Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PARIS7448
2006-11-20 09:14:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

UNESCO HIGHER EDUCATION PORTAL MEETING

Tags:  SCUL KPAO UNESCO 
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Lucia A Keegan 11/28/2006 10:02:24 AM From DB/Inbox: Lucia A Keegan

Cable 
Text: 
 
 
UNCLAS PARIS 07448

SIPDIS
cxparis:
 ACTION: UNESCO
 INFO: AMBU AMB AMBO POL ECON DCM SCI

DISSEMINATION: UNESCOX
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: CDA: AKOSS
DRAFTED: LEG: TMPEAY
CLEARED: ECA: MCRAVEN

VZCZCFRI716
RR RUEHC RUCNSCO
DE RUEHFR #7448/01 3240914
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 200914Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3216
INFO RUCNSCO/UNESCO COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 007448 

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS

FOR ECA - FARRELL AND IO/UNESCO
DEPT. PLEASE PASS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - ROBIN GILCHRIST

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SCUL KPAO UNESCO
SUBJECT: UNESCO HIGHER EDUCATION PORTAL MEETING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 007448

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS

FOR ECA - FARRELL AND IO/UNESCO
DEPT. PLEASE PASS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - ROBIN GILCHRIST

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SCUL KPAO UNESCO
SUBJECT: UNESCO HIGHER EDUCATION PORTAL MEETING


1. Summary. U.S. delegation to the first meeting of the "Steering
group of the UNESCO Portal on Recognized Higher Education
Institutions - Pilot Project" (Nov. 13-14) played a key role in
having the meeting reach consensus on an approach that is consistent
with one of the USG's key objectives for the pilot project, i.e.,
adopting a simple portal model that links to national higher
education quality assurance sites, where students and other users
can directly access information maintained by national higher
education authorities for the purposes of participating in good
quality cross-border education. The approach adopted will avoid
establishment of a UNESCO-created and managed database of quality
assurance information that would be costly, labor intensive,
supersede U.S. national educational authorities, and would not
reflect the constant innovation and dynamism of higher education in
the U.S. and other countries. There is still important work left to
do, in terms of refining the design of the portal, agreeing upon its
constituent components, clarifying key terminology, assessing
country needs for upgrading of national sites, and finalizing the
size and forms of country/other stakeholder funding and in-kind
contributions to the pilot project. End Summary.


2. The U.S. delegation made the first general statement of position
on the opening day which laid out preferences, with which most other
delegations (including, Australia, Canada, and Norway) readily
agreed. That intervention set a positive tone for a day and a half
of meetings in which there was a relatively strong convergence of
views among most participants, as consensus was gradually reached on
(i) the need for simplicity in the portal model adopted; (ii) the
need to ensure that UNESCO Member States represented on the Steering
Committee would have the lead role in guiding and overseeing the
project, with the secretariat serving only a facilitating and
coordinating role; (iii) the need to trim down the budget initially
proposed by the secretariat to fit a more simplified, less costly
portal model; and (iv) the need to allow countries to retain the
right to present their quality assurance sites on the portal site
and to develop those sites as they see fit (although it was widely
recommended that each country should include some pertinent

information explaining their system and specific terminology, to
assist foreign users).


3. After hearing this round of comments from country participants,
UNESCO staff revised the draft budget downward by about 50 per cent
to USG 220,000, also based on the U.S. suggestion that
capacity-building focus on providing on-site assistance to
individual pilot countries, including via informal bilateral
partnerships with developing countries, rather than expensive
international workshops or headquarters-based staff. On this note,
the Nigerian and Jamaican representatives were among the most
active, well-informed, and constructive meeting participants, both
of whom had special relationships with the U.S that they seemed to
hold dear - one a Fulbright Scholar Alumna and other a graduate of a
prestigious Midwestern university. The Nigerian group also included
a U.S. citizen consultant who is working with the Nigerian National
Universities Commission (whose Director was the delegation leader)
on capacity building. U.S. delegation sees value in having the U.S.
continue to work closely with those two countries, among others, in
the implementation of this pilot portal project. In its opening
statement, U.S. delegation offered the Fulbright Senior Specialist
program as a source of expertise that could be drawn on by countries
in the pilot. Jamaica has already indicated its intention to
request a Fulbright specialist.


4. A suggestion that each 0ECD country member of the pilot project
committee contribute USD 20,000 was generally regarded as feasible,
subject to consultation with capitals. State/ECA rep noted that if
any such funding were forthcoming from the U.S., we would require a
clear understanding with UNESCO in advance about how our funds would
be used. Towards the close of the meeting, the steering committee
decided to elect as its chair Australia committee member William
Thorn (consistent with the U.S. suggestion that steering committee
members rather than UNESCO be the official managers of the project).
The U.S. delegation was able to clarify for the record that
UNESCO's 13 per cent administrative surcharge would not apply to
in-kind contributions, only to cash contributions. Since the terms
of reference contemplated possible use of UNESCO field offices as
conduits for providing forms of assistance, U.S. del alerted meeting
participants (who were largely non-UNESCO outsiders) to the on-going
issue of HQ's need for better oversight of UNESCO field office
operations within the framework of UNESCO's "accountable
decentralization" program.


5. Comment: In general, the atmosphere of the meeting was congenial
and productive, which bodes well for the evolution of this project,
provided that the UNESCO higher education division chief, Georges
Haddad, does not attempt to undermine the consensus approach agreed
to and seek to turn the model design back to a UNESCO-created and
managed database design. At the close of the meeting, a UNESCO
staff member congratulated the U.S. delegation for its
"constructive" contributions to the successful outcome of the
meeting.


6. Action items: The U.S. has been asked to nominate its principal
representative to the Steering Committee, and State/ECA believes
that should be CHEA president Judith Eaton. Eaton has already been
serving on a small committee of education experts advising UNESCO on
information aspects of the guidelines project, and she has
consistently supported the approach that this pilot project should
be a simple portal that links to national sites. CHEA serves as us
national authority in this area and can provide strong technical
support to the project. USG will continue to participate actively,
however, as a Committee member. Mission would need concurrence with
this choice.


7. Action items continued: Also, UNESCO coordinator Uvalic-Trumbic
asked if the U.S. could provide an American intern with strong
general skills and reasonably good knowledge of IT (the intern does
not have to be in computer field but should have basic comfort level
with IT) to her office to help with the project. Ideally this would
be from our Fulbright alumni intern pool if mission, IIE and UNESCO
agree, but there may be other internship programs that could be
considered.


8. Other action item: In anticipation of Unesco's revised project
timeline and proposed specifications soon to be circulated to
Committee members, ECA will need to respond to Steering Committee's
request to countries to indicate their anticipated financial or
in-kind contributions to the project by NLT 31 January 2007 (or by
December 20 if possible). ECA should also brief CHEA Judith Eaton
and seek further information on what support CHEA might provide as
an element of an overall us contribution. Mission will exercise
sustained vigilance to help ensure that Haddad does not roll back
the will of the Steering Committee.
KOSS