Ebba Ossiannilsson is an independent consultant and professor from Sweden who focuses on open, flexible online and distance education. She has over 200 publications and advises international organizations on quality, innovation, leadership, and sustainability in education. The session will focus on open leadership and collaboration in education to promote human rights, social justice, and well-being through frameworks like the UN SDGs. Open leadership requires transparency, inclusivity, adaptability, collaboration, and building an open organization.

1. Ebba
Ossiannilsson,
Professor. Dr.
ICDE; SADE, ICoBC
Sweden

2. Abstract
The session will focus on open leadership and open collaboration in the ecosystem of openness in education within
the frameworks of human rights, social justice, equality, democracy and well-being. The foundation for the open
ecosystem is also the SDGs, the futures of education, the new social contract and sustainability, but also on
resilineceand agility
Bio
Professor Dr. Ebba Ossiannilsson is an independent consultant, expert, influencer, researcher and international
quality auditor in the field of open, flexible online and distance education. Her focus areas are quality, innovation,
leadership, personalized learning, well-being, the "new normal" in the context of SDG4, the futures of education, and
the new social contract. Ossiannilsson collaborates with the European Commission, the Joint Research Center,
UNESCO OER Dynamic Coalition, ITCILO, ISO, OE4BW, and ICoBC. She is a member of the board of the
International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE). Since 2018, she has also chaired the ICDE OER
Advocacy Committee (OERAC) and has been representant in the ICDE Quality Network. She is Vice President of the
Swedish Association for Open, Flexible, and Distance Education, a member of MeetingPlace OER Sweden and the
Job and Skills Coalition Sweden. She is also involved in GO-GN. She is a frequent consultant to international and
national universities as well as national authorities. Ossiannilsson has been awarded several international grants,
awards, championships, and ambassadorial titles, most recently Open Education Global's Open Leadership
Excellence Award in October 2022, and the OERAC was also shortlisted in the Open Collaboration category by Open
Education Global in October 2022. Ossiannilsson is regularly invited as a keynote speaker and guest editor of several
special issues and serves on the editorial boards of several journals. She has published more than 200 articles.

3. Open
Education is a
human
movement that
thrives on the
shoulders of
extraordinary
people that
make it
possible

9. Characteristics of Open Leadership
Open leadership is a mindset and set of behaviors that anyone can learn and practice. Open
Leaders think and act in service to another person, group, team, or enterprise attempting to
accomplish something together. They are people with character, who give agency to those
around them. In this way, their role as leaders is not permanent or predestined; it is evolving
and fluid given the task at hand. Open leaders are especially adept at building organizations
that embody the character of an open organization—
transparency, inclusivity, adaptability, collaboration, and community—and operate according
to these characteristics. And because these principles are interconnected, open leaders
espouse all of them.

10. Ebba Ossiannilsson
Swedish Association for Open, Flexible and Distance Education (Sweden)
Visit Project
Professor Dr. Ebba Ossiannilsson is a recognized national and international researcher, expert and consultant,
especially in the field of quality in open, flexible and distance learning (OFDL).
Since the early stages of OER back in 2002, Dr. Ossiannilsson has worked on various national and international projects
in the field of OFDL, including OER. Digital transformation is also among her areas of expertise, with particular focus
on active citizenship, digitalization, green sustainability, and equity and inclusion. Her work is closely related to the
SDGs, lifelong learning, and the new social contract highlighted by both UNESCO and the OECD.
Dr. Ossiannilsson is recognized for her dedication to find creative ways to overcome adversity with openness. She
advocates for the use of open educational resources, open educational practices, open innovations, and cultures as a
solution to overcome challenges that arise in any crisis. She has demonstrated significant national and international
leadership and a long-standing commitment to open education. Her work spans through several regions and has
noteworthy global impact.
Dr. Ossiannilsson has spent the last 20 years advocating for a world of openness, where knowledge is open and freely
available, and the future(s) of education are open too. Since the outbreak of the COVID -19 pandemic, she has
researched and published on how to overcome adversity and thrive in the face of unprecedented challenges or crises,

11. “For me, good leadership in open education is about
facilitating, encouraging and inspiring the community. I
also believe in resilience and agility - with the world
changing so rapidly these days, you need to have your
eyes open to what is coming around the corner. You also
need to believe in what you’re working on. This is
especially true in the field of open education, which is
sometimes subject to questioning and hesitation from
those who don’t understand it."
”For me, working for the advancement of open education
contributes to a bigger picture, which goes beyond only
education: “Whenever I talk about open education, I
always put it into context of the UNESCO Sustainable
Development Goals. Open education is about common
goods, and it’s important for individuals, for human rights,
and for the planet. It’s also closely related to accessibility
and inclusivity. I believe it’s important to have this umbrella
context, to truly understand why the work we do in this
field is so important.”

