Louaize bc conference programme book

IAU-NDU International Conference on Higher Education and Intercultural Dialogue 1

IAU thanks… The International Association of Universities extends its sincere gratitude to its host, partner and sponsors for their generous collaboration and support of the IAU 2009 International Conference.

© Copyright, International Association of Universities (IAU), 2009, all rights reserved. Publication completed on October 22, 2009.


Jounieh, 4 November 2009 Dear colleagues,

Welcome to Lebanon and to the IAU 2009 International Conference on The Role of Higher Education in Fostering Intercultural Dialogue and Understanding.

The theme of this conference was chosen jointly, not only because it is in line with one of the thematic priorities of the International Association of Universities but also because Notre Dame University strongly believes that Higher Education plays an essential role in promoting and encouraging intercultural learning and understanding. The topic’s particular relevance and importance for this region needs no explanation.

Higher Education Institutions contribute in two equally important ways to instilling intercultural learning and dialogue; first by ensuring that such dialogue is possible and encouraged on campus; and second by promoting the value of intercultural dialogue and understanding in the wider society.

Universities are indeed key actors in the broader society. Beyond facilitating students’ success in the job market, one of the main goals of HE is to provide students with adequate competences and know how to enable them to be well- informed, tolerant and critical citizens, ready and able to live together as equals in multicultural and multiethnic society. Hence, to enable graduates to take an active part in the development of our future societies, universities need to foster intercultural dialogue; they need to ensure that citizenship education is embedded in the very mission of teaching, learning and research. The debate about how to integrate intercultural learning and dialogue into the curricula should thus form part of the worldwide discussion of current higher education structural reforms and policy development.

IAU is grateful to NDU for the invitation to Lebanon and for generously hosting this important event. We hope that the programme and speakers, covering many different dimensions of this broad theme and coming from a variety of cultural backgrounds will provide a stimulating start for lively debates. We also hope that you will seize the opportunity to learn more about the University, IAU and Lebanon while you share your views on a topic that in large measure is at the heart of Jacques Delors’ famous ‘Learning to Live Together’ role of education.

We deeply regret that higher education leaders from some countries could not attend the conference, because of persistent conflicts and the lack of constructive dialogue. At the same time, IAU and NDU are pleased to welcome delegates from all regions of the world to the Conference. We thank a number of partner organizations with which the IAU is pleased to collaborate on this issue. Among others, we thank Mr. Federico Mayor, President, Culture of Peace Foundation, Former Director-General of UNESCO, Co-Chair of the High Level Group United Nations Alliance of Civilizations for opening the debate.

We hope that with your contributions, this Conference will mark a step towards a new IAU initiative in the field of intercultural dialogue and understanding.

Wishing you a successful and interesting Conference,

Sincerely yours,

Prof. Juan Ramón de la Fuente, President, International Association of Universities

Fr. Walid Moussa, President, Notre Dame University – Louaize, Beirut, Lebanon


Table of Contents Introducing the Organizers……………………………………………………….………….4

International Association of Universities (IAU) Notre Dame University – Louaize

Overview of Higher Education in Lebanon………………………………………………6 Conference Theme………………………………………………………………………..…….9 Conference Programme & Abstracts…………………………………………………….10 Speakers & Chairs’ Bionotes……………………………………………………………....28 Practical Information…………………………………………………………………………46


Introducing the Organizers and Host

International Association of Universities (IAU) For a worldwide higher education community Founded in 1950 under the auspices of UNESCO, the International Association of Universities (IAU) is an independent international non-governmental organization. The permanent Secretariat of the Association is based in Paris, France.

IAU is a membership organization that brings together universities, other institutions of higher education and national and regional higher education associations from around the world. Its mission is to strengthen higher education worldwide by providing a global forum for reflection and action on common concerns.

The Association provides its Members, and in general all higher education stakeholders (decision-makers, specialists, administrators, teachers, researchers and students), with a unique global platform for reflection and action, as well as with a wide range of services. These include information (through the IAU/UNESCO Information Centre on Higher Education), research and analysis of latest developments in higher education (through different scholarly publications and reports), and advocacy of higher education institutions views on a number of key priority themes (through policy statements). IAU is also committed to building partnerships and networks between higher education institutions worldwide as well as with various international, regional and national bodies (through conferences and most recently the LEADHER Programme).

The Association upholds the values of academic freedom and institutional autonomy, whilst also promoting greater accountability, institutional responsibility and effectiveness, and the ideal of knowledge made accessible to all through collaboration, commitment to solidarity and improved access to higher education.

IAU Secretariat

UNESCO-NGO House 1, rue Miollis 75732 Paris Cedex 15 France Tel: +33(0)1 45 68 48 00 www.unesco.org/iau


Notre Dame University – Louaize (NDU)

In pursuit of quality education

Founded in 1987 under the auspices of the Maronite Order of the Holy Virgin Mary, Notre Dame University – Louaize, a non-profit Catholic university, which follows the American system of higher education, upholds values of academic freedom, quality education, community service, lifelong learning, human solidarity, moral integrity, and belief in God.

True to its identity and heritage, NDU’s programs draw upon those values which are engraved in its mission as well as the rich and diverse cultural context of Lebanon to prepare students for interaction with the complexity of arts and sciences in the twenty first century. Today, NDU’s 2009-2010 Catalogue lists seven Faculties along with seventy-three undergraduate programs and nineteen graduate ones. The underlying philosophy of these disciplines has always been to provide for an international and professional education taught through a combination of liberal arts and practical work in a studio/lab environment.

There is no doubt that NDU has proven to be increasingly attractive to students from Lebanon, the neighboring Arab countries, and abroad. A recent survey indicates that its student population comprises 44 different nationalities. Further, NDU has acted on its commitment to establishing cooperative relationships with other institutions by founding its University International Affairs Office, whose role is to provide communication and academic exchange between NDU and various universities and institutions of higher education. On the local scene, NDU has recognized the need to reach the main regions of Lebanon. Accordingly, three campuses have been founded: The Notre Dame University – Louaize Main Campus, located in the suburbs of Beirut; The NDU – North Lebanon Campus, located in the northern part of Lebanon; and The NDU – Shouf Campus, located in Mount Lebanon.

Indeed, NDU has witnessed rapid growth. Is this a challenge? The challenge for NDU is to remain one based on merit alone; not a question of quantity, but of quality.

Notre Dame University – Louaize Main Campus 72, Zouk Mikael Zouk Mosbeh Lebanon Tel: +961 9 218950 www.ndu.edu.lb


Overview of Higher Education in Lebanon

Introduction

More than 160,000 students are enrolled in Lebanese higher education institutions. Half of these students are in the Lebanese University, the sole public university in the country. The other half is distributed over 38 private higher education institutions. Among these private establishments, there are universities, and institutes and colleges of technology or faculties of religious studies.

The Lebanese University has 17 faculties each of which is divided into sections spread over different regions of Lebanon. All universities or institutes are recognized by the Lebanese authorities through decrees issued by the Lebanese Council of Ministers following a specific procedure.

There is no official accreditation system or independent evaluation procedure for the diplomas offered by any of the Lebanese higher education institutions.

Diplomas

There is no unified system of graduation in Lebanon. The types of degrees or diplomas offered by each of the Lebanese universities or institutions depend on the fact that the corresponding establishment has a French education background or an American one. Therefore, one may find a credit system in one university and an annual system in another, or even both as is the case at the Lebanese University.

The majority of the Faculties at the Lebanese University offers a "maîtrise" in a particular subject which is equivalent to Bac + 4 (years). The same degree is offered at the University of Saint Joseph. The American University of Beirut and all other institutions with the same background offer a Bachelor's degree which is equivalent to Bac + 3 (years) or Bac + 4 (years) in some areas of studies.

Efforts to implement the European LMD system together with the associated ECTS are being made at the Lebanese University and in a few other private institutions.

Some Faculties at both the LU and the private sector offer postgraduate studies.

Admission

The Lebanese Baccalaureate in any of its sections (General Sciences, Life Sciences, Human and Literature, Social and Economic Sciences or the Lebanese Technical Baccalaureate) or its equivalent is a prerequisite for admission at any university in Lebanon. Some Faculties at the Lebanese University like the Faculty of Medical Studies, the Faculty of Engineering, or the Faculty of Public Health require an entry examination where a limited number of students are accepted. An entry exam is applied in private universities as well.

Language of instruction

Besides Arabic, French is a main language of instruction at the Lebanese University. English is beginning to be a language of instruction in some Faculties besides French.


French is also the language of instruction at Saint Joseph University, the Holy Spirit University, the Ecole Supérieure des Affaires, and others.

English is the language of teaching in almost all other private higher education establishments.

Fees

Apart from a registration fee of 200 Euros per year, the study at the LU is free. The fees for the study at a private university or institute start from 2.500 Euros and could reach 15.000 Euros per year. An amount covering the cost of living and the other relevant expenses like books and courses should also be added.

Addresses

The following is a list of available websites of Lebanese higher education institutions:

Lebanese Higher Education Institutions Website

Lebanese University www.ul.edu.lb

Saint Joseph University www.usj.edu.lb

American University of Beirut www.aub.edu.lb

Holy Spirit University www.usek.edu.lb

Beirut Arab University www.bau.edu.lb

Lebanese American University www.lau.edu.lb

Notre Dame University – Louaize www.ndu.edu.lb

Haigazian University www.haigazian.edu.lb

University of Balamand www.balamand.edu.lb

Makassed University www.makassed.org.lb

Arab Open University www.arabou.org

The Islamic University of Lebanon www.iul.edu.lb

Antonine University www.upa.edu.lb

Jinan University www.jinan.edu.lb

Almanar University www.almanar-university.com

Al-Kafaat University Institute www.al-kafaat.org

American University of Technology www.aut.edu.lb

American University of Science and Technology

www.aust.edu.lb

C&E American University Institute www.CandE.edu.lb

Tripoli University Institute for Islamic Studies

www.islamonline.org

Maten University Institute of Technology www.matenu.edu.lb


Sainte Famille Institut de Nursery et Physiothérapie

www.iusfbat.inco.com.lb

Middle East University www.meu.edu.lb

University of Sagesse www.uls.edu.lb

Lebanese International University www.liu.edu.lb

Global University www.gu.edu.lb

Hariri Canadian University www.hcu.edu.lb

Lebanese German University www.ispm.edu.lb

Modern University for Business and Science www.mubs.edu.lb

Arts, Sciences & Technology University in Lebanon

www.aul.edu.lb

Lebanese Canadian University www.lcu.edu.lb

Ecole Supérieure des Affaires www.esa.edu.lb

Ouzai University College www.ouzai.org

Beirut Islamic University www.biu.edu.lb

Saidon Institute of Dentary Laboratory,

Saidon Institute of Business

No website

Joyaa Institute of Technology www.alijammalcharity.org

St. Paul Institute of Philosophy & Theology [email protected]

Near East Faculty of Theology [email protected]

Daawa University Institute for Islamic Studies

No website

* For more information, please go to the website of the Ministry of Higher Education, Lebanon (www.higher-edu.gov.lb)


Conference Theme The beginning of the 21st century has witnessed the eruption of serious social, cultural and political unrest and conflict worldwide. The almost unprecedented economic crisis is likely to increase the turmoil and compound the complexity of finding solutions. Today’s society seems more fragmented and unstable than ever. This is very true in countries with multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-confessional societies, as is currently the case in Lebanon, where violence has often replaced dialogue and understanding. However, it is only through dialogue, that in Lebanon and elsewhere we may manage to reconcile.

Given Lebanon’s diversity and the country’s need to find a harmonious way to life for all its citizens , Notre Dame University – Louaize is pleased to host the IAU international conference that will focus on “The Role of Higher Education in Fostering the Inter-Cultural Dialogue and Understanding” on November 4-6, 2009 in Lebanon. The theme is in line with the IAU’s goal to promote cooperation and understanding at the international, regional and national levels and contribute to freedom and justice, human dignity and solidarity through teaching and learning, research and service. Given the diversity of cultural communities in Lebanon which is mirrored in its educational institutions, the country serves as a microcosm for exploring issues of inter-cultural dialogue and understanding. The conference will bring together higher educational leaders, scholars and students to discuss how higher education today, contributes or could contribute to creating a culture of dialogue at the institutional, local, regional and international levels.

The IAU International Conference will explore and offer a forum for sharing ideas, examples of good practice as well as innovative ways by which higher education can foster dialogue and understanding in the context of diversity.

Rationale

For the IAU and Notre Dame University – Louaize, the reasons for co-organizing this conference are as follows:

• The issue of dialogue and understanding across cultures is a matter of institutional, local, regional and international importance.

• Higher education institutions are increasingly called upon to engage in fostering dialogue and understanding in all aspects of their mission.

• The continuous development of a ‘global spaces and interconnections’ in all sectors – economic, social, political, health and environment-related - poses challenges that will only be met through dialogue and understanding among future leaders and citizens, most often graduates of higher education institutions worldwide.

The issue of diversity, in part due to mobility and internationalization in higher education, is becoming central for consideration when developing higher education curricula, pedagogical and teacher training and extra curricular activities for students with the aim of enhancing inter-cultural dialogue.


Conference Programme & Abstracts

Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Arrival of participants

16:00 Registration opens

Hotel Le Royal Beirut, Dbayeh

18:00 Welcome reception

Hotel Le Royal Beirut, Dbayeh

Thursday, 5 November 2009

08:30 Registration

Notre Dame University, Main Campus – Zouk Mosbeh

10:00 Inaugural Ceremony Issam Fares Hall, NDU Welcome and Opening

Walid Moussa, President, Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon

Juan Ramón de la Fuente, President, International Association of Universities (IAU)

Introduction to Higher Education in Lebanon

Ahmed Jammal, Director General, Higher Education, Lebanon Address of His Excellency President of the Lebanese Republic

11:30 Coffee break

12:00 Opening Keynote Address Issam Fares Hall, NDU

Chair Juan Ramón de la Fuente, President, International Association of Universities (IAU) Keynote Speaker

Federico Mayor Zaragoza, President, Culture of Peace Foundation, Former Director-General of UNESCO, Co-Chair of the High Level Group United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

13:00 Lunch


14:30 Plenary Session I Issam Fares Hall, NDU Why and How to Develop the Culture of Dialogue? Challenges from Institutional, Local and Global Perspectives.

The central idea of this session emanates from a belief that dialogue, a culture in its own right, is a means to enhance communication, understanding and appreciation among people from different cultures. As such, this Plenary will serve to frame the conference theme, exploring both the rationale and the ways forward when choosing to use dialogue as a strategy leading to the fulfillment of goals such as tolerance, acceptance and appreciation of the other, transparency, openness and straightforwardness, egalitarianism and democratic/participative approaches to living in society.

Both higher education and non higher education speakers will share their views on this broad question and challenge the audience to focus on some key related questions. Chair

Janyne Hodder, President, The College of the Bahamas, The Bahamas Speakers Is-Haq Oloyede, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Nigeria, President, Association of African Universities (AAU)

Cultural Pluralism as a Challenge to the Effectiveness of University Education in Fostering the Culture of Dialogue and Understanding in Nigeria

The contemporary world is increasingly multicultural and the identity crisis resulting from this sometimes threatens sustainable human development. This makes the promotion of understanding and dialogue to be a prime issue in the management of multiculturalism, global peace and security. What roles can and should higher education play in attaining this worldwide objective? How are such roles being played? What are the context-specific challenges being faced? This paper attempts to answer these questions by taking a critical look at the situations in Nigeria – one of the most culturally-complex countries in the world. The paper is divided into three parts. In the first part, the nature of the social conflicts in the country, bordering on ethnic and religious contestations is briefly discussed. The impact of these conflicts on Nigeria generally, and the university system specifically, is discussed with a view to demonstrating how a nation crisis could partly challenge the ability of the university system to maximize its potentials to contribute to the fostering of national understanding and dialogue. In the last part, which is actually the fulcrum of the presentation, the point is made that these challenges notwithstanding, the Nigerian universities (enabled by the Constitution and dexterity of Vice-Chancellors) still manage to make some outstanding contributions in the direction of promoting dialogue among the contending forces in the country. The Nigerian case study is internationally instructive.


Antoine Messarra, Professor, Member of the Constitutional Committee, Lebanon

Which Values and What University Education in an Unsettled World?

Some university knowledge develops in a cognitive and quantitative way, whilst other knowledge flourishes in silence through social groups and activists who sap the assets of civilisation.

Revolution merchants and experts in the manipulation of democracy are shaking the foundations of the City, where encounters and exchanges take place according to the rules of life in a community.

There is a word in French (ratiociner), which means losing oneself in reasoning, which best expresses the drifts of modern technological civilisation, of postmodernism, of the vogue for the humanities which have often become quantitative rather than qualitative “social” sciences… Drifts that arise in school and university education and whose impact on social links and behaviour is very serious.

In a supertechnological world, there is an extension of the irrational, which can be seen in its violence, fanaticism, intolerance and terrorism… Voltaire is now more topical than in his own epoch. Indeed, what would a reborn Voltaire think if he verified what mankind does today to schools and to the universality of Reason because of fashionable tutors?

Losing oneself in reasoning (from the Latin ratiocinari; ratio, reason) pejoratively means reasoning in a vain, subtle and pedantic way.

Today, losing oneself in reasoning has penetrated the heart of teaching, both at school and at university, of academic research and, above all, the heart of everyday life in the family, with one’s neighbours and with one’s colleagues…

A new generation in the world, since the decline and even withdrawal of the Humanities from teaching, has learned to cogitate but not to think (pensare), i.e. to weigh, to combine ideas, to re-flect, which means to send in another direction than the idea in itself, to confront cogitation with reality.

By losing oneself in reasoning in our « academic » teaching, we have lost the common sense of both the peasant and the wise man. We have forgotten the modest lesson of Socrates that knowledge belongs to everyone. Cogitating, thinking, reflecting, reasoning, losing oneself in reasoning..., how have we come to no longer make a distinction between them and to live our everyday life in a Tower of Babel, forgetting nothing except the essential?

Why is the trend of losing oneself in reasoning spreading? Because we have also lost our bearings, our values, our standards. Yes, down with dogmatism, all dogmatisms. But one cannot reason without a purpose, an end, a reference. No reference is absolute, safe from doubt. We reason to have references. Otherwise it is no longer reason, but folly.

Let us come back to Socrates and in all school and university education to the Humanities. To understand is « to embrace as a whole », according to the etymological origin of the verb.


Georges Nahas, Vice–President, University of Balamand, Lebanon

Initiating a Culture of Dialogue and Common Understanding: A Lebanese Case

Lebanon presents a unique human environment in the Middle East with its long tradition of conviviality. The new atmosphere prevailing after September 11 has created tensions between, and within, individual countries. Even a place like Lebanon, has not been spared these tensions.

Within this context, universities in Lebanon, and citing UOB as an example, are trying to overcome these difficulties and to prepare for a more open-minded future. What actions may be taken? Are there any success stories? What are some possible recommendations?

This presentation will endeavor to answer such questions and to highlight the importance of adopting new approaches to university curricula to overcome this problem and to promote a more tolerant society.

Dimyanos Kattar, Former Minister of Finances & Former Minister of Economy and Trade, Lebanon

Discussion

16:00 Coffee break

16:30 Parallel Sessions 1. a. Issam Fares Hall, NDU

Shaping the Future Citizen: What Competencies Should Graduates Have to be Prepared for Effective Intercultural Dialogue?

The future citizen is expected to be an individual capable of understanding and immersing in the dynamics of global cooperation and collaboration.

This will require an appreciation for and knowledge of other cultures and a capacity to learn more over time. In this session we will explore the skills and competencies required to do so, and the curricular or pedagogical means that might best serve this purpose. Chair

Norbert Kis, Vice-Rector, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary Speakers Darla Deardorff, Executive Director, Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA), Duke University, USA (10 min. Video Conference)

What is intercultural competence? This concept must be clearly understood before it can be addressed and assessed through higher education efforts. Join in a discussion of the first study to document consensus among leading intercultural experts in the United States regarding specific elements of


intercultural competence (Deardorff, 2006), resulting in two intercultural competence models developed from the study's findings. With a focus on internal and external outcomes, these models can be used as a framework for curriculum development and program coordination as well as assessment. Simon Ho, Vice-Rector, Academic Affairs, University of Macao, Macao SAR, China

Shaping the Future Citizens: Fostering Intercultural Dialogue and Understanding

Modern, industrial civilization has been breeding dysfunctional behaviour. On top of the physical limits, we have our own social and inner spiritual limits to sustain such behaviours including alienation from others and from nature, extreme competitiveness and greed, media dominated by commercial interests, capitalist consumerism, cynicism politics, income inequality, cultural and ethnical conflicts, and separation and misery. Beside the recent global financial crisis, we are also facing the global human relation chaos (if not crisis).

Universities must take these challenges seriously. Can we make use of available new social and technological opportunities (transforming factors) and take an active part in determining a positive course for humanity. We need to help our students restore our lost human identity, instinct of community and the power of trust & love. We need to teach our students a new sense of common purpose to draw us together and a shared worldview for healing human relations.

We will also discuss how the global communication (including the Internet) revolution could foster a new global consciousness and an improved human relation. We need new partnerships among people from the local to the global level. Reconciliation and conflict resolution could be core areas of learning in universities.

Leila Fayad, President, Centre national de Recherche et de Développement Pédagogiques, Lebanon Yazmín Cruz López, Project Officer, Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI)

A Broad Approach of the Role of Higher Education: Beyond Training Professionals to Educating Responsible Citizens

This paper will present a broad approach on the need to change the educative purpose and higher education role for shaping the future citizen, going beyond training high qualified professionals towards educating a committed citizen that contributes to the common good. It will explain the context in which higher education is playing its role and how this context requires rethinking the role of higher education in responding to the global


challenges.

This paper will also suggest ways of action on how higher education institutions could play an active role in the actual context. In addition, the paper will focus on the need to rethink and renew their vision and action so that they can support, and even anticipate, a complex understanding of reality which will allow societies to play a proactive and committed role. In that sense, there is a need to reconsider the following aspects:

1. Open up to society: Proactive engagement in dialogue with citizens.

2. Incorporate sustainability transversally into teaching, research and institutional action.

3. Become cosmopolitan centres of global culture: Build bridges between different cultures and sources of knowledge.

4. Renew thought for society: Break the conformity of thought by proactively criticizing the world of ideas.

5. Go beyond educating professionals to educating citizens.

6. Introduce complexity, uncertainty and transdisciplinarity in the curriculum and in research, towards a holistic vision of reality.

7. Analyse the ethical, social and environmental implications of the advance of knowledge.

8. Democratize access to knowledge: Remove barriers in an effort to provide open access to expert knowledge, making it as useful as it can be. Move towards the idea of socially relevant knowledge as human heritage.

9. Network for glocality: Cooperation and co-creation of knowledge.

10. Link research to local needs and to the global development agenda. Discussion Parallel Sessions 1. b. Friends Hall, NDU

Dialogue as a Means to Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution: a Lebanese Case Study

Has dialogue contributed to conflict management, conflict avoidance or conflict resolution in addressing the Lebanese crisis?

The Lebanese crises have been approached from different perspectives. This session will offer insights into the situation of Lebanon and explore the various dynamics involved in addressing the Lebanese debacle. It focuses on what role higher education institutions have played in seeking resolution and offers some ‘universal’ comments about conflict avoidance, management and resolution in a context of cultural diversity and inter-cultural strife. Chair

Agneta Bladh, Rector, University of Kalmar, Sweden


Speakers

Antoine Rajeh, President, Antonine University, Lebanon

The Lebanese Case

This theme is of interest to all universities worldwide, but more specifically to Lebanese universities for which cultural diversity is their daily bread, given that training and education for good management of this diversity and its fulfillment constitute their main concern.

As for the world of higher education, this theme is intrinsically linked to the issue of cultural dialogue. Better still, it is the natural partner of this world issue, having seen the day in a context of acculturation, with the foundation of the first universities in the 10th and 11th centuries. Yet the universities of the 21st century are facing new challenges in this context and are entrusted with new missions: managing the cultural diversity of their students, staff and employees, developing methods and teaching programmes that favour cultural diversity and sponsoring serious research in the field.

The absence of dialogue is seen as the first indicator of the existence of a conflict between two or more parties. Yet it is imperative to discern between dialogue and controversy which could encounter several obstacles that cause this failure in inter-relational and institutional frameworks.

Dialogue is not the mere exchange of words, especially in the case of cultural dialogue; rather it is a synonym for all peaceful and innovating interaction that opens up windows to altruism in the ego of every individual, broadens their conception of truth and otherness and disseminates the sap of greater human maturity in people’s thoughts, hearts and wills.

So do we listen enough to this daily silent dialogue?

Amr Galal El-Adawi, President, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon

In a democratic society, conflict is the basis for social change.

So the problem is not conflict, but the way we choose to deal with it.

It is established that Education has a fundamental role in promoting interpersonal cooperation and understanding and reinforcing social cohesion.

Since its foundation, Beirut Arab University's mission was to offer excellence in education, learning, and research by taking into consideration the needs of our community and adhering to our academic values of intellectual freedom, integrity and professionalism.

However, the role of any educational institution is greatly affected by the society surrounding it. It's our task to seek to change and improve our societies by developing the skills of our students and by enhancing dialogue on a number of levels. For this reason we took a number of measures aiming at achieving our goals. One of these procedures was adding a mandatory course on human rights for all our students of all disciplines so they can discuss basic principles related to dignity, equality, tolerance and other ethics and values.


We went also along with establishing the Human Rights Center that aims at spreading the values of human rights at the university and it will function as a preventive measure to any conflict by enhancing dialogue among our students.

Indeed, improving dialogue at our university by amending the curriculum, creating a more tolerant educational environment and encouraging students to be involved in dialogue favorable activities has clearly led to preventing, managing and resolving conflicts in our small community.

Michel Nehme, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Director of University International Affairs Office, Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon

Dialogue as a Means to Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution: A Lebanese Case Study

It must be admitted that, in the past, religions and cultural diversities have been responsible for wars, or have at least shared responsibility for them, and that we can not say that this is no longer the case today. At the same time, the wider picture contains both light and shadows. On more than one occasion in the course of history, religious and cultural factors have prevented or moderated violence. One thinks, for example, of ‘the truce of God’ during the Christian Middle Ages or of the strict conditions, which Islamic Law attached to a ‘just war’; or of the care for prisoners of war and innocent victims called for by the religions. However, the main reason for the so-called wars of religion and cultural diversities was not so much hostility between the religions and value oriented cultures themselves, but much more the pursuit of power on the part of individuals and of human groups (empires, dynasties and nations), in the course of which religion and culture were used in the service of personal or collective ambition.

As regards contemporary conflicts, it is important to examine information critically before alleging simple religious or cultural motivation. It would, for example, be simplistic to designate as merely “religious” or “cultural” the conflicts in Lebanon, or in similar situational countries like Northern Ireland, the Balkans, the Philippines and Afghanistan. The reality is that in most of these cases the religious authorities and or cultural elite, far from having incited these conflicts, have on the contrary always been passionately committed to peace and reconciliation.

Discussion

20:30 Conference Dinner Hotel Le Royal Beirut, Dbayeh

Friday, 6 November 2009

09:30

Plenary Session II Issam Fares Hall, NDU

Instilling the Culture of Dialogue in Higher Education


This Plenary session tackles the ways and means that HEIs can use to integrate the culture of dialogue into all of their missions of teaching and learning, research and service.

As institutions that house the most well-informed segments of the population and where cultural and political values are articulated, contrasted and compared, the HEIs have a major responsibility to find ways to ensure that they serve as models of institutions putting dialogue into practice and to improve knowledge and understanding about other cultures and study the potential and actual impacts cultural differences may have on the way societies tackle a variety of problems inside and outside the university, including everyday life, or major issues such as democratic governance, economic development, scientific research, etc. Chair

Abdul Razak Dzulkifli, Vice-Chancellor, University Sains Malaysia, Malaysia Speakers Sjur Bergan, Head of the Department of Higher Education and History Teaching, Directorate General IV - Education, Culture and Cultural Heritage, Youth and Sport, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France

Dialogue should come naturally to higher education, which is built on the assumption that ideas should be assessed on their intrinsic merit and that progress is made by challenging received ideas. The intercultural aspect of dialogue should also be a prominent feature of higher education, which was international in its origin and has continued to be so in its current practice.

A culture of dialogue is not acquired once and for all, however. It needs to be developed again in each successive generation and cannot be divorced from a consideration of the roles and purposes of higher education. At least in Europe, the current discourse on higher education policy strongly emphasizes its role in preparing learners for the labor market. This is one of the important roles of higher education but higher education must aim to fulfill its full range of purposes, which also include preparation for life as active citizens in democratic society, personal development and the development and maintenance of a broad and advanced knowledge base1. The ability and willingness to engage in dialogue on campus as well as in and with broader society needs to be seen as a core competence of higher education graduates. The presentation will aim to put these goals in the context of the broader higher education reform agenda in Europe and to draw on the Council of Europe’s work in this area.

Saleh Hashem, Secretary-General, Association of Arab Universities (AArU)

The convergence of civilizations is considered a landmark in mankind history of civilization. It is for sure an inevitable fate that can not be avoided. Islam as a religion and a civilization is against centralization of one

1 Cf. Recommendation Rec (2007) 6 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to member

states on the public responsibility for higher education and research. http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/highereducation/News/Pub_res_EN.pdf


dominant culture. On the contrary, it encourages that the world becomes a forum of civilizations that interacts and cooperates to strengthen the common bases of universal values.

The world must shape a tolerant universal philosophy which derives its principles from all different cultures by laying the basis for a non-violent resolution of controversies. Islam contains a great spiritual heritage, as demonstrated by the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights of UNESCO in 1981. It was proven that the philosophy of human rights does not conflict with the heavenly religions, but it conflicts only with their fanatical interpretations. Religions, such as Islam and Christianity focus on and promote human dignity, and hereupon there is no contradiction between the rights of God and human rights if we understand religion in a true and reasonable way.

Thus, the intellectuals, clerics, scholars and educators in east and west should continue their efforts towards enhancing the recognition of differences and similarities between religions and doctrines aiming at achieving mutual understanding through a genuine receptivity of other viewpoints. They should also work to reject intolerance or forced confrontations.

New educational policies and community measures should be developed to help coexistence and mutual understanding so as to achieve our goals through a rational perspective. We need to create a society that shares the values of love, tolerance and recognition of the other. All institutions of education and at all levels have a role to play in the development of educational frameworks and plans to help in the reformulation process of our educational systems within this concept.

Abdo El Kahi, Coordinator, Lebanese Center for Societal Research, Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon

Dialogue in Education in Relation to the Memories that Nurture its References - How can Dialogue in Education be Enhanced?

How can one establish a true dialogue in education and how can one encourage this dialogue when we know that all the previous and present forms of education have not been able to avoid being tainted by the memories of prevailing beliefs?

How can we establish a dialogue between these memories which have made education shift from a cultural climate to an accultural climate (modern) and then again to a cultural climate (technological and defined as an identity), subjecting people to well-established memories: virtual, written and biological, without any hope of reflexivity?

Andrea Blaettler, Executive Committee Member, European Students’ Union (ESU)

From a students’ perspective, one major opportunity to establish a culture of dialogue inside Higher Education Institutions is a participatory approach towards the academic community. Involvement of students as well as academic and administrative staff in institutional decision making can


provide the fruitful input from a variety of societal perspectives upon higher education and build the basis for exchange with society in larger terms. Since Higher Education Institutions are both national bodies as well as international actors, the stakeholders’ dialogue within institutions can furthermore advance an international dialogue platform and therewith enhance the Higher Education sector’s potential to contribute towards intercultural understanding.

Discussion

11:00 Coffee/tea break

11:30 Parallel Sessions 2. a. Issam Fares Hall, NDU Comparative Research and Cultural Studies as Means to Enhance Dialogue through Curricular Innovation.

How does comparative research involving two or more countries enhance the course of mutual understanding where differences are admitted, syntheses are derived and similarities explored?

Cross-fields of education (inter-disciplinary) and cross-cultural exchange of perspectives enrich and widen the spectrum of understandings and innovations. Chair

Justin Thorens, Former Rector, University of Geneva, Switzerland, Honorary President, International Association of Universities (IAU) Speakers Saouma BouJaoude, Professor, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

Lessons Learned from a Cross-Cultural Study on the Theory of Evolution at the American University of Beirut The purpose of this presentation is to elucidate lessons learned from a comparative study on diverse conceptions of the theory of evolution and its teaching in different cultural contexts (Egypt, Lebanon, Canada, Pakistan, and Malaysia) and discuss the possible contributions of these lessons to intercultural dialogue and understanding as well as to teaching and learning controversial issues in a multi-religious country like Lebanon. The theory of evolution was the focus of the study because the teaching of evolution continues to be socially controversial, primarily because of its perceived conflict with certain personal religious beliefs. Moreover, the social controversy over the theory of evolution and its teaching is likely to be carried to the classroom because students and teachers are influenced by their cultures and societies. Examples of such controversy are abundant in the USA where evolution education has become an important political issue. Related incidents are apparently on the rise in Europe and the Middle East.

Tore Saetersdal, Director, Nile Basin Research Programme, University of


Bergen, Norway

The Nile Basin Research Programme (NBRP) is a strategic, multidisciplinary programme for research and education on topics related to the Nile Basin located at the University of Bergen (UiB). It is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. UiB has a significant research community focusing on Nile Basin related issues, and an extensive research collaboration with countries in the region. The NBRP serves as an overall framework and catalyst for activities and initiatives reflecting research and educational priorities of Nile Basin researchers. NBRP offers two researchers from institutions of research and higher learning in each of the ten riparian countries to stay at UiB for one semester. A total of 56 researchers have participated in the programme since 2007.

During the semester in Norway efforts are made to develop a group identity crosscutting national and institutional identities. The aim of the programme is high quality academic publications. A wider aim is to contribute to forming a platform where dialogue and free academic discourse will flourish that may lead to collaboration across borders of nations, language and gender as well as influence politicians and policy makers. The good cooperation between Eritrean and Ethiopian researchers within the programme is a relevant example. The programme has taken the initiative to form the Nile Basin University Forum as well as development of joint curricula on Nile issues between Universities in the region.

Edward Alam, Secretary-General, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, Lebanon

Most will argue that higher education has a major role to play today in fostering a culture of dialogue and understanding, but I will argue further and suggest that higher education itself must be transformed “into” a culture of dialogue, thus my title, Higher Education “as” Free Dialogue: Pedagogy in a Global Age. Such transformation is a daunting task because although it is trendy and perhaps even fashionable to talk about the importance of interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue, the reality is, in all but a few institutions of higher education around the globe, but especially in the West, that specialization and departmentalization on both the disciplinary and cultural levels continues to intensify.

Specialization is so intense today that people in the same discipline can’t even converse; where does that leave interdisciplinary conversation? This tendency is in some ways inevitable and advantageous, but the challenge is to achieve “singular” accuracy and efficiency without sacrificing “universal” knowledge. This challenge is nearly as old as Philosophy itself, as we see in the tension between Platonic and Aristotelian metaphysics—a tension that has pedagogical reverberations down through the ages right up to the present. But despite this tension, both approaches concur on a central point: the need to have a unifying science, what in the middle ages was called the “Queen of the Sciences”. Of course, it is impossible to return to such a conception, nor is it desirable given the genuine progress (though much exaggerated) that has come from specialization, but the point is that without a central, unifying science, or even what might be called a highest science, unity in the curriculum is impossible. And without a unity and wholeness in the curriculum that facilitates genuine dialogue among


members of the faculty from the same disciplines, there can never be the kind of interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue which is so urgent in our global age.

This paper discusses ways of cultivating interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue in higher education through a deeper appreciation of Gadamerian Hermeneutics, and points to the work of the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (www.crvp.org) as one successful and practical model for achieving it. Discussion

Parallel Sessions 2. b. Friends Hall, NDU The Role of Leaders, Administrators, Faculty and Students in Nurturing a Culture of Dialogue and Understanding on Campus

In small groups, participants will be invited to discuss what leaders, faculty members and students can do in concrete ways to create or nurture a culture of dialogue in the classroom, in various extracurricular activities and in initiatives connecting the HEI to the local or even global community.

Participants will be particularly encouraged to share practices or cases where they have succeeded in bringing together diverse groups to either resolve issues or to simply learn about each others’ culture and perspective. Chairs

Patricia Pol, Vice-President, University Paris 12 – Val de Marne, France

Assaad Eid, Vice-President, Sponsored Research and Development, Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon

This session will be organized as small group discussion workshops.

13:00 Lunch

14:30 Parallel Sessions 3. a. Issam Fares Hall, NDU Internationalization of Higher Education – Cross-Border and at Home - Promoting the Culture of Dialogue and Appreciation for Diversity

Internationalization is taking on numerous forms in HEIs moving from collaboration in research, faculty and student exchanges and other kinds of mobility through cross-border partnerships. There are also initiatives that are designed to internationalize programs, courses and even extracurricular activities for those who do not get an opportunity to go abroad (internationalization at home).

These processes offer opportunities to improve quality education and allow for cross-cultural research ultimately promoting innovation by introducing


diverse academic and cultural perspectives.

How do we maximize the benefits of such initiatives and ensure that dialogue leads to an appreciation of diversity, assuming that diversity might also at times lead to disagreement and controversies?

How to ensure that when mixing students of different races, genders, language, ethnic and religious groups, their interaction in a common intellectual space is fruitful and offers good learning opportunities?

To what extent do exchange programs bridge social, political and cultural gaps in higher educational institutions and to what extent may they actually widen them?

How can we benefit from such cultural diversity and prevent what Huntington would call the inevitable clash of civilizations?

Chair

Duma Malaza, Chief Executive Officer, Higher Education South Africa (HESA) Speakers Alf Rasmussen, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, Department of Higher Education, Oslo, Norway

Internationalization of Education in Norway

The Norwegian Government submitted in February 2009 a White Paper to the Norwegian Parliament (the Storting) on internationalization of education. The White Paper covers primary and secondary education, non-university tertiary education and higher education – including research education. It is the first time a Norwegian government develops a White Paper that has a holistic approach to this.

The main measures in the White paper will have the following consequences:

- Quality as a guiding principle: Both with respect to study abroad and in the development of the provisions of education in Norwegian institutions, quality will be the leading principle.

- Attract international students: Norwegian education institutions shall be made more attractive to foreign students.

- Include the entire institutions: Internationalization will apply to all pupils, students and teaching staff in the education institutions.

- Cooperation between institutions: Emphasis shall be placed on cooperation with institutions outside Norway, including those in developing countries, on international perspectives, on languages and cultural awareness (all three being qualifications that are increasingly necessary for people seeking employment). Internationalization of education must therefore not only focus on student and staff spending semesters or years abroad, but also entail that education provided in Norway is international of character.

In primary and secondary education, the international perspective is important for many of the competence targets in the Norwegian curriculum.


There are, however, significant variations between schools when it comes to mobility.

There are considerable variations in non-university tertiary education. There is a need for better and more systematic knowledge concerning areas of study, degree of course completion, drop-out rate and mobility.

