The International Conference ‘Education and Development Cooperation’ arises in order to commemorate the European Year for Development: 2015 is the first ever European Year to deal with development aid and cooperation. There is no doubt, in an overall perspective, that education plays a key role in development. In fact, according to the European Parliament legislative resolution of 2 April 2014 on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Year of Development (2015): ‘The European Year should therefore act as a catalyst for raising awareness, including through public political debate and development education, building momentum and exchanging best practices’.
This International Conference aims to offer a forum for the exchange and discussion of all aspects of education and development cooperation, in order to include the latest experiences and research. The Conference also has as a main objective the spreading of the new, constant progress that helps to support human development in all its dimensions.
Current actual needs and research on different aspects of education and development aid will be exchanged in the four days of the Conference. The topics included (but not limited to) in this Conference are education and development aid, education and gender studies, and education in multicultural and intercultural settings, as well as teaching methodology and innovation. Current and future teachers from all the different stages (from Early Childhood Education to University PhD Programmes), together with alternative and informal learning approaches, are welcome to share their research and innovations, experiences, new teaching needs, and new realities in the education systems.
The Scientific Programme will take place during four days, and includes Conferences (plenary sessions), Invited Symposia, and Oral and Written Communications. The scientific program counts on the presence of relevant national and international speakers, who will present their latest research in a wide range of topics.
The international community agreed on at the Millennium Summit in 2000 the ambitious agenda of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The 8 MDGs were suggested by the United Nations, and have been supported by numerous institutions - including the EU -, are:
Even though the world has experienced enormous changes in recent years (e.g. alterations in the global economic and political order, the rise of new agents), the 8 MDGs continue to be one of the main challenges of our time beyond the original target date of 2015. In order to promote the spreading of the 8 MDGs and development aid, the European Parliament legislative resolution of 2 April 2014 proposed to celebrate in 2015 the first European Year of Development. This proposal summarises the objective as follows: ‘The year 2015 should be emblematic and pivotal, being the last year for achieving the collectively agreed MDGs and thus offering a unique opportunity to take stock of the international commitments. The year 2015 will also be the year in which major international decisions are to be taken on the development framework that is to replace the MDG framework over the coming decades’.
The International Conference ‘Education and Development Cooperation’ aims to offer a forum for the exchange and discussion of all aspects of education and development cooperation, two key elements of the European Year for Development, as it is highlighted by the EU: ‘The European Year should raise awareness of all forms of gender discrimination faced by women and girls in various regions, particularly in terms of access to education’.
Finally, the beginning of this International Conference is completely justified, as the two first days - 3rd & 4th June 2015 - are set on the European Development Days 2015.
The transmission and spreading of knowledge of this Conference to the society is clear, as it will be a forum for the exchange and discussion of all aspects of education and development cooperation by current and future teachers from all the different stages (from Early Childhood Education to University PhD Programmes), together with alternative and informal learning approaches.
Moreover, the different ways to participate (Conferences, Invited Symposia, and Oral and Written Communications) allow a fluent exchange of ideas, with the aim of spreading knowledge to society and to different education systems.
The two best posters, according to their methodology and presentation of results, will be awarded with a certificate; later, they will be published in the official website of the International Conference ‘Education and Development Cooperation’.
The Scientific Committee of the Conference has reached an agreement with the Editorial Board of the International Journal for 21st Century Education. According to this agreement, the Scientific Committee of the Conference will choose the 12 best proposal; these 12 abstracts will be analysed by the Editorial Board of the Journal, which will choose a maximum of 10 proposals for their publication (double-blind review). This agreement will allow the publication of up to a maximum of 8 papers, which will be published in the volume corresponding to the second semester of 2015.
Finally, we have to highlight that all accepted papers will be published in a book published after the International Conference.
You can also consult all information about the next edition of the International Conference ‘Education and Development Cooperation’ in the corresponding section of this website as well as the latest news in the Social Networks pages.
