Online, English has become a common language for users from all over the world but the internet is changing the language
Today there are around 4.5 billion web pages worldwide and most of them are written in Chinese.
However, some linguists predict that within 10 years English will dominate the internet, although in forms very different to what we accept and recognise as English today.
People who speak English as a second language outnumber native speakers and they increasingly use English to communicate with other non-native speakers, particularly on the internet where less attention is paid to grammar and spelling.
Therefore you can find many "Englishes" on the net, including Indian English, or Hinglish, Spanglish (Spanish English) and Konglish (Korean English). These variations have existed for a long time within individual cultures, but they are now expanding online.
The internet, therefore, allows multiple languages to flourish and although English is expanding, other languages are pushing their way into English and are in the process of creating something new.
Read more on this.

IAU is pleased to announce that the third IAU Collaborative Workshop: A three-step activity to envisage Higher Education for Education for All locally, held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 6-7 December was a resounding success.
Organised in collaboration with Tribhuvan University, an IAU member, the event brought together over 50 high-level representatives from the higher education sector (Vice-Chancellors, Rectors, Deans, academia, and students), Ministry of Education, UNESCO, NGOs, and Political Parties.
The Workshop ended with recommendations aimed at strengthening higher education engagement in EFA developed and validated by the participants. IAU believes this document could well lead the way to improved input from the higher education sector in achieving EFA in Nepal.
The recommendations and all conference documents will be soon available on the IAU website.
The next IAU Collaborative Workshop will be held in Nairobi, Kenya on 24-25 January 2013, organised in collaboration with the University of Nairobi.
Have questions? Contact Nadja Kymlicka.

The International Association of Universities (IAU) and the Northern Consortium of UK Universities (NCUK) are pleased to announce that the 5th Global Meeting of Associations (GMA-V) will be held from 25 to 26 April 2013 in the magnificent Salford Quays, Manchester, UK. This meeting will address a number of topics around the theme of Institutional Diversity in Higher Education: Advantage or Threat for Associations?.
Every two years, GMAs bring together leaders of higher education organizations to discuss specific topics of importance to them. GMAs are relatively small gatherings of peers and thus represent an excellent networking opportunity and a unique platform for initiating collaboration while comparing notes on a variety of topics.
Reserve the dates now and consult the IAU website where registration will open in January 2013 and where more information on the Meeting will be provided regularly.
We look forward to seeing you in Manchester!

IAU 14th General Conference: Documents and Presentations
The IAU held its 14th General Conference from 27 to 30 November 2012 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in partnership with the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, an IAU Member institution which celebrated its 100th Anniversary.
Bringing together close to 400 participants from over 75 countries, the General Conference elected the 2012-2016 IAU President and Administrative Board and participants heard presentations and discussed the theme Higher Education and the Global Agenda, focusing on 3 major areas: how higher education institutions address the challenges facing humanity; the nature of the current dominant funding models and where they are steering higher education and research; and the agenda for internationalization of higher education.
In concurrent sessions, topics such as open educational resources, academic mobility, ethics in higher education, equitable access and success, public-private partnerships, gender issues in higher education, doctoral education and numerous others were among those on which participants also shared their perspectives and good practices.
The final Programme of the Conference, the documents presented in the Business Sessions and all the presentations received by the Secretariat are now available on the General Conference webpage. The IAU thanks particularly all the Speakers and Chairs who took part in this event and who initiated such interesting and enriching exchanges.
The IAU is already beginning its planning for the 2014 International Conference which will be held at the Universidad Cientifica del Perú in March of that year and will address the theme of Sustainable Development and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge. We hope that you will be able to join us in Peru!

The Higher Education Academy (HEA) has published four toolkits offering practical guidance to those working in higher education (HE) outreach and widening participation. The toolkits are web-based and are available on the HEA website.
The toolkits are designed to support the effective strategy, management and delivery of outreach work to encourage progression to HE. They draw on existing outreach methods and resources, most notably those produced by the Aimhigher partnerships. They focus on four themes:
- targeting activities
- partnership building
- delivering programmes
- undertaking evaluation.
The toolkits were commissioned by HEFCE and compiled by the International Centre for Guidance Studies at the University of Derby and the Progression Trust. They are endorsed by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA).
Heather Fry, Director (Education, Participation and Students), HEFCE, said:
‘Change in the English education system has shifted the nature of widening participation practice. The toolkits reflect this change, adapting and reframing the learning from previous programmes such as Aimhigher. They should be invaluable in drawing together and sharing a wealth of experience and good practice. Our aim is that the materials, with practical ideas, tools and guidance, prove useful for those working in widening participation and serve as a basis for further innovation.’
Speaking at an event organised by HEFCE and the HEA, ‘Widening participation 2012 and beyond: tools and resources for the new HE context’, Professor Les Ebdon, Director of Fair Access to Higher Education, OFFA, commented:
‘Universities and colleges plan to invest more than £110 million in outreach by the academic year 2016-17 and these highly practical toolkits will help them get the best return from that investment. For example, I’m very pleased that one of the toolkits focuses on the challenge of evaluating your outreach activities so that you know what works best and can concentrate your efforts accordingly. This is essential to a good access strategy.’
Notes
1. The toolkits were launched at an event organised by HEFCE and the HEA. ‘Widening participation 2012 and beyond: tools and resources for the new HE context’ took place on Tuesday 18 December 2012. The event also launched six syntheses of the literature and resources in the HEA’s ‘Widening access, student retention and success national programmes’ archive.

Lack of support for motherhood hurting women’s career prospects, despite gains in education and employment, says OECD.
Women pay a high price for motherhood, with steep childcare costs, availability or access to such facilities, and taxes deterring many from working more, according to a new OECD report.
Closing the Gender Gap: Act Now says that gains in female education attainment have contributed to a worldwide increase in women’s participation in the labour force, but considerable gaps remain in working hours, conditions of employment and earnings. In OECD countries men earn on average 16% more than women in similar full-time jobs. At 21%, the gender gap is even higher at the top of the pay scale, suggesting the continued presence of a glass ceiling. Even though there has been progress in narrowing the gender gap in pay, especially in employment, this is not enough and much remains to be done in many countries.
"Closing the gender gap must be a central part of any strategy to create more sustainable economies and inclusive societies,” OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said at the launch of the report at the OECD Gender Forum in Paris. “The world’s population is ageing and this challenge can only be mastered if all the talent available is mobilised. Governments should make further progress in the access and quality of education for all, improve tax and benefits systems, and make childcare more affordable, in order to help women contribute more to economic growth and a fairer society."
Country notes are available for Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

IMHE current and past activities
The Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO)
The OECD is carrying out a feasibility study for the assessment of higher education learning outcomes. The purpose of this feasibility study is to see if it is practically and scientifically feasible to asses what students in higher education know and can do upon graduation. Secretariat contact: ahelo@oecd.org.
Innovation, Higher Education and Research for Development (IHERD)
The IHERD Programme comprises two sub-Programmes: i) research and innovation policy; and ii) higher education governance and institutional management. The OECD Programme on Higher Education and Research for Development (IHERD) is supported by a four-year voluntary contribution from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
Higher Education in Regional and City Development
Higher education institutions make a significant contribution to economic, social and cultural development in their regions. In 2004-07, OECD conducted a review of higher education in 14 regions in 12 countries that resulted in recommendations for HEIs, as well as for national and regions governments. In 2008-11 the OECD conducted Reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development in 14 regions within the OECD, as well as emerging economies. The third round is now ongoing. Secretariat contact: Jaana Puukka (jaana.puukka@oecd.org).
Managing Internationalisation
IMHE also examines how the increasingly global nature of higher education is changing the ways in which institutions view their role and mission, and how that affects the way they work. Secretariat contact: imhe@oecd.org.
Supporting Quality Teaching in Higher Education
The project on quality teaching in higher education is designed to highlight effective quality initiatives and mechanisms and to encourage reflection or practices that may help institutions to improve the quality of their teaching and thereby, the quality of their graduates. The project is composed of 2 phases: an overview based on initiatives taken by 29 institutions (completed) and an exploration of approaches to quality teaching at institutional level (completed). This project has produced two publications. The latest report is available here. Secretariat contact: imhe@oecd.org.
"What Works" in Higher Education Management
Under this heading, IMHE arranges a series of international events on different aspects of institutional management. The events are designed to assist members of the Programme by reviewing current policy and practice and by disseminating examples of successful innovation. Secretariat contact: imhe@oecd.org.
Related Documents
Nos activités - Gestion des établissements d'enseignement supérieur (IMHE).