16. PREAMBLE
The General Conference of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), meeting in Paris from 12 to 27
November 2019, at its 40th session (25th Nov
2019)
Recalling that the Preamble of UNESCO’s
Constitution affirms, “that the wide diffusion of
culture, and the education of humanity for justice
and liberty and peace are indispensable to the
dignity of man and constitute a sacred duty
which all the nations must fulfil in a spirit of
mutual assistance and concern”,
Building on the Ljubljana OER Action Plan 2017
to mainstream OER to help all Member States
to create inclusive knowledge societies and
achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, namely SDG 4 (Quality
education), SDG 5 (Gender equality), SDG 9
(Industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG
10 (Reduced inequalities within and across
countries), SDG 16 (Peace, justice and strong
institutions) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the
goals).

17. UNESCO OER Recommendation(2019)
Capacity building: developing the capacity of
all key education stakeholders to create,
access, re-use, re-purpose, adapt, and
redistribute OER, as well as to use and apply
open licenses in a manner consistent with
national copyright legislation and international
obligations;
Developing supportive policy: encouraging
governments, and education authorities and
institutions to adopt regulatory frameworks to
support open licensing of publicly funded
educational and research materials, develop
strategiesto enable the use and adaptation of
OER in support of high quality, inclusive
education and lifelong learning for all,
supported by relevant research in the area;
Effective, inclusive and equitable access to
quality OER: supporting the adoption of
strategies and programmes including through
relevant technology solutions that ensure OER
in any medium are shared in open formats and
standards to maximize equitable access, co-
creation, curation, and searchability, including
for those from vulnerable groups and persons
with disabilities;
Nurturing the creation of sustainability
models for OER: supporting and encouraging
the creation of sustainability models for OER at
national, regional and institutional levels, and
the planning and pilot testing of new
sustainable forms of education and learning;
Fostering and facilitating international
cooperation: supporting international
cooperation between stakeholders to minimize
unnecessary duplication in OER development
investments and to develop a global pool of
culturally diverse, locally relevant, gender-
sensitive, accessible, educational materials in
multiple languages and form

25. WHAT OPEN LEADERS THINK
Everyone deserves clear, direct, and
constructive feedback that’s as
unbiased as possible, and I should
expect to receive it from others.
Does everyone affected by or
interested in this decision understand
who made it and how we arrived at
it?
All members of the organization are
potentially stakeholders in my work
and partners in my decisions and
should have access to materials about
them if they want them.
Vendors, partners, customers,
communities, and other external
stakeholders are also members of my
open organization, and I need to be as
transparent and share information
and knowledge as much as possible
by demonstrating the same
consistency in behavior.
Even though this situation doesn’t
allow me to be as transparent as
others might expect, have I explained
it as thoroughly as I can?
People will trust and respect my
leadership ability only if I’m honest
with them and provide as much detail
as possible.

32. A new research
agenda for
education
Safeguarding and
transforming
schools
Teachers and the
teaching
profession
Pedagogies of
solidarity and
cooperation
Curriculum and the
knowledge
commons
Education across
different times and
spaces
Renewed
international
solidarity and
cooperation

33. Learn to know your
learners
Learner agency
Well being, caring,
and empathy
Green deal
Active citizens
Diversity and
inclusion
Digital
transformation
People, Processes,
Products and
Resources
PEOPLE FIRST

36. The way
forward
• Open, flexible learning and
distance education a strategy that
enables economic, social, political
and digital justice to enable
personalized, collaborative lifelong
learning across the lifespan that
focuses on health, well-being,
inclusion, equity and a smart future
for individuals and the planet.

37. My Footprints
www.i4quality.se
Ebba.Ossiannilsson@gmail.com
info@i4quality.se
THANK YOU!
CARING IS SHARING, SHARING IS CARING