Louaize bc conference programme book

IAU thanks…
The International Association of Universities extends its sincere gratitude to its host,
partner and sponsors for their generous collaboration and support of the IAU 2009
International Conference.

© Copyright, International Association of Universities (IAU), 2009, all rights reserved.
Publication completed on October 22, 2009.

IAU-NDU International Conference on Higher Education and Intercultural Dialogue 1

Jounieh, 4 November 2009

Dear colleagues,
Welcome to Lebanon and to the IAU 2009 International Conference on The Role of Higher
Education in Fostering Intercultural Dialogue and Understanding.
The theme of this conference was chosen jointly, not only because it is in line with one of the
thematic priorities of the International Association of Universities but also because Notre Dame
University strongly believes that Higher Education plays an essential role in promoting and
encouraging intercultural learning and understanding. The topic’s particular relevance and
importance for this region needs no explanation.
Higher Education Institutions contribute in two equally important ways to instilling intercultural
learning and dialogue; first by ensuring that such dialogue is possible and encouraged on
campus; and second by promoting the value of intercultural dialogue and understanding in the
wider society.
Universities are indeed key actors in the broader society. Beyond facilitating students’ success
in the job market, one of the main goals of HE is to provide students with adequate
competences and know how to enable them to be well- informed, tolerant and critical citizens,
ready and able to live together as equals in multicultural and multiethnic society. Hence, to
enable graduates to take an active part in the development of our future societies, universities
need to foster intercultural dialogue; they need to ensure that citizenship education is
embedded in the very mission of teaching, learning and research. The debate about how to
integrate intercultural learning and dialogue into the curricula should thus form part of the
worldwide discussion of current higher education structural reforms and policy development.
IAU is grateful to NDU for the invitation to Lebanon and for generously hosting this important
event. We hope that the programme and speakers, covering many different dimensions of
this broad theme and coming from a variety of cultural backgrounds will provide a stimulating
start for lively debates. We also hope that you will seize the opportunity to learn more about
the University, IAU and Lebanon while you share your views on a topic that in large measure
is at the heart of Jacques Delors’ famous ‘Learning to Live Together’ role of education.
We deeply regret that higher education leaders from some countries could not attend the
conference, because of persistent conflicts and the lack of constructive dialogue. At the same
time, IAU and NDU are pleased to welcome delegates from all regions of the world to the
Conference. We thank a number of partner organizations with which the IAU is pleased to
collaborate on this issue. Among others, we thank Mr. Federico Mayor, President, Culture of
Peace Foundation, Former Director-General of UNESCO, Co-Chair of the High Level Group
United Nations Alliance of Civilizations for opening the debate.
We hope that with your contributions, this Conference will mark a step towards a new IAU
initiative in the field of intercultural dialogue and understanding.
Wishing you a successful and interesting Conference,
Sincerely yours,

Prof. Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Fr. Walid Moussa,
President, President,
International Association of Universities Notre Dame University – Louaize, Beirut, Lebanon


Table of Contents

Introducing the Organizers……………………………………………………….………….4

International Association of Universities (IAU)
Notre Dame University – Louaize

Overview of Higher Education in Lebanon………………………………………………6

Conference Theme………………………………………………………………………..…….9

Conference Programme & Abstracts…………………………………………………….10

Speakers & Chairs’ Bionotes……………………………………………………………....28

Practical Information…………………………………………………………………………46


Introducing the Organizers and Host
International Association of Universities (IAU)
For a worldwide higher education community

Founded in 1950 under the auspices of UNESCO, the International Association of
Universities (IAU) is an independent international non-governmental organization.
The permanent Secretariat of the Association is based in Paris, France.
IAU is a membership organization that brings together universities, other institutions
of higher education and national and regional higher education associations from
around the world. Its mission is to strengthen higher education worldwide by
providing a global forum for reflection and action on common concerns.
The Association provides its Members, and in general all higher education
stakeholders (decision-makers, specialists, administrators, teachers, researchers and
students), with a unique global platform for reflection and action, as well as with a
wide range of services. These include information (through the IAU/UNESCO
Information Centre on Higher Education), research and analysis of latest
developments in higher education (through different scholarly publications and
reports), and advocacy of higher education institutions views on a number of key
priority themes (through policy statements). IAU is also committed to building
partnerships and networks between higher education institutions worldwide as well
as with various international, regional and national bodies (through conferences and
most recently the LEADHER Programme).
The Association upholds the values of academic freedom and institutional autonomy,
whilst also promoting greater accountability, institutional responsibility and
effectiveness, and the ideal of knowledge made accessible to all through
collaboration, commitment to solidarity and improved access to higher education.

IAU Secretariat
UNESCO-NGO House
1, rue Miollis
75732 Paris Cedex 15
France

Tel: +33(0)1 45 68 48 00
www.unesco.org/iau


Notre Dame University – Louaize (NDU)
In pursuit of quality education
Founded in 1987 under the auspices of the Maronite Order of the Holy Virgin Mary,
Notre Dame University – Louaize, a non-profit Catholic university, which follows the
American system of higher education, upholds values of academic freedom, quality
education, community service, lifelong learning, human solidarity, moral integrity,
and belief in God.
True to its identity and heritage, NDU’s programs draw upon those values which are
engraved in its mission as well as the rich and diverse cultural context of Lebanon to
prepare students for interaction with the complexity of arts and sciences in the
twenty first century. Today, NDU’s 2009-2010 Catalogue lists seven Faculties along
with seventy-three undergraduate programs and nineteen graduate ones. The
underlying philosophy of these disciplines has always been to provide for an
international and professional education taught through a combination of liberal arts
and practical work in a studio/lab environment.
There is no doubt that NDU has proven to be increasingly attractive to students from
Lebanon, the neighboring Arab countries, and abroad. A recent survey indicates that
its student population comprises 44 different nationalities. Further, NDU has acted on
its commitment to establishing cooperative relationships with other institutions by
founding its University International Affairs Office, whose role is to provide
communication and academic exchange between NDU and various universities and
institutions of higher education. On the local scene, NDU has recognized the need to
reach the main regions of Lebanon. Accordingly, three campuses have been founded:
The Notre Dame University – Louaize Main Campus, located in the suburbs of
Beirut; The NDU – North Lebanon Campus, located in the northern part of
Lebanon; and The NDU – Shouf Campus, located in Mount Lebanon.
Indeed, NDU has witnessed rapid growth. Is this a challenge? The challenge for NDU
is to remain one based on merit alone; not a question of quantity, but of quality.

Notre Dame University – Louaize
Main Campus
72, Zouk Mikael
Zouk Mosbeh
Lebanon

Tel: +961 9 218950
www.ndu.edu.lb


Overview of Higher Education in Lebanon
Introduction
More than 160,000 students are enrolled in Lebanese higher education institutions.
Half of these students are in the Lebanese University, the sole public university in
the country. The other half is distributed over 38 private higher education
institutions. Among these private establishments, there are universities, and
institutes and colleges of technology or faculties of religious studies.
The Lebanese University has 17 faculties each of which is divided into sections
spread over different regions of Lebanon. All universities or institutes are recognized
by the Lebanese authorities through decrees issued by the Lebanese Council of
Ministers following a specific procedure.
There is no official accreditation system or independent evaluation procedure for the
diplomas offered by any of the Lebanese higher education institutions.

Diplomas
There is no unified system of graduation in Lebanon. The types of degrees or
diplomas offered by each of the Lebanese universities or institutions depend on the
fact that the corresponding establishment has a French education background or an
American one. Therefore, one may find a credit system in one university and an
annual system in another, or even both as is the case at the Lebanese University.
The majority of the Faculties at the Lebanese University offers a "maîtrise" in a
particular subject which is equivalent to Bac + 4 (years). The same degree is offered
at the University of Saint Joseph. The American University of Beirut and all other
institutions with the same background offer a Bachelor's degree which is equivalent
to Bac + 3 (years) or Bac + 4 (years) in some areas of studies.
Efforts to implement the European LMD system together with the associated ECTS
are being made at the Lebanese University and in a few other private institutions.
Some Faculties at both the LU and the private sector offer postgraduate studies.

