledge Societies: New Challenges for Tertiary Education", May 2002); - The OECD (cf. first Forum on Trade in Educational Services, Washington 23-24 May 2002); - The ILO (cf. new World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, first meeting 25 March 2002). Partners also include regional organizations such as the Council of Europe and the European Commission, representatives of a number of Member States, professional organizations and networks, experts, representatives of major stakeholders in higher education (institutions, teachers, students, private business). Secretariat of the Global Forum The activities of the Global Forum are administered by the Division of Higher Education . The Responsible Programme Specialist is Ms. Stamenka Uvalic-Trumbic, Chief, Section for Access, Mobility and Quality Assurance.

Documents

Internationalization and Globalization Bibliography and Internet Resources on Internationalization and Globalization - More