Latifa bint Mohammed opens the Third UNESCO Global Conference on Open Educational Resources

Yesterday, Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairwoman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, opened the activities of the Third UNESCO Global Conference on Open Educational Resources, which is organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the first time in the Arab world, in cooperation with the Mohammed Foundation. Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Center at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Her Highness delivered the opening speech of the conference, in the presence of an elite group of global leaders, decision-makers and innovators, who are meeting in Dubai to discuss open knowledge solutions and artificial intelligence in order to achieve universal access to knowledge.

Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stressed the importance of the conference’s efforts towards exploring the great potential offered by open educational resources, which contributes to facilitating access to sources of knowledge and unifying efforts to share digital education. Her Highness pointed to the importance of harnessing technology to improve and develop education paths and enhance its comprehensiveness. And confronting global challenges through innovative solutions that contribute to providing and sustaining more educational opportunities, and ensuring the transparency of information in light of the rapid technological development that may be reflected in the quality of information, which calls for more efforts. From efforts to provide licensed programs capable of producing knowledge and providing correct information, which will reflect positively on the future of education in the world.

Under the slogan “Digital Public Goods: Open Solutions for Universal Access to Knowledge,” the conference includes an agenda full of seminars and discussion sessions that focus on promoting equitable and sustainable education through open educational resources and emerging technologies. More than 500 participants from Various countries of the world, including a group of ministers, academics and representatives of the private sector.

In turn, the Assistant Director-General for the Communication and Information Sector at UNESCO, Dr. Tawfiq Al-Jalasi, delivered a speech entitled “Embracing Open Solutions for a Comprehensive Future of Knowledge,” in which he reviewed the most prominent transformative potential of open educational resources in facing the challenges of education in the world.

The conference included discussion sessions, including the “Shaping the Future of Education” session, which witnessed the participation of prominent ministers and speakers, including Benin’s Minister of Digital Economy and Communications, Worly Adam-Sole Zoumaro, Ghana’s Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutum, and China’s Minister of Education, Huai. Jinping (via video call), Minister of State for Education of the Maldives, Dr. Abdul Latif Mohamed, and Undersecretary of State for Policy and Cross-Sector Coordination of Cambodia, Dr. Po Chankulika, and Guyana’s Permanent Secretary for Education, Chanelle Hosin-Ottar, spoke about their experiences and strategies for promoting innovation and inclusivity through OER.

During a group discussion session entitled “Exploiting Open Educational Resources and Generative Artificial Intelligence for Digital Inclusion,” the experts sought to shed light on the potential of artificial intelligence and open educational resources in addressing global challenges. The session addressed topics of equal opportunities in education, and utilizing artificial intelligence to achieve inclusiveness. .

The list of speakers at the session included former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women, Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who focused on open solutions to achieve equal educational opportunities, and the Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau at the International Telecommunication Union, Sizo Onwe, who discussed The role of artificial intelligence in unifying the standards of digital inclusion, and the Director of Global Political Campaign Strategies at Meta Platforms, Kevin Chan, who emphasized the main role of artificial intelligence in supporting the efforts of… Linguistic comprehensiveness.

In another session, titled “The Value Proposition of Openly Licensed Learning Content,” participants discussed innovative applications of open educational resources and shared global best practices. In it, Dr. Tawfiq Al-Jalasi highlighted the 2019 recommendation to see open educational resources for the future, and the Executive Director of Creative Commons, Anna Tumadottir, explained the role of open licensing in the future of education, while the Permanent Secretary from Gambia, Muktar M. Wow. Darboy presented innovative applications for open educational resources in Gambia, and the Finnish Ambassador to Bahrain and the Emirates, Tuula Yriola, reviewed the Finnish OER library and its role in implementing openly licensed educational content.

Many countries have made significant progress in implementing UNESCO’s recommendations regarding open educational resources, and their initiatives will be reviewed during the conference. For example, in Cuba, the “Virtual Health University” has brought about a radical transformation in health care education by providing flexible and open educational programs for practitioners even in regions And in Madagascar, the government dealt with the challenges of “Covid-19” by launching an e-learning platform, distributing tablets, and using radio stations to reduce digital gaps in basic education. In Malaysia, it was approved A comprehensive policy for open educational resources, which aims to provide educational resources available to all, with government support that includes teacher training and technology enhancement. In Morocco, the national strategy for open educational resources and open science for 2024 aims to modernize education and expand the scope of scientific research, with effective participation by teachers, These models reflect the diversity of efforts made to achieve equitable access to knowledge through open resources in various contexts.

Latifa bint Muhammad:

. Harnessing technology is necessary to improve and develop education paths, enhance its comprehensiveness, and confront global challenges through innovative solutions.

. The conference attracted more than 500 participants from various countries around the world, led by a group of ministers, academics and representatives of the private sector.