Admission
The Lebanese Baccalaureate in any of its sections (General Sciences, Life Sciences,
Human and Literature, Social and Economic Sciences or the Lebanese Technical
Baccalaureate) or its equivalent is a prerequisite for admission at any university in
Lebanon. Some Faculties at the Lebanese University like the Faculty of Medical
Studies, the Faculty of Engineering, or the Faculty of Public Health require an entry
examination where a limited number of students are accepted. An entry exam is
applied in private universities as well.

Language of instruction
Besides Arabic, French is a main language of instruction at the Lebanese University.
English is beginning to be a language of instruction in some Faculties besides French.


French is also the language of instruction at Saint Joseph University, the Holy Spirit
University, the Ecole Supérieure des Affaires, and others.
English is the language of teaching in almost all other private higher education
establishments.

Fees
Apart from a registration fee of 200 Euros per year, the study at the LU is free. The
fees for the study at a private university or institute start from 2.500 Euros and
could reach 15.000 Euros per year. An amount covering the cost of living and the
other relevant expenses like books and courses should also be added.

Addresses
The following is a list of available websites of Lebanese higher education institutions:

Lebanese Higher Education Institutions Website
Lebanese University www.ul.edu.lb
Saint Joseph University www.usj.edu.lb
American University of Beirut www.aub.edu.lb
Holy Spirit University www.usek.edu.lb
Beirut Arab University www.bau.edu.lb
Lebanese American University www.lau.edu.lb
Notre Dame University – Louaize www.ndu.edu.lb
Haigazian University www.haigazian.edu.lb
University of Balamand www.balamand.edu.lb
Makassed University www.makassed.org.lb
Arab Open University www.arabou.org
The Islamic University of Lebanon www.iul.edu.lb
Antonine University www.upa.edu.lb
Jinan University www.jinan.edu.lb
Almanar University www.almanar-university.com
Al-Kafaat University Institute www.al-kafaat.org
American University of Technology www.aut.edu.lb
American University of Science and www.aust.edu.lb
Technology
C&E American University Institute www.CandE.edu.lb
Tripoli University Institute for Islamic www.islamonline.org
Studies
Maten University Institute of Technology www.matenu.edu.lb


Sainte Famille Institut de Nursery et www.iusfbat.inco.com.lb
Physiothérapie
Middle East University www.meu.edu.lb
University of Sagesse www.uls.edu.lb
Lebanese International University www.liu.edu.lb
Global University www.gu.edu.lb
Hariri Canadian University www.hcu.edu.lb
Lebanese German University www.ispm.edu.lb
Modern University for Business and Science www.mubs.edu.lb
Arts, Sciences & Technology University in www.aul.edu.lb
Lebanon
Lebanese Canadian University www.lcu.edu.lb
Ecole Supérieure des Affaires www.esa.edu.lb
Ouzai University College www.ouzai.org
Beirut Islamic University www.biu.edu.lb
Saidon Institute of Dentary Laboratory, No website
Saidon Institute of Business
Joyaa Institute of Technology www.alijammalcharity.org
St. Paul Institute of Philosophy & Theology institutstpaul@yahoo.fr
Near East Faculty of Theology nest.adm@inco.com
Daawa University Institute for Islamic No website
Studies

* For more information, please go to the website of the Ministry of Higher Education,
Lebanon (www.higher-edu.gov.lb)


Conference Theme
The beginning of the 21st century has witnessed the eruption of serious social,
cultural and political unrest and conflict worldwide. The almost unprecedented
economic crisis is likely to increase the turmoil and compound the complexity of
finding solutions. Today’s society seems more fragmented and unstable than ever.
This is very true in countries with multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-confessional
societies, as is currently the case in Lebanon, where violence has often replaced
dialogue and understanding. However, it is only through dialogue, that in Lebanon
and elsewhere we may manage to reconcile.
Given Lebanon’s diversity and the country’s need to find a harmonious way to life for
all its citizens , Notre Dame University – Louaize is pleased to host the IAU
international conference that will focus on “The Role of Higher Education in Fostering
the Inter-Cultural Dialogue and Understanding” on November 4-6, 2009 in Lebanon.
The theme is in line with the IAU’s goal to promote cooperation and understanding at
the international, regional and national levels and contribute to freedom and justice,
human dignity and solidarity through teaching and learning, research and service.
Given the diversity of cultural communities in Lebanon which is mirrored in its
educational institutions, the country serves as a microcosm for exploring issues of
inter-cultural dialogue and understanding. The conference will bring together higher
educational leaders, scholars and students to discuss how higher education today,
contributes or could contribute to creating a culture of dialogue at the institutional,
local, regional and international levels.
The IAU International Conference will explore and offer a forum for sharing ideas,
examples of good practice as well as innovative ways by which higher education can
foster dialogue and understanding in the context of diversity.

Rationale
For the IAU and Notre Dame University – Louaize, the reasons for co-organizing this
conference are as follows:

• The issue of dialogue and understanding across cultures is a matter of
institutional, local, regional and international importance.
• Higher education institutions are increasingly called upon to engage in
fostering dialogue and understanding in all aspects of their mission.
• The continuous development of a ‘global spaces and interconnections’ in all
sectors – economic, social, political, health and environment-related - poses
challenges that will only be met through dialogue and understanding among
future leaders and citizens, most often graduates of higher education
institutions worldwide.
The issue of diversity, in part due to mobility and internationalization in higher
education, is becoming central for consideration when developing higher education
curricula, pedagogical and teacher training and extra curricular activities for students
with the aim of enhancing inter-cultural dialogue.


Conference Programme & Abstracts

Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Arrival of participants

16:00 Registration opens
Hotel Le Royal Beirut, Dbayeh
18:00 Welcome reception

Thursday, 5 November 2009

08:30 Registration
Notre Dame University, Main Campus – Zouk Mosbeh
10:00 Inaugural Ceremony
Issam Fares Hall, NDU

Welcome and Opening
Walid Moussa, President, Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon
Juan Ramón de la Fuente, President, International Association of Universities
(IAU)

Introduction to Higher Education in Lebanon
Ahmed Jammal, Director General, Higher Education, Lebanon

Address of His Excellency President of the Lebanese Republic

11:30 Coffee break

12:00 Opening Keynote Address

Chair
(IAU)

Keynote Speaker
Federico Mayor Zaragoza, President, Culture of Peace Foundation, Former
Director-General of UNESCO, Co-Chair of the High Level Group United Nations
Alliance of Civilizations

13:00 Lunch


14:30 Plenary Session I

Why and How to Develop the Culture of Dialogue? Challenges from
Institutional, Local and Global Perspectives.
The central idea of this session emanates from a belief that dialogue, a
culture in its own right, is a means to enhance communication,
understanding and appreciation among people from different cultures. As
such, this Plenary will serve to frame the conference theme, exploring both
the rationale and the ways forward when choosing to use dialogue as a
strategy leading to the fulfillment of goals such as tolerance, acceptance
and appreciation of the other, transparency, openness and
straightforwardness, egalitarianism and democratic/participative
approaches to living in society.
Both higher education and non higher education speakers will share their
views on this broad question and challenge the audience to focus on some
key related questions.

Chair
Janyne Hodder, President, The College of the Bahamas, The Bahamas

Speakers

Is-Haq Oloyede, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Nigeria, President,
Association of African Universities (AAU)

Cultural Pluralism as a Challenge to the Effectiveness of University
Education in Fostering the Culture of Dialogue and Understanding in
Nigeria
The contemporary world is increasingly multicultural and the identity crisis
resulting from this sometimes threatens sustainable human development.
This makes the promotion of understanding and dialogue to be a prime
issue in the management of multiculturalism, global peace and security.
What roles can and should higher education play in attaining this worldwide
objective? How are such roles being played? What are the context-specific
challenges being faced? This paper attempts to answer these questions by
taking a critical look at the situations in Nigeria – one of the most
culturally-complex countries in the world. The paper is divided into three
parts. In the first part, the nature of the social conflicts in the country,
bordering on ethnic and religious contestations is briefly discussed. The
impact of these conflicts on Nigeria generally, and the university system
specifically, is discussed with a view to demonstrating how a nation crisis
could partly challenge the ability of the university system to maximize its
potentials to contribute to the fostering of national understanding and
dialogue. In the last part, which is actually the fulcrum of the presentation,
the point is made that these challenges notwithstanding, the Nigerian
universities (enabled by the Constitution and dexterity of Vice-Chancellors)
still manage to make some outstanding contributions in the direction of
promoting dialogue among the contending forces in the country. The
Nigerian case study is internationally instructive.


Antoine Messarra, Professor, Member of the Constitutional Committee,
Lebanon
Which Values and What University Education in an Unsettled World?
Some university knowledge develops in a cognitive and quantitative way,
whilst other knowledge flourishes in silence through social groups and
activists who sap the assets of civilisation.
Revolution merchants and experts in the manipulation of democracy are
shaking the foundations of the City, where encounters and exchanges take
place according to the rules of life in a community.
There is a word in French (ratiociner), which means losing oneself in
reasoning, which best expresses the drifts of modern technological
civilisation, of postmodernism, of the vogue for the humanities which have
often become quantitative rather than qualitative “social” sciences… Drifts
that arise in school and university education and whose impact on social
links and behaviour is very serious.
In a supertechnological world, there is an extension of the irrational, which
can be seen in its violence, fanaticism, intolerance and terrorism… Voltaire
is now more topical than in his own epoch. Indeed, what would a reborn
Voltaire think if he verified what mankind does today to schools and to the
universality of Reason because of fashionable tutors?
Losing oneself in reasoning (from the Latin ratiocinari; ratio, reason)
pejoratively means reasoning in a vain, subtle and pedantic way.
Today, losing oneself in reasoning has penetrated the heart of teaching,
both at school and at university, of academic research and, above all, the
heart of everyday life in the family, with one’s neighbours and with one’s
colleagues…
A new generation in the world, since the decline and even withdrawal of the
Humanities from teaching, has learned to cogitate but not to think
(pensare), i.e. to weigh, to combine ideas, to re-flect, which means to send
in another direction than the idea in itself, to confront cogitation with
reality.
By losing oneself in reasoning in our « academic » teaching, we have lost
the common sense of both the peasant and the wise man. We have
forgotten the modest lesson of Socrates that knowledge belongs to
everyone. Cogitating, thinking, reflecting, reasoning, losing oneself in
reasoning..., how have we come to no longer make a distinction between
them and to live our everyday life in a Tower of Babel, forgetting nothing
except the essential?
Why is the trend of losing oneself in reasoning spreading? Because we have
also lost our bearings, our values, our standards. Yes, down with
dogmatism, all dogmatisms. But one cannot reason without a purpose, an
end, a reference. No reference is absolute, safe from doubt. We reason to
have references. Otherwise it is no longer reason, but folly.
Let us come back to Socrates and in all school and university education to
the Humanities. To understand is « to embrace as a whole », according to
the etymological origin of the verb.


Georges Nahas, Vice–President, University of Balamand, Lebanon
Initiating a Culture of Dialogue and Common Understanding: A
Lebanese Case
Lebanon presents a unique human environment in the Middle East with its
long tradition of conviviality. The new atmosphere prevailing after
September 11 has created tensions between, and within, individual
countries. Even a place like Lebanon, has not been spared these tensions.
Within this context, universities in Lebanon, and citing UOB as an example,
are trying to overcome these difficulties and to prepare for a more open-
minded future. What actions may be taken? Are there any success stories?
What are some possible recommendations?
This presentation will endeavor to answer such questions and to highlight
the importance of adopting new approaches to university curricula to
overcome this problem and to promote a more tolerant society.

Dimyanos Kattar, Former Minister of Finances & Former Minister of
Economy and Trade, Lebanon

Discussion

16:00 Coffee break

16:30 Parallel Sessions 1. a.

Shaping the Future Citizen: What Competencies Should Graduates
Have to be Prepared for Effective Intercultural Dialogue?
The future citizen is expected to be an individual capable of understanding
and immersing in the dynamics of global cooperation and collaboration.
This will require an appreciation for and knowledge of other cultures and a
capacity to learn more over time. In this session we will explore the skills
and competencies required to do so, and the curricular or pedagogical
means that might best serve this purpose.

Chair
Norbert Kis, Vice-Rector, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary

Speakers

Darla Deardorff, Executive Director, Association of International Education
Administrators (AIEA), Duke University, USA (10 min. Video Conference)
What is intercultural competence? This concept must be clearly understood
before it can be addressed and assessed through higher education efforts.
Join in a discussion of the first study to document consensus among leading
intercultural experts in the United States regarding specific elements of


intercultural competence (Deardorff, 2006), resulting in two intercultural
competence models developed from the study's findings. With a focus on
internal and external outcomes, these models can be used as a framework
for curriculum development and program coordination as well as
assessment.

Simon Ho, Vice-Rector, Academic Affairs, University of Macao, Macao SAR,
China
Shaping the Future Citizens: Fostering Intercultural Dialogue and
Understanding
Modern, industrial civilization has been breeding dysfunctional behaviour. On
top of the physical limits, we have our own social and inner spiritual limits to
sustain such behaviours including alienation from others and from nature,
extreme competitiveness and greed, media dominated by commercial
interests, capitalist consumerism, cynicism politics, income inequality,
cultural and ethnical conflicts, and separation and misery. Beside the recent
global financial crisis, we are also facing the global human relation chaos (if
not crisis).
Universities must take these challenges seriously. Can we make use of
available new social and technological opportunities (transforming factors)
and take an active part in determining a positive course for humanity. We
need to help our students restore our lost human identity, instinct of
community and the power of trust & love. We need to teach our students a
new sense of common purpose to draw us together and a shared worldview
for healing human relations.
We will also discuss how the global communication (including the Internet)
revolution could foster a new global consciousness and an improved human
relation. We need new partnerships among people from the local to the
global level. Reconciliation and conflict resolution could be core areas of
learning in universities.

Leila Fayad, President, Centre national de Recherche et de Développement
Pédagogiques, Lebanon

Yazmín Cruz López, Project Officer, Global University Network for
Innovation (GUNI)
A Broad Approach of the Role of Higher Education: Beyond Training
Professionals to Educating Responsible Citizens
This paper will present a broad approach on the need to change the
educative purpose and higher education role for shaping the future citizen,
going beyond training high qualified professionals towards educating a
committed citizen that contributes to the common good. It will explain the
context in which higher education is playing its role and how this context
requires rethinking the role of higher education in responding to the global


challenges.
This paper will also suggest ways of action on how higher education
institutions could play an active role in the actual context. In addition, the
paper will focus on the need to rethink and renew their vision and action so
that they can support, and even anticipate, a complex understanding of
reality which will allow societies to play a proactive and committed role. In
that sense, there is a need to reconsider the following aspects:
1. Open up to society: Proactive engagement in dialogue with citizens.
2. Incorporate sustainability transversally into teaching, research and
institutional action.
3. Become cosmopolitan centres of global culture: Build bridges between
different cultures and sources of knowledge.
4. Renew thought for society: Break the conformity of thought by
proactively criticizing the world of ideas.
5. Go beyond educating professionals to educating citizens.
6. Introduce complexity, uncertainty and transdisciplinarity in the
curriculum and in research, towards a holistic vision of reality.
7. Analyse the ethical, social and environmental implications of the advance
of knowledge.
8. Democratize access to knowledge: Remove barriers in an effort to
provide open access to expert knowledge, making it as useful as it can
be. Move towards the idea of socially relevant knowledge as human
heritage.
9. Network for glocality: Cooperation and co-creation of knowledge.
10. Link research to local needs and to the global development agenda.

Discussion

Parallel Sessions 1. b.
Friends Hall, NDU
Dialogue as a Means to Conflict Prevention, Management and
Resolution: a Lebanese Case Study
Has dialogue contributed to conflict management, conflict avoidance or
conflict resolution in addressing the Lebanese crisis?
The Lebanese crises have been approached from different perspectives.
This session will offer insights into the situation of Lebanon and explore the
various dynamics involved in addressing the Lebanese debacle. It focuses
on what role higher education institutions have played in seeking resolution
and offers some ‘universal’ comments about conflict avoidance,
management and resolution in a context of cultural diversity and inter-
cultural strife.

Chair
Agneta Bladh, Rector, University of Kalmar, Sweden


Speakers
Antoine Rajeh, President, Antonine University, Lebanon
The Lebanese Case
This theme is of interest to all universities worldwide, but more specifically
to Lebanese universities for which cultural diversity is their daily bread,
given that training and education for good management of this diversity
and its fulfillment constitute their main concern.
As for the world of higher education, this theme is intrinsically linked to the
issue of cultural dialogue. Better still, it is the natural partner of this world
issue, having seen the day in a context of acculturation, with the
foundation of the first universities in the 10th and 11th centuries. Yet the
universities of the 21st century are facing new challenges in this context
and are entrusted with new missions: managing the cultural diversity of
their students, staff and employees, developing methods and teaching
programmes that favour cultural diversity and sponsoring serious research
in the field.
The absence of dialogue is seen as the first indicator of the existence of a
conflict between two or more parties. Yet it is imperative to discern
between dialogue and controversy which could encounter several obstacles
that cause this failure in inter-relational and institutional frameworks.
Dialogue is not the mere exchange of words, especially in the case of
cultural dialogue; rather it is a synonym for all peaceful and innovating
interaction that opens up windows to altruism in the ego of every
individual, broadens their conception of truth and otherness and
disseminates the sap of greater human maturity in people’s thoughts,
hearts and wills.
So do we listen enough to this daily silent dialogue?

Amr Galal El-Adawi, President, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon
In a democratic society, conflict is the basis for social change.
So the problem is not conflict, but the way we choose to deal with it.
It is established that Education has a fundamental role in promoting
interpersonal cooperation and understanding and reinforcing social
cohesion.
Since its foundation, Beirut Arab University's mission was to offer
excellence in education, learning, and research by taking into consideration
the needs of our community and adhering to our academic values of
intellectual freedom, integrity and professionalism.
However, the role of any educational institution is greatly affected by the
society surrounding it. It's our task to seek to change and improve our
societies by developing the skills of our students and by enhancing dialogue
on a number of levels. For this reason we took a number of measures
aiming at achieving our goals. One of these procedures was adding a
mandatory course on human rights for all our students of all disciplines so
they can discuss basic principles related to dignity, equality, tolerance and
other ethics and values.


We went also along with establishing the Human Rights Center that aims at
spreading the values of human rights at the university and it will function
as a preventive measure to any conflict by enhancing dialogue among our
students.
Indeed, improving dialogue at our university by amending the curriculum,
creating a more tolerant educational environment and encouraging
students to be involved in dialogue favorable activities has clearly led to
preventing, managing and resolving conflicts in our small community.

Michel Nehme, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs,
Director of University International Affairs Office, Notre Dame University –
Louaize, Lebanon
Dialogue as a Means to Conflict Prevention, Management and
Resolution: A Lebanese Case Study
It must be admitted that, in the past, religions and cultural diversities have
been responsible for wars, or have at least shared responsibility for them,
and that we can not say that this is no longer the case today. At the same
time, the wider picture contains both light and shadows. On more than one
occasion in the course of history, religious and cultural factors have
prevented or moderated violence. One thinks, for example, of ‘the truce of
God’ during the Christian Middle Ages or of the strict conditions, which
Islamic Law attached to a ‘just war’; or of the care for prisoners of war and
innocent victims called for by the religions. However, the main reason for
the so-called wars of religion and cultural diversities was not so much
hostility between the religions and value oriented cultures themselves, but
much more the pursuit of power on the part of individuals and of human
groups (empires, dynasties and nations), in the course of which religion
and culture were used in the service of personal or collective ambition.
As regards contemporary conflicts, it is important to examine information
critically before alleging simple religious or cultural motivation. It would, for
example, be simplistic to designate as merely “religious” or “cultural” the
conflicts in Lebanon, or in similar situational countries like Northern Ireland,
the Balkans, the Philippines and Afghanistan. The reality is that in most of
these cases the religious authorities and or cultural elite, far from having
incited these conflicts, have on the contrary always been passionately
committed to peace and reconciliation.
Discussion

Conference Dinner
20:30

Friday, 6 November 2009

09:30 Plenary Session II

Instilling the Culture of Dialogue in Higher Education


This Plenary session tackles the ways and means that HEIs can use to
integrate the culture of dialogue into all of their missions of teaching and
learning, research and service.
As institutions that house the most well-informed segments of the
population and where cultural and political values are articulated,
contrasted and compared, the HEIs have a major responsibility to find ways
to ensure that they serve as models of institutions putting dialogue into
practice and to improve knowledge and understanding about other cultures
and study the potential and actual impacts cultural differences may have on
the way societies tackle a variety of problems inside and outside the
university, including everyday life, or major issues such as democratic
governance, economic development, scientific research, etc.

Chair
Abdul Razak Dzulkifli, Vice-Chancellor, University Sains Malaysia,
Malaysia

Speakers

Sjur Bergan, Head of the Department of Higher Education and History
Teaching, Directorate General IV - Education, Culture and Cultural Heritage,
Youth and Sport, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France
Dialogue should come naturally to higher education, which is built on the
assumption that ideas should be assessed on their intrinsic merit and that
progress is made by challenging received ideas. The intercultural aspect of
dialogue should also be a prominent feature of higher education, which was
international in its origin and has continued to be so in its current practice.
A culture of dialogue is not acquired once and for all, however. It needs to
be developed again in each successive generation and cannot be divorced
from a consideration of the roles and purposes of higher education. At least
in Europe, the current discourse on higher education policy strongly
emphasizes its role in preparing learners for the labor market. This is one
of the important roles of higher education but higher education must aim to
fulfill its full range of purposes, which also include preparation for life as
active citizens in democratic society, personal development and the
development and maintenance of a broad and advanced knowledge base1.
The ability and willingness to engage in dialogue on campus as well as in
and with broader society needs to be seen as a core competence of higher
education graduates. The presentation will aim to put these goals in the
context of the broader higher education reform agenda in Europe and to
draw on the Council of Europe’s work in this area.

Saleh Hashem, Secretary-General, Association of Arab Universities (AArU)
The convergence of civilizations is considered a landmark in mankind
history of civilization. It is for sure an inevitable fate that can not be
avoided. Islam as a religion and a civilization is against centralization of one

1
Cf. Recommendation Rec (2007) 6 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to member
states on the public responsibility for higher education and research.
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/highereducation/News/Pub_res_EN.pdf


dominant culture. On the contrary, it encourages that the world becomes a
forum of civilizations that interacts and cooperates to strengthen the
common bases of universal values.
The world must shape a tolerant universal philosophy which derives its
principles from all different cultures by laying the basis for a non-violent
resolution of controversies. Islam contains a great spiritual heritage, as
demonstrated by the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights of
UNESCO in 1981. It was proven that the philosophy of human rights does
not conflict with the heavenly religions, but it conflicts only with their
fanatical interpretations. Religions, such as Islam and Christianity focus on
and promote human dignity, and hereupon there is no contradiction
between the rights of God and human rights if we understand religion in a
true and reasonable way.
Thus, the intellectuals, clerics, scholars and educators in east and west
should continue their efforts towards enhancing the recognition of
differences and similarities between religions and doctrines aiming at
achieving mutual understanding through a genuine receptivity of other
viewpoints. They should also work to reject intolerance or forced
confrontations.
New educational policies and community measures should be developed to
help coexistence and mutual understanding so as to achieve our goals
through a rational perspective. We need to create a society that shares the
values of love, tolerance and recognition of the other. All institutions of
education and at all levels have a role to play in the development of
educational frameworks and plans to help in the reformulation process of
our educational systems within this concept.

