Global Studies in Higher Education, a joint venture of Global Studies and the Division of International Studies, welcomed Dr. Abdul Khan, assistant director-general for Communication and Information of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) , to their fall 2009 distinguished speaker series.
Dr. Khan, who has led UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector since 2001 and is an alum of the University of Wisconsin–—Madison, spoke on what he described as “the power of communication and information in an emerging global knowledge society” to an enthusiastic group of graduate students, faculty, and members of the public.
Dr. Khan lauded UW-−Madison for its strong international focus but urged it to reach out even more to share its knowledge around the world.
“You have a responsibility in sharing the knowledge you create to help improve living standards in other parts of the world—and with emerging technologies and the concept of distance learning, this is finally possible,” he said.
During his talk, Khan focused on the global challenges in extending this knowledge, outlined the UNESCO model of knowledge societies, and discussed the benefit of information and communication technologies in bringing knowledge to the developing world.
During his visit, Dr. Khan also signed a letter of intent for cooperation between UNESCO and UW−Madison with Dean Gilles Bousquet of the Division of International Studies.
“This agreement needs to be seen in the context of this university which has enormous potential to go global,” Khan said, “so it’s not just world-class, but world-class worldwide.”
For more information on UNESCO’s concept of knowledge societies: UNESCO WORLD REPORT
For more information on this event, visit gshe.global.wisc.edu. This unique initiative was presented by the Division of International Studies and Global Studies, and co-sponsored by the Department of Education Policy Studies and the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN).
Reported by Nina Gehan
Photographs by Derek Jennings