In higher education, the evaluation of the Norwegian Quality Reform (2003) shows that Norwegian institutions have made significant progress on internationalization at home and on student and staff mobility. However, it will be important to focus even more on structure, involvement and collaboration with institutions abroad and to associate internationalization with strategic development of the institutions.

Mobility is important in itself, but must be based on quality. The number of Norwegian participants in student exchange and degree seeking students at foreign universities must increase, which will require a high standard of information and guidance. Mobility of academic and administrative staff should also increase.

Studies abroad will continue to have high priority, especially student exchange and degree studies at master’s level (graduate students). The Government will adjust support for tuition fees so that students are motivated to choose studies of high quality.

Zixin Hou, Professor and Former President, Nankai University and Qing Hua Liu, Associate Professor, Institute of Higher Education, Nankai University, China

Internationalization and International Understanding through Higher Education - the Experience of Chinese Higher Education

Universities of the 21st century need to face the objective realities of multi-cultural societies and even of multi-civilization squarely. They have to consciously absorb what other cultures have to offer all around the world, and to take up the new responsibility to train citizens of the world. Chinese education does not only strengthen international understanding by promoting the internationalization of its universities, it also actively develops cultural exchanges and cooperation by founding Confucius Institutes aiming at promoting the harmonious development of all the cultures around the world.

Discussion Parallel Sessions 3. b. Friends Hall, NDU ICTs as Facilitators or Obstacles of Inter-Cultural Dialogue in Higher Education

Online Universities have proven to be enablers of strong relations between the academic and student community they work with. Virtual learning environments mediate traditional cultural barriers, such as physical frontiers and time zones. Once technology is available, in any of its modes, people from different countries and from different social and economic


conditions can study and work together as equals.

Ubiquity and accessibility have never been so close to being fully realized by the international higher education community; if anything, ICTs have played a major role in enabling people anywhere to access quality education.

However, now that we have people from different places and with different ideas and religions working and studying together, we need to address a new challenge. How can the ICTs help build up a truly global community, based on the understanding, respect, and appreciation of cultural differences.

Such issues are already being addressed by the international higher education community, with varying degrees of success, and new programs and collaborations are already providing the first answers. Many others are possible.

A panel will discuss ongoing experiences and best practices, as well as what must still be done to face the challenges ahead.

This session is organized jointly with the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), Spain. Chair

Imma Tubella, President, Open University of Catalonia (UOC), Spain Speakers Bakary Diallo, Rector, African Virtual University, Kenya

Working Across Borders, Language and Cultural Barriers: The Example of the AVU Multinational Project in 10 Countries and the Virtual Campus for Development and Peace Project

The purpose of this presentation is to provide a brief description of the African Virtual University (AVU) and to share the experience of the AVU in using ICTs to promote regional integration and intercultural dialogue. The AVU Multinational project has brought together 17 countries from Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone countries. The AVU is learning from its experience to implement the Virtual Campus for Peace and Development project, an initiative that will foster economic development and peace prevention/building across borders and language barriers.

The African Virtual University (AVU) is a Pan African Intergovernmental Organization whose aim is to significantly increase access to quality higher education and training through the innovative use of information communication technologies. Over its 12 years of existence, the AVU has trained more than 40,000 students and has acquired the largest network of Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) institutions in Africa. One of the greatest assets is its ability to work across borders and language groups in Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone Africa.

The AVU Multinational Project is funded mainly by the African Development Bank. The project consist of developing a common program for four online Bachelor of Education in 10 countries, training university staff of 17


countries, installing 10 eLearning centers in 10 countries, and mainstreaming gender. The project has contributed to foster understanding and collaboration among the participating countries. The AVU will be launching the Virtual Campus for Development and Peace, an initiative developed in collaboration with the Open University of Catalonia. This initiative will use ICTs to foster economic development and peace in different parts of Africa.

Ana Perona-Fjeldstad, Executive Director, The European Wergeland Centre, Norway

The Establishment of the European Wergeland Centre, Building Bridges from Policy to Practice

The European Wergeland Centre is a European resource centre on education for intercultural understanding, human rights and democratic citizenship. Established as an innovative cooperation initiative between Norway and the Council of Europe in 2008, it is located in Oslo, Norway.

The Centre builds on and promotes the work performed by the Council of Europe and Norway for intercultural understanding, human rights and democratic citizenship. Open to all 47 member states of the Council of Europe, the EWC main target groups are education professionals: teachers, teacher trainers, decision makers and multipliers within education for intercultural understanding, human rights and democratic citizenship. By providing in-service training, supporting research, facilitating networks for further collaboration and disseminating information, the Centre aims at bridging the gap between the policy and the practice in our field.

Discussion

16:00 Coffee/tea break

16:30

Closing Plenary Issam Fares Hall, NDU Chair

Eva Egron-Polak, Secretary-General, International Association of Universities (IAU) Closing remarks

Juan Ramón de la Fuente, President, International Association of Universities (IAU)

Walid Moussa, President, Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon

Evening Cultural Evening & Reception at the Jeita Grotto


Bionotes of Speakers & Chairs Edward Alam, Secretary-General, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, Lebanon

Edward J. Alam is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Humanities, Notre Dame University – Louaize University, where he teaches philosophy and theology since 1996. As the university’s first full time Director of International Academic Affairs (1999-2004), he worked with Madonna University to secure a U.S. State Department’s higher education partnership grant (the first time the US State Department awarded this grant to a Lebanese institution of higher education); he implemented an “exchange” program with Bordeaux Business

School; he initiated an internationally distributed book series in conjunction with Georgia’s Press in New Jersey, and directed the signing of a number of agreements with universities abroad. Alam also initiated and directed a Metanexus LSI project devoted to the interface between religion and science, which was awarded a supplementary grant in 2004 for its outstanding accomplishments.

He published a major book and a number of articles in reputable International Philosophical and Theological Journals, most notably in the International Catholic Review, Communio. In 2003, Dr. Alam delivered a Plenary address in Rome at the Second World Conference on Metaphysics, and again in Bangkok at the First Asian World Congress on Metaphysics and Mysticism; he has traveled extensively, giving lectures and chairing seminars in Iran, Korea, India, China, Thailand, Africa, Vietnam, Taiwan, Cambodia, Spain, Sweden (as visiting professor at Uppsala university), and the U.S. He recently conducted a five week philosophy seminar at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Alam was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the World Union of Catholic Philosophical Societies in 2008, and most recently became the General Secretary of the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, CUA/NDU.

Sjur Bergan, Head of the Department of Higher Education and History Teaching, Directorate General IV - Education, Culture and Cultural Heritage, Youth and Sport Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France

Sjur Bergan is Head of the Department of Higher Education and History Teaching of the Council of Europe.

He represents the Council of Europe on the Bologna Follow Up Group and Board, chairs the Coordination Group on Qualifications Frameworks and is a member of the working group on the EHEA in a Global Setting.

He has been Secretary to the Council’s Higher Education and Research Committee (CDESR) and he was a member of the editorial group for the Council’s White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue.


Sjur Bergan is series editor of the Council of Europe Higher Education Series, the author of a book on Qualifications: Introduction to a Concept as well as of numerous articles and editor of books on various aspects of higher education policies and on the heritage of European universities.

Before joining the Council of Europe, Sjur Bergan held an administrative position at the University of Oslo, where, as a student, he was a member of the Academic Senate. He is a former AFS exchange student to Alton, Illinois.

Agneta Bladh, Rector of University of Kalmar, Sweden, IAU Board Member

Agneta Bladh is rector of University of Kalmar since February 2004. She holds a PhD in Political Science from Stockholm University (1988). From 1998 to 2004, Dr Bladh served as State Secretary at the Swedish Ministry of Education and Science, responsible for Higher Education and Research. From 1995 to 1998, Dr Bladh served as Director General at the National Agency for Higher Education. Dr Bladh is a member of the administrative Board of the International Association of Universities and member of several boards of national agencies, as well as university boards in Sweden.

During 2009, Dr Bladh is chairing an international evaluation panel, assessing certain aspects of the latest university reform in Denmark.

Andrea Blaettler, Executive Committee Member, European Students’ Union (ESU)

Andrea Blaettler is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Students’ Union (ESU) and studying Political Science and Philosophy at the University of Lucerne. As an ESU Executive Committee Member she is coordinating the Academic Affairs Committee and thus focuses on issues such as the Bologna Process Implementation, Quality Assurance, Student Participation, Financing of Higher Education and Higher Education Governance. Andrea Blaettler is one of ESU’s two representatives in the Bologna Follow up Group and has participated in both the UNESCO Forum on

Higher Education in the Europe Region: Access, Values, Quality and Competitiveness and the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education 2009 on behalf of the European Students’ Union. Previously she was chairing the international cooperation working group of ESU for one year and as such co-organizing two global student meetings around the UNESCO World Conference. Within the Executive Committee of ESU Andrea now continues this work with the aim of strengthening the global student movement. Saouma BouJaoude, Professor, American University of Beirut, Lebanon


Saouma BouJaoude graduated from the University of Cincinnati, USA in 1988 with a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction (emphasis on science education). From 1988 to 1993 he was assistant professor at the Department of Science Teaching, Syracuse University, USA. In 1993 he joined the American University of Beirut (AUB). He was Director of the Science and Math Education Center (1994 – 2003) and Chairperson of the Department of Education (2003 and 2009).

Presently he is the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Prof. BouJaoude has published in several international journals such as the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science Education, etc. In addition, he has written chapters in edited books in English and Arabic and has been presented at local, regional, and international conferences. Prof. BouJaoude presently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Science Teacher Education and the International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. He is a consulting editor for International Review of Education and a contributing international editor for Science Education. Prof. BouJaoude has been involved in educational projects in Dubai, Jordan, Egypt, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, in addition to Lebanon.

Yazmin Cruz, Project Officer, Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI), Spain

Yazmin Cruz holds a PhD. in Industrial Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) with a thesis on Accreditation as a mechanism for ensuring the social commitment of universities: Proposal of qualitative criteria and indicators. Graduated in Civil Engineering, she holds a Master in Environmental Engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM) and a Master in Industrial Waste Management from the UPC.