Abdo El Kahi, Coordinator, Lebanese Center for Societal Research, Notre
Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon
Dialogue in Education in Relation to the Memories that Nurture its
References - How can Dialogue in Education be Enhanced?
How can one establish a true dialogue in education and how can one
encourage this dialogue when we know that all the previous and present
forms of education have not been able to avoid being tainted by the
memories of prevailing beliefs?
How can we establish a dialogue between these memories which have
made education shift from a cultural climate to an accultural climate
(modern) and then again to a cultural climate (technological and defined as
an identity), subjecting people to well-established memories: virtual,
written and biological, without any hope of reflexivity?

Andrea Blaettler, Executive Committee Member, European Students’
Union (ESU)
From a students’ perspective, one major opportunity to establish a culture
of dialogue inside Higher Education Institutions is a participatory approach
towards the academic community. Involvement of students as well as
academic and administrative staff in institutional decision making can


provide the fruitful input from a variety of societal perspectives upon higher
education and build the basis for exchange with society in larger terms.
Since Higher Education Institutions are both national bodies as well as
international actors, the stakeholders’ dialogue within institutions can
furthermore advance an international dialogue platform and therewith
enhance the Higher Education sector’s potential to contribute towards
intercultural understanding.
Discussion

11:00 Coffee/tea break


Comparative Research and Cultural Studies as Means to Enhance
Dialogue through Curricular Innovation.
How does comparative research involving two or more countries enhance the
course of mutual understanding where differences are admitted, syntheses
are derived and similarities explored?
Cross-fields of education (inter-disciplinary) and cross-cultural exchange of
perspectives enrich and widen the spectrum of understandings and
innovations.

Chair
Justin Thorens, Former Rector, University of Geneva, Switzerland, Honorary
President, International Association of Universities (IAU)

Speakers

Saouma BouJaoude, Professor, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

Lessons Learned from a Cross-Cultural Study on the Theory of
Evolution at the American University of Beirut

The purpose of this presentation is to elucidate lessons learned from a
comparative study on diverse conceptions of the theory of evolution and its
teaching in different cultural contexts (Egypt, Lebanon, Canada, Pakistan,
and Malaysia) and discuss the possible contributions of these lessons to
intercultural dialogue and understanding as well as to teaching and learning
controversial issues in a multi-religious country like Lebanon. The theory of
evolution was the focus of the study because the teaching of evolution
continues to be socially controversial, primarily because of its perceived
conflict with certain personal religious beliefs. Moreover, the social
controversy over the theory of evolution and its teaching is likely to be
carried to the classroom because students and teachers are influenced by
their cultures and societies. Examples of such controversy are abundant in
the USA where evolution education has become an important political issue.
Related incidents are apparently on the rise in Europe and the Middle East.

Tore Saetersdal, Director, Nile Basin Research Programme, University of


Bergen, Norway
The Nile Basin Research Programme (NBRP) is a strategic, multidisciplinary
programme for research and education on topics related to the Nile Basin
located at the University of Bergen (UiB). It is funded by the Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. UiB has a significant research community focusing
on Nile Basin related issues, and an extensive research collaboration with
countries in the region. The NBRP serves as an overall framework and
catalyst for activities and initiatives reflecting research and educational
priorities of Nile Basin researchers. NBRP offers two researchers from
institutions of research and higher learning in each of the ten riparian
countries to stay at UiB for one semester. A total of 56 researchers have
participated in the programme since 2007.
During the semester in Norway efforts are made to develop a group identity
crosscutting national and institutional identities. The aim of the programme
is high quality academic publications. A wider aim is to contribute to forming
a platform where dialogue and free academic discourse will flourish that may
lead to collaboration across borders of nations, language and gender as well
as influence politicians and policy makers. The good cooperation between
Eritrean and Ethiopian researchers within the programme is a relevant
example. The programme has taken the initiative to form the Nile Basin
University Forum as well as development of joint curricula on Nile issues
between Universities in the region.

Edward Alam, Secretary-General, Council for Research in Values and
Philosophy, Lebanon
Most will argue that higher education has a major role to play today in
fostering a culture of dialogue and understanding, but I will argue further
and suggest that higher education itself must be transformed “into” a culture
of dialogue, thus my title, Higher Education “as” Free Dialogue: Pedagogy in
a Global Age. Such transformation is a daunting task because although it is
trendy and perhaps even fashionable to talk about the importance of
interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue, the reality is, in all but a few
institutions of higher education around the globe, but especially in the West,
that specialization and departmentalization on both the disciplinary and
cultural levels continues to intensify.
Specialization is so intense today that people in the same discipline can’t
even converse; where does that leave interdisciplinary conversation? This
tendency is in some ways inevitable and advantageous, but the challenge is
to achieve “singular” accuracy and efficiency without sacrificing “universal”
knowledge. This challenge is nearly as old as Philosophy itself, as we see in
the tension between Platonic and Aristotelian metaphysics—a tension that
has pedagogical reverberations down through the ages right up to the
present. But despite this tension, both approaches concur on a central
point: the need to have a unifying science, what in the middle ages was
called the “Queen of the Sciences”. Of course, it is impossible to return to
such a conception, nor is it desirable given the genuine progress (though
much exaggerated) that has come from specialization, but the point is that
without a central, unifying science, or even what might be called a highest
science, unity in the curriculum is impossible. And without a unity and
wholeness in the curriculum that facilitates genuine dialogue among


members of the faculty from the same disciplines, there can never be the
kind of interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue which is so urgent in our
global age.
This paper discusses ways of cultivating interdisciplinary and intercultural
dialogue in higher education through a deeper appreciation of Gadamerian
Hermeneutics, and points to the work of the Council for Research in Values
and Philosophy (www.crvp.org) as one successful and practical model for
achieving it.

Discussion

Friends Hall, NDU

The Role of Leaders, Administrators, Faculty and Students in
Nurturing a Culture of Dialogue and Understanding on Campus
In small groups, participants will be invited to discuss what leaders, faculty
members and students can do in concrete ways to create or nurture a
culture of dialogue in the classroom, in various extracurricular activities and
in initiatives connecting the HEI to the local or even global community.
Participants will be particularly encouraged to share practices or cases where
they have succeeded in bringing together diverse groups to either resolve
issues or to simply learn about each others’ culture and perspective.

Chairs
Patricia Pol, Vice-President, University Paris 12 – Val de Marne, France
Assaad Eid, Vice-President, Sponsored Research and Development, Notre
Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon

This session will be organized as small group discussion workshops.

13:00 Lunch


Internationalization of Higher Education – Cross-Border and at Home -
Promoting the Culture of Dialogue and Appreciation for Diversity
Internationalization is taking on numerous forms in HEIs moving from
collaboration in research, faculty and student exchanges and other kinds of
mobility through cross-border partnerships. There are also initiatives that
are designed to internationalize programs, courses and even extracurricular
activities for those who do not get an opportunity to go abroad
(internationalization at home).
These processes offer opportunities to improve quality education and allow
for cross-cultural research ultimately promoting innovation by introducing


diverse academic and cultural perspectives.
How do we maximize the benefits of such initiatives and ensure that
dialogue leads to an appreciation of diversity, assuming that diversity might
also at times lead to disagreement and controversies?
How to ensure that when mixing students of different races, genders,
language, ethnic and religious groups, their interaction in a common
intellectual space is fruitful and offers good learning opportunities?
To what extent do exchange programs bridge social, political and cultural
gaps in higher educational institutions and to what extent may they actually
widen them?
How can we benefit from such cultural diversity and prevent what
Huntington would call the inevitable clash of civilizations?

