The site has also become more inclusive. It was created to work on a wide variety of browsers, operating systems and types. The site can also accommodate slow internet connections with light graphics, and text only pages while also being more accessible to the visually impaired with an option for larger text. These features are intended to make the site accessible to a greater number of people worldwide.

Regularly updated, the website aims to inform and raise awareness about all aspects of educational content and curriculum. The site is multilingual in English, French and Spanish. There is also significant portion in Chinese with sections translated into Russian and Arabic as well.

“Country Dossiers” illustrate the latest IBE activities in different parts of the world. The curriculum development section illustrates the breadth of the IBE’s activities within this topic. There is also a special feature on the International Conference on Education (November 2008) focusing on Inclusive Education.

Contact:c.strebelanti spam bot@unescoanti spam bot.org

Students at Lavela High School are using a robotic camera (GigaPan) to capture panoramic shots of their community and then load them onto a website. Software is then used to merge all the photos taken by the GigaPan into vast panoramas.
A key feature of the photos is the level of detail they contain; from a picture of a crowded market, a user can zoom in to a detail like a belt buckle for example.  Users can then take a snap shot of the details, comment on it and converse with others.

This project was developed to help children from different socio-economic backgrounds understand each other and their cultures. Using GigaPan, children will learn about the world and teach their contemporaries about their heritage by sharing community sites, events and places of importance. Through the creation of their own interactive community the students should develop a deeper understanding, consideration and respect for others, their beliefs and values.
Students in Sowteo and at the Falk School in the United States are already exchanging GigaPan panoramas and discussing their communities and heritage. It is expected that in late 2008 there will be a gallery exhibit of seven meter long, high resolution print outs of the GigaPans displayed in both Soweto and Johannesburg.

Project Objectives:

1. Develop good practices in linking curriculum and new technologies (GigaPan),
2. Empower students in new educational technologies,
3. Explore local and international issues pertaining to inclusion and Learning To Live Together,
4. Help students develop inquiry and research skills, encourage exchanges and sustainable networking,
5. Promote participatory learning with cooperation and solidarity.

Project Details:

The South African component of the GigaPan Project occurred from 22-23 April 2008 at Lavela High School. Students were trained to use the robotic cameras, stitching software, and web platform by Illah Nourbakhsh (CMU) and Christopher Strebel UNESCO IBE. The project was jointly organized by CMU and UNESCO IBE in the correlation with UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet). The pilot phase of the project is expected to take place in schools in Trinidad and Tobago as well as the US and South Africa.

Experts from IBE, UNESCO Associated Schools Project (ASP) and the United States (Carnegie Mellon University; Yale University; University of Pittsburgh) gathered to plan for the implementation of a new joint pilot project: “Diversity and Inclusion in the Community”. The project aims to foster Learning to Live Together (LTLT) and inclusion based on using new technologies (namely GigaPan) in the context of student-friendly curricula and teaching and learning approaches.

GigapanGigaPan consists of an advanced digital camera and appropriate software allowing for both the capturing of broad panoramas and the exploration of details based on zooming. During the pilot phase teachers and students of four schools (two in the United States, one in Trinidad-Tobago and one in South Africa) will be trained to use the GigaPan device as a tool to carrying out action-research activities in their local communities.

The participants in the project will be able to share their findings and learning experiences via the Internet and other means of networking. As an example of innovative practices with regard to fostering inclusive education, the pedagogical experiences and outcomes of the GigaPan pilot project will be contributing to the preparation of the 48th International Conference on Education, to be held in Geneva in November 2008.

Resources:

• International Conference on Education
• Participants

This Regional Seminar is focused on three priorities regarding EFA and curriculum: Curriculum innovation and poverty alleviation; HIV and AIDS education; and Inclusive education. Six countries from Eastern and Western Sub-Saharan Africa took part in this regional seminar: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania. The Seminar was organized by UNESCO-IBE and Kenya Institute of Education (Kenya Ministry of Education)

• EFA Global Monitoring Report 2008

The IBE jointly hosted a workshop with the GTZ on developing a Monitoring and Evaluation Tool (M+E Tool) for Learning to Live Together (LTLT). The two organizations have worked cooperatively since 2003 to establish a data base of good practices worldwide in the area of education for learning to live together (see the IBE RELated project). Over the last years different other materials were produced (such as a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for LTLT) exploring criteria and indicators to assess the effectiveness of LTLT programmes. The participants in the workshop discussed how to develop a simple M+E Tool for practitioners aiming to improve the effectiveness of their school and out-of-school practices (see Concept paper and Agenda).

It was decided that a first draft of the M+E Tool should be ready by mid 2008, which will be followed by the field-testing of the tool and its finalization and dissemination by the end of 2009.

Documents:

• Agenda
• Participants
• Concept Paper
   

UNESCO and the African Development Bank organized a two-day intensive training on education in fragile states.

Ms. Dakmara Georgescu, IBE Programme coordinator contributed with a session on Curriculum development in fragile states. A UNESCO team of trainers, prepared a Workbook on Education in Fragile States as a resource material to facilitate plenary discussions and hands-on group activities. The workshop proceedings and outcomes are extremely important to inform the Bank’s policy with regard to supporting education development in fragile African states.

The workshop provided the Bank education staff with an overview of international experiences in fragile states, as well as with tools to set priorities and work cooperatively with UNESCO in different areas such as: policy making; Education Management Information System (EMIS); curriculum  evaluation, development and implementation; teacher education and training; and HIV and AIDS education.

• Education in Fragile States, Workbook

International workshop organized by UNESCO CLT and the IBE (Geneva, 9-10 October 2007)

The IBE hosted a two-day workshop dedicated to preparing a second edition of the Masters Programme on “Social Sciences and Humanitarian Affairs” which UNESCO Culture has been carrying out since 2005 with partner universities from Italy (University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’), Israel and Palestine.

The first edition of the Master Programme was carried out in 2005/2006 with a view to foster peace building and academic cooperation amongst Israeli and Palestinian faculty and students.

Related Documents:

• Preparing a Second Edition of the Master Programme
• Participants

Ms. Georgescu was invited to talk about “Strategies for linking formal and non-formal education” in front of an audience of young civil society activist attending the Global Education and Youth Seminar  in the framework of the 8 th edition of the University of Youth and Development (30 September – 7 October 2007).

Related Documents:

• Presentation on "Strategies for Linking Formal and Non-Formal Education"
• Keynote Speech
• Outline

Ms Helene-Marie Gosselin, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in New York. She briefed colleagues on the mandate of the NY office, the latest developments in the UN reform - “Delivering as One”, the new draft resolution from Moldova and on the counter-terrorism efforts at the General Assembly and the Security Council.

• More on the Division of Cooperation with Extra budgetary Funding Sources

• More on UNESCO Liaison Offices