She worked at the Environmental Centre (1996-2000) as well as the Virtual University and the Sustainable Development Centre

of ITESM. From 2000 until 2002 she worked at the Business Council for Sustainable Development, Latin-American Chapter as ecoefficiency program coordinator. She has also been a consultant and auditor on ISO 14001.

Between 2003 and 2005 she was working at the Environmental Planning Office of UPC. She also worked for the UNESCO Chair on Sustainability at UPC on European projects in higher education. At present, she is project officer at GUNI.

Darla Deardorff, Executive Director, Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA), Duke University, USA (10 min. Video Conference)


Darla K. Deardorff is executive director of the Association of International Education Administrators, a national professional organization based at Duke University, where she also teaches cross-cultural courses. In addition, she is an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and is on faculty of the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication in Portland, Oregon. She has received numerous invitations from around the world to speak and consult on her research on intercultural

competence and assessment and is a noted expert on these topics. With nearly twenty years of experience in the international education field, she has published widely on topics in international education, including her recent book, /Handbook of Intercultural Competence/ (Sage, 2009). Dr. Deardorff holds a master’s and doctorate from NCSU where she specialized in international education. Her dissertation, on the definition and assessment of intercultural competence, has drawn national and international attention and her intercultural competence models developed through the research are being used by organizations and educational institutions worldwide. Bakary Diallo, Rector, African Virtual University, Kenya

Dr. Bakary Diallo has been working in the education sector for the past 20 years as a secondary school teacher, an academic, a consultant, a project administrator and a researcher. He joined the African Virtual University (AVU), an Intergovernmental Organization based in Nairobi Kenya, which specializes in Open Distance and Electronic Learning in August 2005. He held several senior positions within the organization before his appointment as the CEO/Rector of the AVU in August 2007. Prior to joining the AVU, he worked at the University of Ottawa as a part-time Lecturer at the Faculty of Education from July 2001 to July 2005, and as a Consultant of

Integration of ICT in Education, at the Center for University Teaching. He taught at the Secondary Level in Senegal from 1988 to 1997 before joining the University of Ottawa in 1997. Dr Diallo is fully bilingual (French and English).

Assaad Eid, Professor of Applied Linguistics, Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon

Professor Eid earned a Licence d’Enseignement in English Language and Literature, a Postgraduate Teaching Diploma, and a Master in English Literature from the Lebanese University. From University of North Wales in the United Kingdom, he received a Master in Applied Linguistics. Back in Beirut in 1986, he earned a Doctor of Applied Linguistics from Saint Joseph University.

Until recently, Dr. Eid was Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Art and Design and before then Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. As Vice President for Research and Development since Fall 2007, Dr.

Eid has played a central role in expanding home and overseas research activities, programs and endeavors. His research interests are in the fields of linguistics, applied linguistics and issues related to higher education teaching and learning. His


recent research has been concerned with such topics as quality enhancement of teaching and learning, global education and issues of cultural diversity and internationalization.

Dr. Eid is the author of several articles, a co-author of many textbooks, and editor of professional books and journals. He has been a consultant, evaluator and referee in matters pertaining to university administration and academic affairs.

Eva Egron-Polak, Secretary-General, International Association of Universities (IAU)

Eva Egron-Polak was educated in the Czech Republic, Canada and France. Having studied French Literature, Political Science and International Political Economy, her post-graduate research focused on higher education policy and particularly on early (mid-1980s) policy in this field by the European Union. She has had extensive experience in international cooperation in higher education having served for more than 15 year in various senior positions at the

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) prior to becoming the Secretary General of IAU in 2002. Her last position at AUCC before moving to IAU was as Vice-President, International.

As Secretary General of IAU, an independent global membership association of universities and associations of higher education institutions, Eva Egron-Polak is engaged with many of the most pressing policy issues in higher education – internationalization of higher education and intercultural learning, quality of cross-border higher education, equitable access to and success in higher education, changing nature of institutional autonomy and the contribution of higher education to sustainable development or the UN Education for All programme, among others. Since her arrival at IAU, she has focused on expanding the Association’s convening role, consolidating the Association’s capacity as a clearing house of information and launched a number of projects, including regular and systematic global survey on internationalization and the LEADHER grants programme for professional development and North-South collaboration. She is a member of a large number of committees at UNESCO, the OECD, the EU, and has expanded IAU partnerships to include many new organizations.


Amr Galal El-Adawi, President, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon Professor Amr El-Adawi became President of Beirut Arab University in August 2006. He is professor of architecture at the University of Alexandria where he served as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering (2005-2006). Prof. El-Adawi is a consultant for the architectural design unit at the office of the Minister of Culture and for Mubarak City for Scientific Research and Technological Applications. He is also member of the supreme committee for the promotion of academic staff in Egyptian universities and of the High Supreme Court for Values in Egypt.

Prof. El-Adawi joined the teaching staff at the Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University immediately upon graduation from the Faculty in 1974. He received his M.Sc. in architecture from Alexandria University in 1980 and his PhD in Urban Design from Liverpool University (England) in 1986. He then rose through the academic ranks to full professorship in 1997.

Professor El-Adawi's honors include the University of Alexandria prize (2008), the State Prize for urban landscape: The Development of Historic Sites, Egypt (2007), the Islamic Capitals and Cities Organization award for the improvement and development of Al-Mahmoudia Canal project (2001), and the Farsey Architectural Prize for excellence in the environmental improvement of Al-Mahmoudia Canal project (2000).

Abdo El Kahi, Coordinator, Lebanese Center for Societal Research, Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon

Abdo El Kahi studied sociology, demographics and education administration. Before taking his current post at Notre Dame University – Louaize (NDU), he taught for a number of years at the Université Saint-Joseph, the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts and at the Université St Esprit Kaslik.

He is today Managing Partner at REACH MASS where he has been responsible for social studies since 1993; he has also led around fifty published studies as well as the project ‘Survey on Public Concerns’ with NDU (33 publications); he is also Director at the Lebanese

Centre for Social Research at NDU (8 publications).

Additionally, he has penned several books, the most recent being “La gestuelle de l’esprit au cœur de la cité, (NDU, 2009) et Mémoires d’outre croyance (currently in press, Ed., Seuil, Paris.)


Leila Maliha Fayad, President, Centre de Recherche et de développement pédagogiques, au Liban (CRDP), Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Lebanon

Leila Fayad obtained a Licence in Arts and French Literature at the Lebanese University and a Doctorate at the Université Jean-Moulin, Lyon III, Lyon, France. From 1986 to 2002, she taught French and French Literature at the Lebanese University and at the University of Balamand, North Lebanon. She is the author of several specialized books in French and Arabic.

She has been the Director General of the CPRD and a Member of the Administrative Board of the National Labour Institute and of

the Directing Board of the Lebanese Civil Aviation Institute.

Juan Ramón De La Fuente, President, International Association of Universities, Former Rector, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Former Rector of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

(UNAM), Juan Ramón De La Fuente obtained his MD at UNAM’s

School of Medicine and trained in Psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic in

Rochester, Minnesota where he was awarded the Distinguished

Alumnus Award. After being appointed Professor at UNAM’s

Medical School and Director of the University Programme for

Health Research, he was nominated Vice-Chancellor for Science

in 1989; Dean of the Medical School in 1991 and Rector of the

University in 1999, a position for which he was reappointed for a

second term in 2003. He was the founding Head of the Clinical Research Unit at the

Mexican Institute of Psychiatry, and has contributed to Mexico’s health, higher

education and scientific research systems. Prof. De la Fuente was Mexico’s Minister

of Health from 1994 to 1999. He now is President of IAU.

Saleh Hashem, Secretary-General, Association of Arab Universities (AArU), Jordan

Prof. S. Hashem holds a Ph.D. in Russian Philology, Leningrad State University, an MA in Russian Philology, Leningrad State University, and a BA in Russian Language and Literature from the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

He currently is the Secretary-General of Association of Arab

Universities, holds a Regional Chair of the International Association

of University Presidents (IAUP) for the Middle East and North Africa

area and is a Member of the Board of Akhbar Al Yom Academy.

Previously he has been Dean of the Faculty of Al-Alsun, Ain Shams University, then

Vice President of Ain shams University for Higher Studies and Research and until

June 2005 President of Ain shams University.

He is Member of the Supreme Council for Policies, the National Democratic Party in

Egypt, 2004, Member of the Advisory Board of Arab Thought Foundation, Lebanon,

2005, Member of the Executive Committee of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of

Civilizations", 2006, Board Member of WCHE (World Conference on Higher Education)


UNESCO, Member of the advisory Board of TAG (Talal Abu-Ghazaleh College of

Business), Amman, Jordan , 2007, Member of the Board of Naif Arab University for

Security Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President of the Arab Council for Quality

Assurance and Accreditation of the Association of Arab Universities, Honorary

President of the Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education , Egypt.

Simon S.M. Ho, Vice-Rector (Academic affairs), University of Macao, Macao SAR, China

Professor Simon Shun-Man Ho is the Vice Rector (Academic Affairs) at the University of Macao. A seasoned academic, he has taught and held senior positions at numerous institutions, including the Hong Kong Baptist University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong over the past 20 years.

Professor Ho is also an internationally known expert on corporate governance and assisted international organizations including the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank in developing the related guidelines. He is also a newspaper columnist on this subject.

In recognition of his contributions to the field of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility, he was awarded the 2008 Faculty Pioneer Award (described as the Oscar of the business school world by the Financial Times) by the Aspen Institute, USA.

He was also named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics 2008 by Ethisphere, the world's most recognized body in business ethics and anti-corruption.