Chair
Duma Malaza, Chief Executive Officer, Higher Education South Africa
(HESA)

Speakers

Alf Rasmussen, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Ministry of Education and
Research, Department of Higher Education, Oslo, Norway
Internationalization of Education in Norway
The Norwegian Government submitted in February 2009 a White Paper to
the Norwegian Parliament (the Storting) on internationalization of education.
The White Paper covers primary and secondary education, non-university
tertiary education and higher education – including research education. It is
the first time a Norwegian government develops a White Paper that has a
holistic approach to this.
The main measures in the White paper will have the following consequences:
- Quality as a guiding principle: Both with respect to study abroad and in
the development of the provisions of education in Norwegian institutions,
quality will be the leading principle.
- Attract international students: Norwegian education institutions shall be
made more attractive to foreign students.
- Include the entire institutions: Internationalization will apply to all pupils,
students and teaching staff in the education institutions.
- Cooperation between institutions: Emphasis shall be placed on
cooperation with institutions outside Norway, including those in
developing countries, on international perspectives, on languages and
cultural awareness (all three being qualifications that are increasingly
necessary for people seeking employment). Internationalization of
education must therefore not only focus on student and staff spending
semesters or years abroad, but also entail that education provided in
Norway is international of character.
In primary and secondary education, the international perspective is
important for many of the competence targets in the Norwegian curriculum.


There are, however, significant variations between schools when it comes to
mobility.
There are considerable variations in non-university tertiary education. There
is a need for better and more systematic knowledge concerning areas of
study, degree of course completion, drop-out rate and mobility.
In higher education, the evaluation of the Norwegian Quality Reform (2003)
shows that Norwegian institutions have made significant progress on
internationalization at home and on student and staff mobility. However, it
will be important to focus even more on structure, involvement and
collaboration with institutions abroad and to associate internationalization
with strategic development of the institutions.
Mobility is important in itself, but must be based on quality. The number of
Norwegian participants in student exchange and degree seeking students at
foreign universities must increase, which will require a high standard of
information and guidance. Mobility of academic and administrative staff
should also increase.
Studies abroad will continue to have high priority, especially student
exchange and degree studies at master’s level (graduate students). The
Government will adjust support for tuition fees so that students are
motivated to choose studies of high quality.

Zixin Hou, Professor and Former President, Nankai University and Qing
Hua Liu, Associate Professor, Institute of Higher Education, Nankai
University, China
Internationalization and International Understanding through
Higher Education - the Experience of Chinese Higher Education
Universities of the 21st century need to face the objective realities of multi-
cultural societies and even of multi-civilization squarely. They have to
consciously absorb what other cultures have to offer all around the world,
and to take up the new responsibility to train citizens of the world. Chinese
education does not only strengthen international understanding by
promoting the internationalization of its universities, it also actively
develops cultural exchanges and cooperation by founding Confucius
Institutes aiming at promoting the harmonious development of all the
cultures around the world.

Discussion

Friends Hall, NDU

ICTs as Facilitators or Obstacles of Inter-Cultural Dialogue in Higher
Education
Online Universities have proven to be enablers of strong relations between
the academic and student community they work with. Virtual learning
environments mediate traditional cultural barriers, such as physical
frontiers and time zones. Once technology is available, in any of its modes,
people from different countries and from different social and economic


conditions can study and work together as equals.
Ubiquity and accessibility have never been so close to being fully realized
by the international higher education community; if anything, ICTs have
played a major role in enabling people anywhere to access quality
education.
However, now that we have people from different places and with different
ideas and religions working and studying together, we need to address a
new challenge. How can the ICTs help build up a truly global community,
based on the understanding, respect, and appreciation of cultural
differences.
Such issues are already being addressed by the international higher
education community, with varying degrees of success, and new programs
and collaborations are already providing the first answers. Many others are
possible.
A panel will discuss ongoing experiences and best practices, as well as what
must still be done to face the challenges ahead.
This session is organized jointly with the Open University of Catalonia
(UOC), Spain.

Chair
Imma Tubella, President, Open University of Catalonia (UOC), Spain

Speakers

Bakary Diallo, Rector, African Virtual University, Kenya
Working Across Borders, Language and Cultural Barriers: The
Example of the AVU Multinational Project in 10 Countries and the
Virtual Campus for Development and Peace Project
The purpose of this presentation is to provide a brief description of the
African Virtual University (AVU) and to share the experience of the AVU in
using ICTs to promote regional integration and intercultural dialogue. The
AVU Multinational project has brought together 17 countries from
Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone countries. The AVU is learning
from its experience to implement the Virtual Campus for Peace and
Development project, an initiative that will foster economic development
and peace prevention/building across borders and language barriers.
The African Virtual University (AVU) is a Pan African Intergovernmental
Organization whose aim is to significantly increase access to quality higher
education and training through the innovative use of information
communication technologies. Over its 12 years of existence, the AVU has
trained more than 40,000 students and has acquired the largest network of
Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) institutions in Africa. One of the
greatest assets is its ability to work across borders and language groups in
Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone Africa.
The AVU Multinational Project is funded mainly by the African Development
Bank. The project consist of developing a common program for four online
Bachelor of Education in 10 countries, training university staff of 17


countries, installing 10 eLearning centers in 10 countries, and
mainstreaming gender. The project has contributed to foster understanding
and collaboration among the participating countries.
The AVU will be launching the Virtual Campus for Development and Peace,
an initiative developed in collaboration with the Open University of
Catalonia. This initiative will use ICTs to foster economic development and
peace in different parts of Africa.

Ana Perona-Fjeldstad, Executive Director, The European Wergeland
Centre, Norway
The Establishment of the European Wergeland Centre, Building
Bridges from Policy to Practice
The European Wergeland Centre is a European resource centre on
education for intercultural understanding, human rights and democratic
citizenship. Established as an innovative cooperation initiative between
Norway and the Council of Europe in 2008, it is located in Oslo, Norway.
The Centre builds on and promotes the work performed by the Council of
Europe and Norway for intercultural understanding, human rights and
democratic citizenship. Open to all 47 member states of the Council of
Europe, the EWC main target groups are education professionals: teachers,
teacher trainers, decision makers and multipliers within education for
intercultural understanding, human rights and democratic citizenship. By
providing in-service training, supporting research, facilitating networks for
further collaboration and disseminating information, the Centre aims at
bridging the gap between the policy and the practice in our field.

Discussion

16:00 Coffee/tea break

16:30 Closing Plenary

Chair
Eva Egron-Polak, Secretary-General, International Association of Universities
(IAU)

Closing remarks
(IAU)
Walid Moussa, President, Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon

Evening Cultural Evening & Reception at the Jeita Grotto


Bionotes of Speakers & Chairs
Edward Alam, Secretary-General, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy,
Lebanon
Edward J. Alam is Associate Professor in the Faculty of
Humanities, Notre Dame University – Louaize University, where
he teaches philosophy and theology since 1996. As the
university’s first full time Director of International Academic
Affairs (1999-2004), he worked with Madonna University to
secure a U.S. State Department’s higher education partnership
grant (the first time the US State Department awarded this
grant to a Lebanese institution of higher education); he
implemented an “exchange” program with Bordeaux Business
School; he initiated an internationally distributed book series in conjunction with
Georgia’s Press in New Jersey, and directed the signing of a number of agreements
with universities abroad. Alam also initiated and directed a Metanexus LSI project
devoted to the interface between religion and science, which was awarded a
supplementary grant in 2004 for its outstanding accomplishments.
He published a major book and a number of articles in reputable International
Philosophical and Theological Journals, most notably in the International Catholic
Review, Communio. In 2003, Dr. Alam delivered a Plenary address in Rome at the
Second World Conference on Metaphysics, and again in Bangkok at the First Asian
World Congress on Metaphysics and Mysticism; he has traveled extensively, giving
lectures and chairing seminars in Iran, Korea, India, China, Thailand, Africa,
Vietnam, Taiwan, Cambodia, Spain, Sweden (as visiting professor at Uppsala
university), and the U.S. He recently conducted a five week philosophy seminar at
the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Alam was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the World Union of Catholic Philosophical
Societies in 2008, and most recently became the General Secretary of the Council for
Research in Values and Philosophy, CUA/NDU.

