Following the first cooperation with UNESCO within LEARNTEC 01, which was positively appraised by all concerned, both partners will continue and strengthen the successful cooperation efforts in a Global Forum on Learning Technology in 2002. The plan is to unite experts and decision-makers from as many UNESCO member states as possible in Karlsruhe, in order to discuss problems associated with the Digital Divide and possible solutions to them.
In this context, modern information and communication technologies, especially the Internet but also the classical broadcasting media like radio and television, are regarded as highly important. Although most Third World countries currently have a comparably low standard in terms of technical equipment and infrastructure, they have high expectations concerning the development and extension of information and communication technology.
Individual hopeful projects in Latin America, but also Asia and Africa seem to confirm these expectations. This was further illustrated through an expert workshop organised by UNESCO within LEARNTEC 01, during which about 30 projects and reports from all parts of the world were presented. These positive results encouraged UNESCO to intensify its efforts in this future-oriented area and, together with the industrialised countries, search for ways and solutions for the Third World countries to minimise the distance to the wealthy countries. The mediation of knowledge and education on a broad basis with the help of modern media and technologies seems to be a promising way to approach this goal in the nearer future.
Thanks to the integration of the Global Forum on Learning Technology into LEARNTEC, the UNESCO representatives have the opportunity to meet with experts from universities and the economy to discuss the opportunities offered by modern information and communication technologies in order to overcome the Digital Divide. Therefore the pilot project "Life-long Learning (L?)", which has this goal, will be the central focus of the opening event of theGlobal Forum. The project was initiated by the Federal Government and is currently being realised by a number of companies and institutions – the cooperation with South Africa enjoys a special status in this context. The new Assistant Director General of UNESCO, Sir John Daniel (Education), together with the Undersecretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dr. Uschi Eid, is expected to officially open the Global Forum on 6 February.
The also new Assistant Director General of UNESCO, Prof. Dr. Abdul W. Khan (Communication), is expected to participate as well. Both representatives of UNESCO are seasoned experts in the field of technology-based correspondence learning: Sir John Daniel was chancellor of the British Open University (BOU) for many years and Prof. Dr. Khan is a member of the "Commonwealth of Learning" and was chancellor of the largest Indian correspondence course university in Delhi before that. Thus, both Assistant Director Generals of UNESCO represent in a special way the decided commitment of the world organisation for education, science and culture to minimise the gap between poor and wealthy countries, and to make use of the new media and technologies for this purpose.
The two-day Global Forum on Learning Technology of UNESCO is fully integrated into LEARNTEC, so that all conference participants can participate without any extra incurring costs.
The Global Forumis sponsored by Commerzbank AG, SAP AG, by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research as well as by the Government of the Land Baden-Wuerttemberg, among others.
For the first time, LEARNTEC 2002 will feature an ASIAN forum in Karlsruhe within the framework of the cooperation with UNESCO. This event, which is to become a permanent element within LEARNTEC, will be launched following an initiative by Prof. Dr. Mohsen Tawfik. He is a regional officer with UNESCO, operates from New Delhi and is responsible for UNESCO’s activities in the entire Asian region. The UNESCO LEARNTEC ASIAN FORUM (ULAF) will be organised and executed by the LEARNTEC team in close cooperation with UNESCO, the Government of Baden-Wuerttemberg, the German Federal Government and several LEARNTEC partners from the industry.
The plan is to unite approximately 20 high-level politicians and company representatives from the Asian-Pacific area with an equal number of experts from German enterprises and politics. Together they will have the opportunity to discuss mutually interesting questions regarding business and politics, and to initiate common projects. The talks will center on the issue of education.
As a kick off to the ASIAN Forum, German politicians and business leaders will meet the delegation from the Asian-Pacific region on 4 February to conduct a first exchange of views and experiences in Heidelberg / Germany.
On the occasion of this initial meeting in the rooms of the Print Media Academy of the Heidelberger Printing Machines AG – who, together with SAP AG will also function as the host to the entire UNESCO delegation – central issues will be debated which are of interest to all participating parties.
On the evening of 4 February, the Government of the Land of Baden-Wuerttemberg plans a welcome reception for the UNESCO delegation in Heidelberg. On the opening day of LEARNTEC, the participants of the ASIAN Forum as well as the remaining participants of the UNESCO delegation will get the chance to take part in the conference on education organised by Initiative D21, where they will be informed on the ways and measures with which Germany plans to become an information society.