On 13 December, the closing ceremony for the European Year 2012 in Ireland provided a forum for identifying how to keep active ageing and solidarity between generations on the national agenda, while encouraging dialogue on related issues of policy and research.
As part of proceedings, Virpi Timonen and Rose Anne Kenny, of TILDA, the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, revealed important information on caring, intergenerational solidarity and healthy ageing. Robert Anderson, of Eurofound, discussed the "Quality of life and employment of older people: Ireland in the EU", and Maureen Gaffney presented "A new paradigm on ageing. Finally, Kathleen Lynch, Minister of State for Disability, Equality, Mental Health and Older People, highlighted what has been achieved during the Year and the way forward, saying that "This European Year has consolidated a fresh perspective on ageing, which sees the later years as a time of new beginnings and of new possibilities, as a time for active citizenship, for participation, for learning new skills, developing new hobbies and interests and even finding hidden talents".
A review of some of the activities and achievements from the Year, which provided new ways of thinking about how to promote active ageing and intergenerational solidarity, concluded the ceremony held in Dublin. It is hoped that these will ensure that the ripple effects of the European Year will endure well into the future and that its legacy will move Ireland closer to being a good country in which to grow older in the years ahead.
Picture gallery of the event. Click here to browse through a selection of EY2012-related initiatives in Ireland. For more information about the European Year 2012 in Ireland you may visit this website.

The German Anti-discrimination Agency (ADS) has declared 2012 the Year Against Age Discrimination. Under this framework, an Experts Committee presided by Dr. Henning Scherf has been working in the last months to present a series of concrete actions and recommendations to reduce age discrimination in Germany.
These recommendations were presented by the committee on December 4th in Berlin. The document, entitled "Jointly against discrimination: For a fair participation of the younger and older people", has been prepared by experts from social organisations, unions and the academic world under the scientific guidance of Gerontology professor Dr.Gerhard Naegele. Among other suggestions, the Experts Committee advises German authorities, companies and organisations to reduce age limits in volunteering, as well as to reassess age-related wage limits. They also recommend eliminating individual supplementary income limits for early pensioners.
"The topic of age discrimination is still not visible to many. However, the recommendations show that this has to change" said Christine Lüders from the German Anti-discrimination Agency, who appeals stakeholders to implement the proposals.
According to a survey commissioned by the ADS, every fifth German (21 percent) has experienced age discrimination. The Experts Committee’s recommendations may be downloaded here (in German). More information about the ADS Year Against Age Discrimination available at www.im-besten-alter-immer.de.

The closing conference of the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations in France that took place on 17-18 December at the Palais des Congrès in Paris was a great success. The event brought together nearly 200 people during a day and a half.
From the opening, strong emphasis was placed on the importance of the transfer of skills and mutual benefits from experiences related to active ageing. One of the conference's recurrent themes was the generation contract (contrat de génération) commitment that the new government took during the presidential campaign, and which was presented at the opening by Emmanuelle Wargon, Delegate General for Employment and Vocational Training, This new initiative allows the hiring, under permanent contract, of young people who will be accompanied by a senior himself kept in his job until his retirement. This ambitious initiative aims at 500,000 beneficiaries: 250,000 young people and 250,000 seniors.
The role of companies was particularly in the spotlight during the event as another part of the agenda was devoted to the presentation of the Trajectoire Trophies, awards which recognise companies implementing action plans for seniors. In addition, a series of workshops led to a reflection on the central themes of the campaign:

• Ageing Well, how to improve the prevention of loss of autonomy?
• The adaptation of society with an ageing population, a necessary condition for age management.
• Associations, obligatory stakeholders in active ageing
• What are the challenges of work for all ages?
• How new technologies can improve the living conditions of the elderly?
• Coordination and partnerships, a leverage for the players in active ageing

Ralph Jacob, Head of Unit from the European Commission DG Employment, and Jean-Pierre Bultex, Vice President of AGE Plateforme Europe, contributed to the event. Finally, after the presentation of various ministers from other Member States, which allowed a comparison of practices in the EU, Michèle Delaunay, French Minister Delegate for Elderly People and Adult Care, conducted the closure of the event, recalling the importance given by the government to issues of active ageing.
Picture gallery of the event. Click here to browse through a selection of EY2012-related initiatives in France. For more information about the European Year 2012 in France you may visit this website.