Document Type

Conference Paper

Rights

Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence

Disciplines

5.3 EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

Publication Details

Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1316506

Abstract

UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre and the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) UNEVOC National Centre Ireland jointly organised an International Expert’s Consultation seminar from 18 to 20 August, 2008 at DIT Aungier Street Campus, in Dublin, Ireland. Since DIT joined the UNEVOC Network in early 2007, Mr. Aidan Kenny, co-ordinator of the National UNEVOC Centre Ireland and Dr. L. Efison Munjanganja, Head, UNEVOC Networks had in conversations and in correspondence been keen about the idea of a consultative seminar on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and capacity building in the UNEVOC Network. Central to the idea was the stimulation of capacity building, networking and enabling collaborative and scholarship activities focused on international TVET issues. The emerging idea of an expert’s consultation began to focus on a design to stimulate networking and capacity building within the UNEVOC Network by raising the awareness of the needs, interests and strengths of various UNEVOC Centres in developed countries the North and in developing countries the South. Developing relationships between the North and South were identified by the partners as an area for strategic action. There was a perceived gap between the expert knowledge and resources in some UNEVOC Centres and the needs of other UNEVOC Centres. The partners wanted to explore the magnitude of this perceived gap and identify opportunities and possible solutions to reduce this gap. A crucial focus was the disparity in expertise and resources between the North and South. The partners want to bridge this gap by facilitating an network event that could create relationships between UNEVOC Centres in the North and South In tandem to this the partners also wanted to germinate a Capacity Building process, offering space and providing opportunities to share information on innovations in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and on possible contributions of UNEVOC Centres to knowledge building and knowledge sharing. It was felt at the time that by developing a structured event we could make a positive contribution to the stimulating of networking relationships, the sharing of experience and the deepening of understanding between UNEVOC Centres in both the North and South. From the on-set the partners operated from the principles of respect for diversity, inclusiveness, transparency and ethical governance. As the project had limited resources available to fulfil its goals, it was decided to strategically list UNEVOC Centres from both the North and South who would be invited to the seminar. Our priority was to identify UNEVOC Centres that could contribute to the process and gain positive outcomes from participating in the event. Over twenty UNEVOC Centres participated in the seminar form various countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States of America. The list of the participants can be found in the appendix 1. From the feedback received before, during and after the seminar it would seem that collectively the process of strengthening the Network, stimulating capacity building activities and developing North-South relationships is moving in the right direction. The partners are committed to continuing this process and look forward to working with new colleagues in the future. The purpose of this report is to share the learning and outcomes that arose during the planning and implementation phases of this project and to begin to chart the strategic direction of where this project can move towards. The report is divided into three interconnected sections. Section 1 provides some background information on the emergence of the idea from concept to practice. Section two details the presentations that were made by speakers at the seminar. Section three details the findings and actions that come out of the workshshops and plenary sessions, it also summarised some of the key recommendations. The appendices contain all of the relevant seminar material and correspondence that was circulated before the seminar; it also contains the findings from the participants post seminar evaluation.

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