This symposium is in person at the University of Capetown and also open to attend online via MS Teams:
The purpose of this event is to identify the key issues facing the growth, sustainability and future of open education initiatives in South Africa. Framed with an explicit social justice agenda, the intention is to surface current discourses around open education and social justice, and articulate the key opportunities and challenges related to implementing, supporting and sustaining open education activities that address institutional imperatives around addressing access and epistemic representation.
Drawing inspiration from the UNESCO ‘Futures of higher education’ project (2021), this symposium will grapple with the call for a new social contract addressing increased inequality and the access crisis in higher education, the rapid rise and integration of AI, and the need to be pro-active in setting out goals, mission and strategies to advance the open education agenda, specifically as relates to:
- A radically different approach to higher education with a focus on openness, inclusivity and diversity.
- Moving away from neoliberal competition towards higher education as a public and common good.
- Rethinking existing pedagogical approaches.
- Foregrounding the presence of students and building a truly inclusive democratic higher education ecosystem where students feel a sense of belonging.
- “Courageously imagining and sharing fresh possibilities for open education” (Czerniewicz & Cronin, 2024).
The symposium is hosted by the UCT UNESCO Chair in Open Education and Social Justice, Associate Professor Glenda Cox, in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and Open Educational Resources at North-West University, Professor Dorothy Laubscher, and Commonwealth of Learning Chair in Open Education Practices and Resources at UNISA, Professor Mpine Makoe.
When: 2024-06-12T07:30:00Z→2024-06-12T14:00:00Z
Attend in person or online: Register
Details:
https://ched.uct.ac.za/dot4d/unesco-future-open-education-south-african-higher-education-symposium