In celebration of International Women’s Day (8 March), here’s a look at some of the dedicated scholarships for women available around the world…
Academic performance results from many countries now show women consistently achieving higher grades than men, even in traditionally male-dominated fields such as the sciences, engineering, technology and business. Despite this success, many subject areas still report much lower enrolment numbers for women than for men (or vice versa), while many professions still see far fewer women in top-level positions and a widespread gender salary gap. More...

UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has published the Report on the International Conference on Learning Cities, which took place from 21–23 October 2013, in Beijing, China. This document will serve as a point of reference in ongoing efforts to build learning cities and promote lifelong learning in the international community. Link to the Conference Report (EN). More...

How young people living in rural communities have learned their skills and knowledge and how they perceived learning for agricultural and rural livelihoods were the main research question undertaken by UNESCO in Cambodia, Egypt and Ethiopia with the financial support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in 2013. The findings of this research were discussed in the IFAD-UNESCO Global Seminar on ‘Learning Knowledge and Skills for Agriculture and Improving Rural Livelihoods’ which was organised in Paris, France on 27 and 28 February 2014. More...

As we celebrate the International Women's Day on 8 March, let us enhance the commitment to women’s education and learning. The Second Global Report on Adult Learning and Education highlights national measures targeting women in adult literacy and adult education programmes. Findings from the report support the need to increase learning opportunities for women:
•  Learning initiatives targeting women are effective in improving health and economic productivity.
•  Women’s participation in literacy programmes is effective in raising knowledge on democracy and increasing their political participation.
•  Only few countries have set specific literacy targets for women even though there are twice as many illiterate women than men.
UIL is working with governments and civil society to enhance the quality of literacy policies and programmes with strong gender equality lens. These were published in recent months:
1) Gender equality matters: Empowering women through literacy programmes
2) Literacy Programmes with a Focus on Women to Reduce Gender Disparities
3) Literacy and Women’s Empowerment: Stories of Success and Inspiration

Link to UNESCO page on the International Women’s Day

For more information, please contact UIL Gender Focal Points (r.yorozu(at)unesco.org and u.hanemann(at)unesco.org).

Osez la VAE dans l’enseignement supérieur !
Trouvez, dans la Région PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) et dans toute la France, l'Université qui vous permettra de valider vos acquis dans l’enseignement supérieur.
En Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, cinq établissements peuvent valider vos acquis dans l’enseignement supérieur :

• Aix-Marseille Université,
• Université d'Avignon,
• Université Nice Sophia Antipolis,
• Université de Toulon,
• CNAM-PACA.

Voir les détails et les coordonnées de ces établissements dans l'article Trouvez l'Université où vous pourrez valider vos acquis.

En France, plus de 80 autres universités peuvent valider vos acquis dans l’enseignement supérieur : Université Angers, Université d'Artois, Université d'Auvergne, Université de technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard, Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand, Université de Bordeaux, Université Bordeaux 1 - Sciences Technologies, Université Bordeaux Segalen, Université Montesquieu - Bordeaux IV, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Université de Bourgogne, RéUniva4, Université Européenne de Bretagne (UEB), Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO), Université de Bretagne-Sud (UBS), Université Caen Basse-Normandie, Université de Cergy-Pontoise, Centre Universitaire Jean-François Champollion (CUFR), Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM), Université de technologie de Compiègne, Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli, Université d'Évry-Val d'Essonne, Université de Franche-Comté, Université de Grenoble, Université Joseph-Fourier - Grenoble 1, Université Pierre-Mendès-France, Université Stendhal-Grenoble 3, Université de Haute-Alsace - Mulhouse-Colmar, Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO), Université de La Réunion, Université de La Rochelle, Université du Havre, Université Lille 1 - Sciences et Technologies, Universite Lille 2 - Droit et Santé, Université Charles de Gaulle - Lille 3, Universite de Limoges, Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale, Université de Lorraine, Université Claude-Bernard Lyon 1, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, Université du Maine, Université Montpellier 1, Université Montpellier 2 Sciences et Techniques, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, Université de Nantes, Université de Nîmes, Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, Université d'Orléans, Université Paris-1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris 2), Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3, Université Paris-Sorbonne, Université Paris Descartes, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Université Paris Diderot Paris 7, Université Paris 8, Université Paris-Dauphine, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne, Université Paris 13 Nord, Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Université de Poitiers, Université de la Polynésie française, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Université Rennes 1, Université Rennes 2, Université Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne, Université de Savoie, Université de Strasbourg, Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Université de Toulouse II - Le Mirail, Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier, Université François-Rabelais de Tours, Université de Technologie de Troyes, Université de Valenciennes et du Hainaut-Cambrésis, Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.

Voir les détails et les coordonnées de ces universités dans l'article Trouvez l'Université où vous pourrez valider vos acquis.

This week's School of the Week shows how technology can be used to foster both collaborative and autonomous learning. The example of the Foreign Language lab shows what this looks like in practice.
The Istituto Comprensivo Laura Lanza Baronessa di Carini is a small school in the small town of Carini, Sicily. It has just over one thousand students aged 3 to 14. More...

Using MOOCs to foster web talent in Europe is part of the European Commission DG Connect’s Web Entrepreneurship Action Plan aimed at strengthening the environment for entrepreneurs seeking to start and develop their own web businesses, and to provide support to web entrepreneurs who want to scale-up their small businesses Europe-wide.
The new MOOCs for Web Talent network will present a precise mapping of European MOOCs in the area of web development. The network facilitates actions to increase the creation and use of MOOCs to foster web talent in Europe. More...

Open Education Week is coming up on March 10 – 15, 2014. Its purpose is to raise awareness about open education and its impact on teaching and learning worldwide.
Open Education Week is organized by the OpenCourseWare Consortium, with a planning committee that spans the continents. Accordingly, the events will take place in locations around the world and online. Educational institutions and organizations from various countries will showcase their contributions to the open education movement. More...

Close to a million jobs related to ICT will go unfilled by 2020 if Europeans don’t have the digital skills that employers need. Give us your opinion on how we can improve the way we learn web skills in this online survey.
An online survey has been launched in order to gain inside information about the benefits of MOOCs and to examine how they can be further used to increase web talent in Europe. It is targeted at people who are interested in learning or teaching web skills through online or informal learning. It would be especially interesting to hear from entrepreneurs who have developed their ICT skills through online courses. More...

At a European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (EOSE) conference, at Wembley Stadium in London, Cedefop Director James Calleja proposed a joint activity on vocational education and training (VET) and mobility of the sport and active leisure sector and the international financial services sector based on a common model of governance to support the use of European tools and policies related to VET, skills and qualifications.
In his testimonial, Mr Calleja spoke about the 7-step model, which was finalised by EOSE in 2011. The seven steps to achieve quality in VET-related qualifications are: labour market intelligence, an occupational map, occupational descriptors, a functional map, a competence framework/occupational standards, a guide to qualifications and learning outcomes, and quality assurance processes. More...