Janyne Hodder, President, The College of the Bahamas, the Bahamas, IAU Board Member

Ms. Janyne M. Hodder became President of The College of The Bahamas in July 2006 after serving as Vice Principal of McGill University in Montréal, Québec, Canada where she held portfolio responsibilities for Inter‐Institutional Relations and Development and Alumni Relations. In 1995, she was appointed Principal and Vice‐Chancellor of Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Québec,

Canada, a post she held until 2004, becoming the first woman to head a university in Québec.

Ms. Hodder joined Bishop’s following a ten‐year career with Québec’s Ministry of Education, having held various senior

administrative positions, including Assistant Deputy Minister. She holds master and baccalaureate degrees from McGill University and in 2007 received an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law degree from Bishop’s University.

A Board member of the International Association of Universities [IAU], in The Bahamas, she sits on the Boards of: The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas; The Clifton Heritage Authority; and The Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation.


In June 2009 she addressed the 17th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Accountability, Accreditation and Quality Assurance and at the 2009 UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education in Paris, France in July, she presented on Higher Education and Social Responsibility.

Zixin Hou, Director, Chinese Association of Higher Education, China

Prof. Hou Zixin is the former President of Nankai University (1995-2006) and Director of the Chinese Association of Higher Education. He sits on the German and American Editorial Board of the journal of "Mathematical Reviews".

Ahmad Jammal, Director General of Higher Education, Ministry of Education & Higher Education, Lebanon

Mr. Ahmad Jammal is the director general of higher education in Lebanon, since 2002.

He is the vice president of the council of higher education, president of the technical committee, president of the equivalence committee and of the engineering commission. He is in charge of the private higher education sector in Lebanon. He is working on the dissemination of quality assurance in Higher education and the development of procedures, criteria & standards for QA & Accreditation in Lebanon. He participated in the development of guides in this field.

He is IEEE senior member since 1990 & member of the order of engineers in Lebanon since 1995.

He was a full professor of Power electronics, Machines & Drives at the Lebanese University from 1996 to 2002, associate professor at the University Claude Bernard – Lyon I in France from 1988 to 1996 and research assistant from 1983 to 1986. He worked as research & development engineer at Leroy-Somer France in 1986 -1987.

He obtained the BE in Electrical engineering from Damascus university in 1982, the MSc, from polytechnic institute of Grenoble - France in 1984, his PhD in Electrical Engineering (Power converters & Drives) from Claude Bernard University - France in 1986, and the Habilitation to supervise scientific research from the same university in 1994. He supervises MSc & PhD students in France & in Lebanon in the field of electric machines, drives, diagnosis of converters. He has published several papers in International scientific journals & conferences. He continues to teach courses in the domain of electrical engineering at ISAE-CNAM Lebanon and to supervise projects & research activities of the students.


Dimyanos Kattar, Founding Dean, Business School, Antonine University, Minister of Finance and Economy, Lebanon

Mr Kattar is founding Dean of the Business School of Antonine University, Lebanon, since 2006.

He is an independent consultant in strategy for corporate and financial groups in Europe and the Middle East with 20 years of experience. Since 2001 he has been involved in several initiatives covering political and economical reforms.

He was nominated in 2005 as Minister of Finance and Economy.

Norbert Kis, Vice-Rector for International Affairs and full-professor in law, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary

Norbert KIS is currently Vice-Rector for International Affairs and full-professor in law at Corvinus University of Budapest (CUB, Hungary). Since 2006, Norbert KIS obtained LLM in France (Nantes) and his PhD in Legal Sciences at ELTE University in 2003 (Budapest). From 1998 to 2002, he served as the Head of Dep. in the Ministry of Education of Hungary and leading advisor of Hungarian Legislation of Education. From 2002 to 2006, he had been vice-dean at the Faculty of Public Administration (CUB). From 2008 he has been board member of the IAU. Since 2006 he has been the

Head of Dep. of Legal Sciences at CUB and managing partner of Geller & Kis International Law Firm in Budapest. His research fields are the international criminal justice and the comparative criminal law. Liu Qinghua, Assistant Professor, Higher Education Institute, Nankai University, China

Dr. Liu Qinghua is assistant professor at the higher education institute of Nankai University. He is the secretary of National Guidance Committee of the Ministry of Education of P.R. China on vocational education.


Duma Malaza, Chief Executive Officer, Higher Education South Africa (HESA)

Professor Duma Malaza has extensive leadership and senior management experience various higher education institutions. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Higher Education South Africa, the new national HE association established in May 2005. In this position Duma provides strategic leadership to the Executive Office of HESA in advancing the organisational mission, objectives and implementation of its strategic plan. Duma was previously the Director of Quality Assurance at the University of Pretoria responsible for developing the UP’s Quality Management System

and setting up its Quality Assurance Directorate. He was also Director of Strategic Planning at UCT and Acting Vice-Chancellor at the previous University of Transkei. Duma has participated in the capacity development activities of SAUVCA and the HEQC in the areas of planning and quality assurance. He is a member of the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), South African Association for Institutional Research (SAAIR) and Academy of Science of South Africa. Federico Mayor Zaragoza, President, Culture of Peace Foundation, Former Director-General of UNESCO, Co-Chair of the High Level Group United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

Federico Mayor was born in Barcelona in 1934. Holding a Doctorate in Pharmacy from the Universidad Complutense in Madrid (1958), in 1963 he became professor of biochemistry in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Granada, and in 1968 he was elected Rector of that University, a post he held until 1972. The following year he was appointed professor in biochemistry at the Universidad Autónoma in Madrid.

Co-founder in 1974 of the Severo Ochoa Centre of Molecular Biology at the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid and the High

Council for Scientific Research, among other political posts Professor Mayor has held those of Undersecretary of Education and Science in the Spanish government (1974-75), Deputy in the Spanish Parliament (1977-78), Advisor to the President of the Government (1977-78), Minister of Education and Science (1981-82) and Deputy in the European Parliament (1978). In 1978 he became the Deputy Director General of UNESCO, and in 1987 he was elected Director General of that organisation, being re-elected for a second mandate in 1993. After haven decided not to present himself for a third term, in 1999 he returned to Spain to create the Foundation a Culture of Peace, serving as its President. President of the Science & Society Committee of FEB (2003 - ). Recently he has been the President of the European Research Council Expert Group for the promotion of basics research in the European Union (2003-2004) and Co-chair person of the High Level Group of the Alliance of Civilisations appointed by the United Nations Secretary General (2005-2006).

During his twelve years as head of UNESCO (1987-1999) Professor Mayor Zaragoza gave new life to the Organization’s mission to “build a bastion of peace in the minds of all people”, putting the institution at the service of peace, tolerance, human rights and peaceful coexistence, working within the scope of its powers and remaining faithful to its original goals. Under Professor Mayor’s guidance, UNESCO created the Culture of Peace Programme, whose objectives revolve around four key themes:


education for peace; human rights and democracy; the fight against isolation and poverty; the defense of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue; and conflict prevention and the consolidation of peace.

Within the framework of this strategy, numerous international meetings and conferences have been on subjects such as education in non-violence, the eradication of discrimination and the promotion of pluralism and international cooperation. These meetings resulted in a significant number of Declarations – some thirty in all - which express a will to promote education, science, culture, research and teaching, as well as justice and the “moral and intellectual solidarity” to which the Constitution of UNESCO refers. On 13 September 1999, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, which embodies Professor Mayor Zaragoza’s greatest aspirations from both a conceptual and practical standpoint.

Through the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, created in Madrid in March 2000, Professor Mayor continues the task initiated as Director General of UNESCO of promoting the transition from a culture of violence and force to a culture of peace and tolerance in all walks of life. He mainly attends to educational content concerning the origin of conflicts, democracy, and human rights, and in the struggle for justice, freedom and peace.

In addition to numerous scientific publications, Professor Federico Mayor has published four books of poetry, A contraviento (1985), Aguafuertes (1991), El fuego y la esperanza (1996) y Terral (1997) and various collections of essays: Un mundo nuevo (in English), The World Ahead: Our Future Making (1999), Los nudos gordianos (1999), Tomorrow is always late (1987), The new page (1994), Memory of the future (1994), La paix demain? (1995), Science and power (1995) and UNESCO: un idéal en acción (1996).

Antoine Messarra, Professor, Member of the Constitutional Committee, Lebanon

Professor Messarra is a member of the Constitutional Council in Lebanon, a professor of constitutional law and sociology at the Lebanese University and at the Université Saint-Joseph; and a member of the Advisory Council of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue.

He holds a degree in Public Law (Université Saint-Joseph et Université de Lyon, 1962) and a doctorate in sociology (Université des sciences humaines de Strasbourg, France, 1982).

Walid R. Moussa, President, Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon, IAU Board Member

Rev Fr Walid R. Moussa was born in Lebanon where he completed his high school studies and became a member of the Maronite Order of the Holy Virgin Mary (O.M.M.). He earned his BA degree in Philosophy followed by another BA in Sacred Theology from Saint John Lateran University, Rome, Italy. He pursued his higher studies at Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Rome, where he graduated with an MA then a Doctorate in Ecumenical Theology.


He later went on to study at Madonna University, Michigan, USA, where he obtained an MS in Business Administration.

In addition to carrying out post-graduate studies in School Administration while serving as School Principal in Lebanon, he obtained various professional certificates in Quality Management and Vocational Education and Training.

Starting as an Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies, then the Director of Administration, Rev Fr Moussa was elected Fifth President of Notre Dame University-Louaize, Lebanon in September 2005.

The research areas that Rev Moussa has been involved with are mainly related to, on one hand, the multicultural aspects of educational institutions and strategies of integration; on the other, Christian unity and relations among Christians, Westerners and Easterners.

Member of the Delta Mu Delta, National Honor Society in Business Administration, USA, Fellow of the Salzburg Seminar, Recipient of the “Queen Victoria” Commemorative Medal Award, Fr Moussa is also very active in participating and attending international conferences on higher education, and his plan is to reinforce the global presence of Notre Dame University-Louaize, Lebanon.

Georges Nahas, Vice – President, University of Balamand, Lebanon

After a study period in Lebanon, Professor Nahas obtained a D.E.A. in Mathématics from Université de Paris and a PhD in Educational Sciences, from Université René Descartes - Paris V, France.

