Organized by
UNESCO Knowledge Societies Division
Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO 
UNESCO Chairs in Open Educational Resources

UNESCO – in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of Slovenia and the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO  – organized the OER Road Map 2-day meeting of experts and delegates from 30 and 31 March, 2016, in the framework of UNESCO initiatives aligned to the 2012 World OER Congress and its Paris OER Declaration.

“UNESCO’s Paris OER Declaration in 2012 encouraged many governments and stakeholders to upgrade their strategies and policies, supporting OER pilots in different countries,” said Minister Brencic, noting Slovenia’s numerous global and national OER initiatives including the adoption of its National Strategy 2015-2020 of Open Access to scientific publications and research data. In her speech, Minister Brencic  announced a proposal by the Republic of Slovenia to host the 2nd World OER Congress in the Autumn of 2017.

During this meeting we will concentrate on examining partnerships and strategies toward better mainstreaming OER, we first examined the different challenges that face the wide spread use of OER by education systems, presentations followed from all UNESCO regions on solutions at the policy level, in higher education and in teacher training, highlighting several initiatives and good practices around the world. The bulk of the work focused on our expert working groups which will aim to address scenarios, strategies and solutions to OER challenges: from balancing commercial interests to inclusive and equitable access across languages and cultures. 

09:30‑10:00 Welcome

Mr Indrajit Banerjee, Director, Knowledge Societies Division,
Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO

Keynote: Setting the Stage
H.E. Dr Maja Makovec Brenčič,
Minister of Education, Science and Sports of Slovenia

Background on UNESCO OER Activities and Meeting Objectives
Mr Indrajit Banerjee, Director, Knowledge Societies Division, Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO

10:30‑10:45

Presentation of the Draft Concept Paper

Ms Zeynep Varoglu, ICT in Education Programme Specialist, Knowledge Societies Division, Communication and Information Sector UNESCO

14:00‑15:20

OER Strategies and Partnerships:

  • OER in Higher Education (TBC)
    Dr Savithri Singh, University of Delhi, India
  • Mainstream Adoption of OER in Bahrain
    Dr Nawal Ebrahim AlKhater, Ministry of Education, Bahrain
  • Lessons Learnt from the Kenya ICT Contemporary Framework for Teachers (ICT-CFT) Harnessing OER Project
    Dr Shelmith Wanjohi, Ministry of Education, Kenya
12:00‑12:30 Question and Answer Session: Policy Level & Incentive Level Mechanisms
Dr Tel Amiel, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil
14:30‑15:00 Panel Presentation: Opening up Slovenia
Dr Mitja Jermol, Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia
15:00‑17:00 Working Groups: Potential Scenarios, Strategies and Solutions to Overcome Challenges
1. Commercial interests (Moderator: Dr Sana El Harbi)
2. Language and cultural barriers (Moderator: Dr Mohammed Jemni)
3. Ensuring inclusive and equitable access to quality content (Moderator: Mr Borut Campelj)
4. Capacity of users to access, re-use, and share OER (Moderator: Mr Alex Gakuru)
5. Development of appropriate policy solutions (Moderator: Dr Asha Kanwar)
6. Need for clarity on the term ‘open’ (Moderator: Mr Fred Mulder)
Output: 1 proposal per Working Group
17:00‑17:30 Conclusions from the Chairs of Working Groups: Synthesis of Outputs
  Day 2
9:30‑10:00 Welcome Day 2 and Summary of Day 1
Ms Zeynep Varoglu, ICT in Education Programme Specialist, Knowledge Societies Division, Communication and Information Sector UNESCO
14:30‑15:00 Working Groups: Identify vision, strategies and partnerships to move forward
1. Commercial interests (Moderator: Dr Sana El Harbi)
2. Language and cultural barriers (Moderator: Dr Mohammed Jemni)
3. Ensuring inclusive and equitable access to quality content (Moderator: Mr Borut Campelj)
4. Capacity of users to access, re-use, and share OER (Moderator: Mr Alex Gakuru)
5. Development of appropriate policy solutions (Moderator: Dr Asha Kanwar)
6. Need for clarity on the term ‘open’ (Moderator: Mr Fred Mulder)
Output: 1 proposal per Working Group
14:30‑15:00 Closing and Final Remarks
Mr Indrajit Banerjee, Director, Knowledge Societies Division, Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO