Category: Blog

We are most often told that when the idea of the university was first put forward in ancient India, Egypt or some years later in medieval Europe, that a small group of people wanted to create a space for intentional … Continue reading →

“I am from a Naga community near Kohima; my ancestors taught me fishing, forestry and hunting. Now I am studying for my PhD in this prestigious institute of technology. How can I relate these studies to my own existential realities? … Continue reading →

The Social Innovation Exchange, Collaborate and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK branch) pooled their talents, energies and resources to create spaces for people to make unlikely connections that can create “real social change”. They programmed four days with 28 events, … Continue reading →

The National Coordinating Council for Public Engagement in Higher Education and the Institute of Education in the UK have proposed a new open access journal for all those who are concerned about using knowledge to make a democratic impact on … Continue reading →

As part of the on-going ‘mainstreaming community-based research’ project of our UNESCO Chair we are developing a series of case studies on community-university research partnerships looking at policies and supportive structures making it possible for university based academics and civil … Continue reading →

The sixth Summit of heads of state/government from 5 BRICS countries is taking place today at Fartaleza, Brasil. The Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is attending his first multi-lateral meeting of this club of large economies outside the OECD. … Continue reading →

Michael Edwards, one of the most respected organic intellectuals of the global civil society movement has brought out a third edition of his influential book Civil Society. In this third edition, he notes, “civil society organisations are increasingly divorced from … Continue reading →

The total budget of the Toronto District School Board in Canada is six times larger than the UNESCO Annual Budget. Since the USA has withdrawn its budget contributions to UNESCO, an amount representing roughly 22 % of the total budget, … Continue reading →

“Universities can be sites for learning about and understanding truth—about our histories; they can thus create conditions for reconciliation amongst divided societies”, spoke Bob Rae (former premier of Ontario and leader of Liberal Party in Canada) at the inauguration of … Continue reading →

I have just returned from a large international gathering of leaders of international higher education. There were over a thousand participants from 60 or so nations meeting in a resort city in the US. Rajesh Tandon, Paul Manners (Executive Director … Continue reading →