Sjur Bergan, Head of the Department of Higher Education and History Teaching,
Directorate General IV - Education, Culture and Cultural Heritage, Youth and Sport
Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France
Sjur Bergan is Head of the Department of Higher Education and
History Teaching of the Council of Europe.
He represents the Council of Europe on the Bologna Follow Up
Group and Board, chairs the Coordination Group on Qualifications
Frameworks and is a member of the working group on the EHEA in
a Global Setting.
He has been Secretary to the Council’s Higher Education and
Research Committee (CDESR) and he was a member of the
editorial group for the Council’s White Paper on Intercultural
Dialogue.


Sjur Bergan is series editor of the Council of Europe Higher Education Series, the
author of a book on Qualifications: Introduction to a Concept as well as of numerous
articles and editor of books on various aspects of higher education policies and on
the heritage of European universities.
Before joining the Council of Europe, Sjur Bergan held an administrative position at
the University of Oslo, where, as a student, he was a member of the Academic
Senate. He is a former AFS exchange student to Alton, Illinois.

Agneta Bladh, Rector of University of Kalmar, Sweden, IAU Board Member

Agneta Bladh is rector of University of Kalmar since February 2004.
She holds a PhD in Political Science from Stockholm University
(1988). From 1998 to 2004, Dr Bladh served as State Secretary at
the Swedish Ministry of Education and Science, responsible for
Higher Education and Research. From 1995 to 1998, Dr Bladh
served as Director General at the National Agency for Higher
Education. Dr Bladh is a member of the administrative Board of the
International Association of Universities and member of several
boards of national agencies, as well as university boards in Sweden.
During 2009, Dr Bladh is chairing an international evaluation panel, assessing certain
aspects of the latest university reform in Denmark.

Andrea Blaettler, Executive Committee Member, European Students’ Union (ESU)

Andrea Blaettler is a member of the Executive Committee of the
European Students’ Union (ESU) and studying Political Science and
Philosophy at the University of Lucerne. As an ESU Executive
Committee Member she is coordinating the Academic Affairs
Committee and thus focuses on issues such as the Bologna Process
Implementation, Quality Assurance, Student Participation, Financing
of Higher Education and Higher Education Governance. Andrea
Blaettler is one of ESU’s two representatives in the Bologna Follow
up Group and has participated in both the UNESCO Forum on
Higher Education in the Europe Region: Access, Values, Quality and Competitiveness
and the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education 2009 on behalf of the
European Students’ Union. Previously she was chairing the international cooperation
working group of ESU for one year and as such co-organizing two global student
meetings around the UNESCO World Conference. Within the Executive Committee of
ESU Andrea now continues this work with the aim of strengthening the global
student movement.

Saouma BouJaoude, Professor, American University of Beirut, Lebanon


Saouma BouJaoude graduated from the University of Cincinnati,
USA in 1988 with a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction
(emphasis on science education). From 1988 to 1993 he was
assistant professor at the Department of Science Teaching,
Syracuse University, USA. In 1993 he joined the American
University of Beirut (AUB). He was Director of the Science and
Math Education Center (1994 – 2003) and Chairperson of the
Department of Education (2003 and 2009).
Presently he is the Director of the Center for Teaching and
Learning.
Prof. BouJaoude has published in several international journals such as the Journal of
Research in Science Teaching, Science Education, etc. In addition, he has written
chapters in edited books in English and Arabic and has been presented at local,
regional, and international conferences. Prof. BouJaoude presently serves on the
editorial boards of the Journal of Science Teacher Education and the International
Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. He is a consulting editor for
International Review of Education and a contributing international editor for Science
Education. Prof. BouJaoude has been involved in educational projects in Dubai,
Jordan, Egypt, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, in addition to Lebanon.

Yazmin Cruz, Project Officer, Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI),
Spain

Yazmin Cruz holds a PhD. in Industrial Engineering from the
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) with a thesis on
Accreditation as a mechanism for ensuring the social
commitment of universities: Proposal of qualitative criteria and
indicators. Graduated in Civil Engineering, she holds a Master in
Environmental Engineering from the Monterrey Institute of
Technology (ITESM) and a Master in Industrial Waste
Management from the UPC.
She worked at the Environmental Centre (1996-2000) as well as
the Virtual University and the Sustainable Development Centre
of ITESM. From 2000 until 2002 she worked at the Business Council for Sustainable
Development, Latin-American Chapter as ecoefficiency program coordinator. She has
also been a consultant and auditor on ISO 14001.
Between 2003 and 2005 she was working at the Environmental Planning Office of
UPC. She also worked for the UNESCO Chair on Sustainability at UPC on European
projects in higher education. At present, she is project officer at GUNI.

Darla Deardorff, Executive Director, Association of International Education
Administrators (AIEA), Duke University, USA (10 min. Video Conference)


Darla K. Deardorff is executive director of the Association of
International Education Administrators, a national professional
organization based at Duke University, where she also teaches
cross-cultural courses. In addition, she is an adjunct professor
at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the University of
North Carolina-Chapel Hill and is on faculty of the Summer
Institute for Intercultural Communication in Portland, Oregon.
She has received numerous invitations from around the world
to speak and consult on her research on intercultural
competence and assessment and is a noted expert on these topics. With nearly
twenty years of experience in the international education field, she has published
widely on topics in international education, including her recent book, /Handbook of
Intercultural Competence/ (Sage, 2009). Dr. Deardorff holds a master’s and
doctorate from NCSU where she specialized in international education. Her
dissertation, on the definition and assessment of intercultural competence, has
drawn national and international attention and her intercultural competence models
developed through the research are being used by organizations and educational
institutions worldwide.

Bakary Diallo, Rector, African Virtual University, Kenya

Dr. Bakary Diallo has been working in the education sector for
the past 20 years as a secondary school teacher, an academic,
a consultant, a project administrator and a researcher. He
joined the African Virtual University (AVU), an
Intergovernmental Organization based in Nairobi Kenya, which
specializes in Open Distance and Electronic Learning in August
2005. He held several senior positions within the organization
before his appointment as the CEO/Rector of the AVU in
August 2007. Prior to joining the AVU, he worked at the
University of Ottawa as a part-time Lecturer at the Faculty of
Education from July 2001 to July 2005, and as a Consultant of
Integration of ICT in Education, at the Center for University Teaching. He taught at
the Secondary Level in Senegal from 1988 to 1997 before joining the University of
Ottawa in 1997. Dr Diallo is fully bilingual (French and English).

Assaad Eid, Professor of Applied Linguistics, Notre Dame University – Louaize,
Lebanon
Professor Eid earned a Licence d’Enseignement in English Language
and Literature, a Postgraduate Teaching Diploma, and a Master in
English Literature from the Lebanese University. From University of
North Wales in the United Kingdom, he received a Master in Applied
Linguistics. Back in Beirut in 1986, he earned a Doctor of Applied
Linguistics from Saint Joseph University.
Until recently, Dr. Eid was Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Art
and Design and before then Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. As
Vice President for Research and Development since Fall 2007, Dr.
Eid has played a central role in expanding home and overseas research activities,
programs and endeavors. His research interests are in the fields of linguistics,
applied linguistics and issues related to higher education teaching and learning. His


recent research has been concerned with such topics as quality enhancement of
teaching and learning, global education and issues of cultural diversity and
internationalization.
Dr. Eid is the author of several articles, a co-author of many textbooks, and editor of
professional books and journals. He has been a consultant, evaluator and referee in
matters pertaining to university administration and academic affairs.