He is currently Vice President University of Balamand since 1996 and Dean, Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology, University of Balamand, since 2005. Previously, he taught at the Lebanese University, then at St. Joseph University and now at the University of Balamand and has

acted as Director of the Collège Notre Dame du Balamand (1975 – 1993) and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, at the University of Balamand (1988 – 1995).

Besides, he is a Member of the Lebanese Association of Educational Sciences (ALSE) since 1995; Member of the National Committee of the "Ministry of Education and the Higher Education", since 1999; and he sits on the Société Européenne pour la Formation des Ingénieurs (SEFI), Belgique, since 2008.

His Research focuses on Cognitive Psychology in the Field of Conceptualization and the Development of the Conceptual Fields' Theory.

Michel Nehme, Professor of Political Science and International affairs, Director of University International Affairs Office, Notre Dame University - Louaize, Lebanon


Michel Nehme obtained his Ph.D. in Political Science from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, 1983. His dissertation focused on entitled “Saudi Arabia: Political Implications of the Development Plans.” He specialized in comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory.

Before becoming Director of University International Affairs, Notre Dame University – Louaize and being a Professor of Political Science, NDU since 2001, he was Dean of the Faculty of Political Science, Public Administration and Diplomacy, Notre

Dame University – Louaize (NDU) (2001-2006).

During his academic career he has been: Visiting Professor, Columbia University, N.Y., USA. at The American University, Washington DC., and the Rutgers University, N.J., USA. 1998; Lecturer at the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA; at the State Department, USA Government; at Princeton University, N.J. USA. He lectured about the Middle East political Changes in more than 8 different universities and educational institutions in the USA and Canada.

He published in Western and International Refereed Journals. He is the author of Fear and Anxiety in the Arab World, Florida University Press, USA. He published chapters in several books; articles on the Bitterlemons website (www.bitterlemons.org/); and articles in National Refereed Journals.

Is-haq O. Oloyede, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Nigeria, President, Association of African Universities (AAU), Ghana, IAU Deputy Board Member

Professor Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede was born Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. He is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, the current President of the Association of African Universities, Executive Secretary, Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) and the former Co-Secretary of the National Political Reform Conference. He graduated with a First Class degree in 1981. He later enrolled and earned his Master of Arts (1985) and Doctor of Philosophy (1991). He became a Prof. of Islamic in 1995 and Vice Chancellor in 2007. Prior to this, he was the Director of Academic Planning, 2001–2003; Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), 2003-2005 and Deputy Vice Chancellor

(Administration), 2005- 2007 respectively.

Professor Oloyede has received several awards and honours in his inspiring career; he is also a member of many professional bodies. He is Recipient of Arab League Prize for the Best Certificate Student in Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan; Recipient of Merit Award by Islamic Mission of Africa; Fellow, Islamic Academy of Cambridge, United Kingdom; Fellow, Academy of Religion; Fellow, Society for Peace Studies and Practice; Member, Nigerian Institute of Management; Board member, African Center for Religions and the Sciences; Member, Nigerian Association for the Study and Teaching of Religion and the Natural Sciences; Deputy Board Member, International Association of Universities (IAU) etc.

His has published in many national and international Journals. His publications include Shariah and Secularisation in Nigeria.


Ana Perona-Fjeldstad, Executive Director, The European Wergeland Centre, Norway

Born in Argentina, Ana Perona-Fjeldstad is an Argentinean-Italian citizen living in Norway. A lawyer with a MA in International Relations, she has started her career as advicer at Argentinian Parliament and later as a reseacher at the Latin American Graduate School of Social Sciences (FLACSO). From 1994-2009 she worked at the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE), a global NGO in the field of open and distance learning in close relations with UNESCO.

Perona-Fjeldstad held several positions there until she became ICDEs' Acting Secretary General in 2007. Since February 2009 she is the Executive Director at the European Wergeland Centre. Patricia Pol, Vice-President, Université Paris 12 - Val de Marne, France

Graduate of ESSEC Business School in 1980 - a French ‘grande école’ – Patricia Pol has worked in the private sector of multinational corporations before entering the world of teaching and research at the end of the 80s and becoming Vice-President of her university in 2000.

She obtained her Doctor’s Degree in Management Sciences in 1996, and is associate professor at the University Paris 12 - Val de Marne, a multidisciplinary university of 31,000 students, 20% of which come from overseas. Her teaching concerns international

and intercultural management and human resource development. She is co-director of a master’s course in ‘Economic Expertise and International Project Management’ aiming at training experts to answer international tenders and manage projects in the developing and emerging countries. This master’s is also taught in English at the National University of Vietnam in Hanoï. Her research centres on internationalization of organizations (firms and universities) and more particularly, international mobility. She has written various articles and reports about the higher education system in France and the internationalization of French universities.

In charge of international development at Université Paris 12 since 1991, during the last 15 years she has coordinated several international and European projects in various fields. Expert for the French National evaluation agency (AERES) and the Swiss agency (OAQ), she has participated in the evaluation of French and Swiss universities and very recently of the merger of Strasbourg University. She has also contributed to numerous studies related to the Erasmus programme, the international scholarship system of the French government, and the ‘CampusFrance’ agency.

Since September 2004, Patricia Pol has been coordinating the French ‘expert Bologna team’ and is strongly committed to creating a European higher education area and implementing the main references and action lines at a national level within the institutions, their conferences and the National authorities. She has been participating in many conferences on the Bologna process in France, Europe, Africa and Latin America and is equally happy to do so in French, Spanish and English.


Since 2008, she has been involved in the internationalization of the new cluster of establishments - Université Paris-Est - bringing together universities, Grandes écoles and research institutes. Antoine Rajeh, President, Antonine University, Lebanon

Professor Antoine Rajeh has been Rector of the Antonine University in Lebanon since 2005. He is also a judge of appeals at the Maronite and Armenian Ecclesiastical Tribunals and a Doctor in Canon law. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in civil law, philosophy and theology. He has also been a professor of Procedure and heritage law since 1999 and is the author of several books on law and canon law.

Alf Rasmussen, Senior Adviser, Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, Norway

Alf Rasmussen, MSc in Political Science, is currently working in the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, Department of Higher Education. His main responsibility areas are the global perspectives of the Bologna Process, cooperation with Latin-America and the writing and follow-up on the Norwegian White Paper on internationalization of education. From 1997-2005 he was engaged as Senior Adviser at the Nordic Council of Ministers in Copenhagen, Denmark, responsible for Higher Education Cooperation. From 1988 – 1997, he was working

in the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Science and also in the Ministry of Education and Research, Department of Higher Education and Department for Lifelong Learning. Tore Saetersdal, Director - Nile Basin Research Programme, University of Bergen, Norway

Dr. Tore Saetersdal is the Director of the Nile Basin Research Programme (NBRP) based at the University of Bergen, Norway. He is an archaeologist by training with a Master on Tanzania and Ph.D. on Mozambique, both from the University of Bergen. He has published on African archaeology as well as current cultural aspects like the importance of the pre-colonial past for the present and issues regarding cultural heritage management. He has initiated and led regional projects where staff and students from various countries in Southern Africa have participated. He is still

teaching archaeology at the University of Zimbabwe through a cooperation programme. Becoming the director of the NBRP in December 2007 he spends much of his time travelling in the Nile Basin region promoting cooperation between universities and research centres in the region based on the common interest in the Nile and promotion of peaceful development of its common resources. He has been instrumental in setting up the Nile Basin University Forum, now joined by 18 universities in the Nile Basin region.


Justin Thorens, Former Rector, University of Geneva, Switzerland, Honorary President, International Association of Universities (IAU)

Justin Thorens studied at the University of Geneva, the Free University of Berlin and University College, London. He obtained a doctorate in Law (PHD) at the University of Geneva. He was a lawyer at the Geneva Bar and a professor of private law at the University of Geneva. He is active in the field of arbitration. He was Dean of the Faculty of Law and then Rector of the University of Geneva. He also accepted, and still accepts, invitations from

many universities and institutions to give courses, colloquia and conferences. Very active at the national and international level, he was president of the International Association of Universities from 1985 to 1990 and is now one of its honorary presidents, a member of the Administrative Board of the United Nations University in Tokyo from 1986 to 1992, which he chaired in 1988 and 1989, a member of the Board of CEPES (European Centre of Higher Education) in Bucharest from 1981 to 1994, which he chaired from 1986 to 1988; he is also an honorary vice-president of AUPELF (Association des universités partiellement ou entièrement de langue française) and was a member of the Swiss National Commission of UNESCO from 1989 to 2001. At present, he is president of the Fondation Latsis Internationale and is also a member of the Boards of many foundations and national and international associations that are active in the field of culture. His main interests outside law are higher education policy, history in all its aspects, and the interaction of cultures and civilisations.

Imma Tubella, President, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Spain President of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) since 13 December 2005, she has a PhD in Social Sciences, with a thesis entitled Comunicació i identitat. El cas de Televisió de Catalunya (Communication and Identity. The Case of Televisió de Catalunya), and is Professor of Communications in the University's Audiovisual Communications Faculty. She was Vice-President of the Institute of Catalan Studies' Catalan Communications Society (1995-2003), Vice-

President of Research and Co-director of the PhD programme at the UOC (1999-2003), Vice-President of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –IN3– (1998-2003), member of the Advisory Board on Telecommunications and the Information Society to the Catalan government's Department for Universities, Research and the Information Society (1998-2003) and President of the Catalan Summer University Foundation (2006-2007). She held the position of Director of Studies and Contents at the Catalan Radio and Television Corporation (1995-2002) and Ombudsman at El Punt (2004). She co-led, alongside Dr Manuel Castells, the Project Internet Catalonia research programme which included 10 projects and the collaboration of 66 researchers. As part of the programme, she co-led research into the network society in Catalonia and led the research project entitled Communication and Social Change in the Information Society: the Internet in the Audiovisual Context of Catalonia.