The purpose of this report is to provide an analytical note and a personal reflection on the theme of converging competences for diversity and sustainable democracy, and the role of higher education in developing these competences. As such, the report does not provide a comprehensive description of the presentations and discussions in the Forum, but is rather a reflection of these through highlighting some of the key issues, and occasionally adding points that were raised but left unanswered in the Forum.

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underline the important role of higher education in developing and maintaining societies based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law;

reaffirm that sustainable democracies require citizens who value the diversity of our global society as well as of our individual countries, regions and local communities and who are willing and able to engage in intercultural dialogue;

recognize that our societies are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of people’s backgrounds, social and ethnic origins, beliefs and convictions as well as in the increasingly wide diverse ages of those seeking higher education as are our higher education institutions that are, in most cases, still far from reflecting the composition of society at large;

affirm our commitment, as higher education policy makers and leaders, to fulfilling the full range of purposes of higher education, including:

• preparation for the labour market
• preparation for life as active citizens in democratic societies
• personal development
• the development and maintenance of a broad, advanced knowledge base

assume the responsibility to ensure that higher education advances knowledge on sustainable democracy, civic engagement, human rights, and diversity and provide its graduates with the subject specific and transferable competences needed for them to help build and maintain the kind of society in which we would like future generations to be able to live;

underscore the crucial importance of cooperation among all actors and levels of education to improve the opportunity for all to benefit from higher education.

WE THEREFORE RECOMMEND

that higher education institutions and their representative organizations

• expand their mission and institutional objectives to comprise the goals of democracy, diversity and human rights and make them an integral part of their policies and practices;
• promote equal opportunities to higher education in terms of access and completion of studies and make lifelong learning an important part of their mission;
• establish adequate mechanisms, through strategic plans, policy objectives and implementation and other appropriate means, to fulfil their mission comprising the full range of purposes of higher education;
• develop and maintain cooperation and partnerships with their communities, schools, and civil society;
• reflect the principles and practice of democracy, diversity and human rights in their approaches to teaching and learning as well as in their structures and decision making procedures; in all aspects of the institution’s daily life;
• review their teaching and learning policies and practice across disciplines to encourage the inclusion of the underlying principles of democracy through activity based learning, problem solving and learning through community service with a view to fostering the civic and academic competences of students;
• establish reward mechanisms and criteria for hiring and career advancement that encourage faculty to develop innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to democracy, diversity and human rights;
• develop and maintain structures to ensure that the student voice is heard in the governance and life of the institution;
• engage in self-assessment to determine strengths and weaknesses in their actions to further democratic culture and to devise additional actions where needed.

that public authorities

• with due account to the principles of institutional autonomy, establish policies that encourage higher education institutions, public and private, to define and fulfil their mission with due regard to the principles stated above;
• provide support and incentives for programs and initiatives on issues of democracy, diversity, human rights and social cohesion strengthening the engagement of higher education institutions with the communities and civil society of which they are a part;
• integrate social and civil competences in the development of frameworks for learning outcomes qualifications;

that students and their representative organizations

• raise awareness among all students of the importance of developing a broad range of capacities required for active participation in public life at all levels – locally, nationally and internationally;
• actively engage in the development of students’ capacities for democracy, diversity and human rights;
• empower students in developing and implementing initiatives that can help fulfil the mission of higher education with respect to democracy, diversity and human rights;

that the Council of Europe

• work within the Bologna Process to foster the mission of higher education in furthering democracy, diversity and human rights as part of the values and goals of the European Higher Education Area;
• work to describe competences in qualifications frameworks in such a way as to cover the full purposes of education and to reflect the need for “converging competences” in the newly developing national qualifications frameworks as well as the overarching framework of qualifications of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA-QF) as well as the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (EQF-LLL);

that the Council of Europe and the US Steering Committee of the International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility and Democracy

• build on the project Universities as Sites of Citizenship and Civic Engagement which focused on institutional assessment of the civic engagement of higher education and the Democracy Project which focused on democratic values, practices and skills of students;
• on this basis, establish a new project exploring activities of higher education institutions on democracy, human rights and diversity in curriculum development, teaching methods and approaches and the way these issues are addressed by the institutions’ research projects, programs, centres and institutes;
• to organize a conference in the United States in 2009 or 2010 to continue the dialogue on these issues and to seek to increase the involvement of European institutional leaders as well as of higher education leaders from other parts of the world.

On December 2, 2007, in honor of International Human Rights Day, the International Consortium sponsored Students for Human Rights and Democratic Education, a student-coordinated conference for student leaders from the United States, Canada and Europe. The keynote address was given by Jerome Shestack, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and Former President of the American Bar Association.

Students for Human Rights and Democratic Education is a grassroots conference focused on student input and perspectives on how to affect change in human rights and democratization through higher education. The conference featured speakers representing academic, grassroots, and institutional approaches to human rights and democracy, as well as discussion panels with active leaders who have led successful human rights or social justice projects. Participants discussed criteria for examining higher education institutions and their efforts to promote human rights and democracy, as well as develop recommendations for mobilizing students both through their home universities and nationally.

Minutes from Students for Human Rights and Democratic Education

Photographs from the Conference

On March 29-30, 2007, the International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility and Democracy and the Council of Europe’s Committee on Higher Education and Research co-organized a symposium on Universities, Democratic Culture and Human Rights: An Action Agenda. The Symposium, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, was attended by more than 60 leaders from 14 different countries including nations of North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The Symposium was held to assess the progress of the network and propose future action, and served as a follow up to the Global Forum on The Responsibility of Higher Education for Democratic Culture held at Council of Europe Headquarters in Strasbourg on 22 – 23 June 2006.

Seeking to advance the goals and strategies proposed in the Declaration on the Responsibility of Higher Education for a Democratic Culture, Citizenship, Human Rights and Sustainability adopted at the Forum, the Symposium focused on five key areas – research, curriculum, engagement, assessment, and strengthening the global network that emerged as a result of the Global Forum. Participants also explored the relationship between democratic culture and intercultural dialogue.

As a result of the Symposium discussions and final recommendations, the International Consortium is working to expand the Consortium, as well as the global network, engage students in all aspects of the Consortium’s work, develop international and cross-national research projects, translate the Declaration into a significant number of languages with an emphasis on cultural context, and help develop materials on human rights and democratic education that would help connect pre-K through 12 and higher education.

Presentations and Speeches Delivered at the Symposium

Welcome Speeches

• Ira Harkavy, University of Pennsylvania
• Gabriele Mazza, Council of Europe

Pre-conference Paper

• Universities in the Context of Global Democratic Developments: Henry Teune, University of Pennsylvania

Council of Europe & International Consortium Member Reports

• Australian Consortium Update: Bruce Muirhead, Eidos Institute
• The Growing Network: Higher Education for a Democratic Culture: Josef Huber, Council of Europe (.ppt)
• Making the Case for Civic Learning: Caryn McTighe-Musil, AAC&U

Taking the Initiative Further: Challenges and Perspectives

• American Council on Education, American College President Study 2007: Susan Robinson, ACE
• Challenges in Europe: Sjur Bergan, Council of Europe (.ppt)

Keynote Address: Nancy Cantor, Syracuse University

• Keynote Speech: Higher Education on the World Stage of Democracy: Overcoming an “Anemia of Deeds”
• Keynote Presentation: Higher Education on the World Stage of Democracy: Overcoming an “Anemia of Deeds”

At the end of the conference, Sjur Bergan, Council of Europe, drew six key conclusions from the discussions at the symposium to summarize the work of the past two days.

• Sjur Bergan’s Symposium Summary
• Final Symposium Summary

On June 22-23, 2006, a Global Forum was held in Strasbourg, France sponsored by the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee for Higher Education and Research (CDESR) in close cooperation with the International Consortium. A delegation of 37 U.S. college and university presidents attended the forum under the leadership of Susan Porter Robinson, Vice President of Lifelong Learning at ACE; Caryn McTighe Musil, Senior Vice President of AAC&U; and Ira Harkavy. At the Forum, a Declaration was adopted by acclamation that affirms the need to increase the commitment of higher education institutions to a democratic culture and sustainable societies and calls for action to promote the principles of democratic citizenship, human rights and civic responsibility in higher education.

The International Consortium and the Council of Europe are encouraging campuses around the world to review the Declaration, complete the requirements and sign on to the document. The complete Declaration and instructions to join the network of those who support the declaration can be viewed on the Higher Education and Democratic Culture website.

This website has additional information on the Global Forum and the Declaration and offers the opportunity to consult the list of those who have become members of this network and review the civic engagement activities that they have entered into the database.

Any higher education institution as well as any other institution, association or organization, governmental or non-governmental, involved in higher education policy orientation may become a member of this network provided they support the principles of the Declaration as evidenced by the activities they do to promote them. These activities can be of different and varied nature and the input form on the site provides you with a non-exhaustive range of the main thematic orientations and types of activities to choose from.

The presentations and speeches at the June Forum will be edited in book form in the Higher Education Series of the Council of Europe and shall be available in Fall 2007.

View Forum Program.

On April 28-29, 2005, representatives of the Council of Europe and the US Steering Committee, the Penn research directors, US Co-Chair and the Administrative Director met in Philadelphia to review the findings of the Pilot study, activities of the 2005 European Year of Citizenship through Education, and future plans for the International Consortium.

View the agenda.