Eva Egron-Polak, Secretary-General, International Association of Universities (IAU)

Eva Egron-Polak was educated in the Czech Republic, Canada
and France. Having studied French Literature, Political
Science and International Political Economy, her post-
graduate research focused on higher education policy and
particularly on early (mid-1980s) policy in this field by the
European Union. She has had extensive experience in
international cooperation in higher education having served
for more than 15 year in various senior positions at the
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) prior to becoming the
Secretary General of IAU in 2002. Her last position at AUCC before moving to IAU
was as Vice-President, International.
As Secretary General of IAU, an independent global membership association of
universities and associations of higher education institutions, Eva Egron-Polak is
engaged with many of the most pressing policy issues in higher education –
internationalization of higher education and intercultural learning, quality of cross-
border higher education, equitable access to and success in higher education,
changing nature of institutional autonomy and the contribution of higher education to
sustainable development or the UN Education for All programme, among
others. Since her arrival at IAU, she has focused on expanding the Association’s
convening role, consolidating the Association’s capacity as a clearing house of
information and launched a number of projects, including regular and systematic
global survey on internationalization and the LEADHER grants programme for
professional development and North-South collaboration. She is a member of a
large number of committees at UNESCO, the OECD, the EU, and has expanded IAU
partnerships to include many new organizations.


Amr Galal El-Adawi, President, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon

Professor Amr El-Adawi became President of Beirut Arab
University in August 2006. He is professor of architecture at the
University of Alexandria where he served as Dean of the Faculty
of Engineering (2005-2006). Prof. El-Adawi is a consultant for the
architectural design unit at the office of the Minister of Culture
and for Mubarak City for Scientific Research and Technological
Applications. He is also member of the supreme committee for the
promotion of academic staff in Egyptian universities and of the
High Supreme Court for Values in Egypt.
Prof. El-Adawi joined the teaching staff at the Faculty of
Engineering, Alexandria University immediately upon graduation from the Faculty in
1974. He received his M.Sc. in architecture from Alexandria University in 1980 and
his PhD in Urban Design from Liverpool University (England) in 1986. He then rose
through the academic ranks to full professorship in 1997.
Professor El-Adawi's honors include the University of Alexandria prize (2008), the
State Prize for urban landscape: The Development of Historic Sites, Egypt (2007),
the Islamic Capitals and Cities Organization award for the improvement and
development of Al-Mahmoudia Canal project (2001), and the Farsey Architectural
Prize for excellence in the environmental improvement of Al-Mahmoudia Canal
project (2000).

Abdo El Kahi, Coordinator, Lebanese Center for Societal Research, Notre Dame
University – Louaize, Lebanon

Abdo El Kahi studied sociology, demographics and education
administration. Before taking his current post at Notre Dame
University – Louaize (NDU), he taught for a number of years at the
Université Saint-Joseph, the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts and
at the Université St Esprit Kaslik.
He is today Managing Partner at REACH MASS where he has been
responsible for social studies since 1993; he has also led around fifty
published studies as well as the project ‘Survey on Public Concerns’
with NDU (33 publications); he is also Director at the Lebanese
Centre for Social Research at NDU (8 publications).
Additionally, he has penned several books, the most recent being “La gestuelle de
l’esprit au cœur de la cité, (NDU, 2009) et Mémoires d’outre croyance (currently in
press, Ed., Seuil, Paris.)


Leila Maliha Fayad, President, Centre de Recherche et de développement
pédagogiques, au Liban (CRDP), Ministry of Education and Higher Education,
Lebanon

Leila Fayad obtained a Licence in Arts and French Literature at
the Lebanese University and a Doctorate at the Université Jean-
Moulin, Lyon III, Lyon, France. From 1986 to 2002, she taught
French and French Literature at the Lebanese University and at
the University of Balamand, North Lebanon. She is the author of
several specialized books in French and Arabic.
She has been the Director General of the CPRD and a Member of
the Administrative Board of the National Labour Institute and of
the Directing Board of the Lebanese Civil Aviation Institute.

Juan Ramón De La Fuente, President, International Association of Universities,
Former Rector, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Former Rector of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
(UNAM), Juan Ramón De La Fuente obtained his MD at UNAM’s
School of Medicine and trained in Psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, Minnesota where he was awarded the Distinguished
Alumnus Award. After being appointed Professor at UNAM’s
Medical School and Director of the University Programme for
Health Research, he was nominated Vice-Chancellor for Science
in 1989; Dean of the Medical School in 1991 and Rector of the
University in 1999, a position for which he was reappointed for a
second term in 2003. He was the founding Head of the Clinical Research Unit at the
Mexican Institute of Psychiatry, and has contributed to Mexico’s health, higher
education and scientific research systems. Prof. De la Fuente was Mexico’s Minister
of Health from 1994 to 1999. He now is President of IAU.

Saleh Hashem, Secretary-General, Association of Arab Universities (AArU), Jordan

Prof. S. Hashem holds a Ph.D. in Russian Philology, Leningrad State
University, an MA in Russian Philology, Leningrad State University,
and a BA in Russian Language and Literature from the Faculty of
Foreign Languages, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
He currently is the Secretary-General of Association of Arab
Universities, holds a Regional Chair of the International Association
of University Presidents (IAUP) for the Middle East and North Africa
area and is a Member of the Board of Akhbar Al Yom Academy.
Previously he has been Dean of the Faculty of Al-Alsun, Ain Shams University, then
Vice President of Ain shams University for Higher Studies and Research and until
June 2005 President of Ain shams University.
He is Member of the Supreme Council for Policies, the National Democratic Party in
Egypt, 2004, Member of the Advisory Board of Arab Thought Foundation, Lebanon,
2005, Member of the Executive Committee of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of
Civilizations", 2006, Board Member of WCHE (World Conference on Higher Education)


UNESCO, Member of the advisory Board of TAG (Talal Abu-Ghazaleh College of
Business), Amman, Jordan , 2007, Member of the Board of Naif Arab University for
Security Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President of the Arab Council for Quality
Assurance and Accreditation of the Association of Arab Universities, Honorary
President of the Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education , Egypt.

Simon S.M. Ho, Vice-Rector (Academic affairs), University of Macao, Macao SAR,
China
Professor Simon Shun-Man Ho is the Vice Rector (Academic
Affairs) at the University of Macao. A seasoned academic, he has
taught and held senior positions at numerous institutions,
including the Hong Kong Baptist University and The Chinese
University of Hong Kong over the past 20 years.
Professor Ho is also an internationally known expert on
corporate governance and assisted international organizations
including the United Nation Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank in developing the
related guidelines. He is also a newspaper columnist on this
subject.
In recognition of his contributions to the field of corporate governance and corporate
social responsibility, he was awarded the 2008 Faculty Pioneer Award (described as
the Oscar of the business school world by the Financial Times) by the Aspen
Institute, USA.
He was also named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics 2008 by
Ethisphere, the world's most recognized body in business ethics and anti-corruption.

Janyne Hodder, President, The College of the Bahamas, the Bahamas, IAU Board
Member

Ms. Janyne M. Hodder became President of The College of The
Bahamas in July 2006 after serving as Vice Principal of McGill
University in Montréal, Québec, Canada where she held portfolio
responsibilities for Inter‐Institutional Relations and Development
and Alumni Relations. In 1995, she was appointed Principal and
Vice‐Chancellor of Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Québec,
Canada, a post she held until 2004, becoming the first woman to
head a university in Québec.
Ms. Hodder joined Bishop’s following a ten‐year career with
Québec’s Ministry of Education, having held various senior
administrative positions, including Assistant Deputy Minister. She holds master and
baccalaureate degrees from McGill University and in 2007 received an Honorary
Doctorate of Civil Law degree from Bishop’s University.
A Board member of the International Association of Universities [IAU], in The
Bahamas, she sits on the Boards of: The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas; The
Clifton Heritage Authority; and The Antiquities, Monuments and Museums
Corporation.


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