The extraordinary session of the Intergovernmental Conference of the States Parties to the Global Convention took place on 7 March 2024 at UNESCO Headquarters, bringing together the 28 States Parties, 74 observer States and 17 organizations. The event marked one year of the entry into force of this first United Nations treaty in higher education worldwide.
States Parties to the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education unanimously adopted the interim work programme for this global treaty, committing to enhance recognition of qualifications, mobility and inter-university cooperation for millions of students.
“The Global Convention has the power to reshape education on a global scale. Recognition must be for all”, highlighted Ms Simona-Mirela Niculescu, President of the UNESCO General Conference, in urging Member States to ratify the convention and ensure the fair, transparent and non-discriminatory recognition of qualifications for all.
The adoption of the work program comes amid an-ever changing higher education landscape, characterized by expansion, massification, diversification and digitalization.
The work programme focuses on four key areas – the development of operational guidelines for the Global Convention, relationship between the Global Convention and regional conventions, research and capacity development as well as advocacy and communications. The work programme will run until June 2025, when the next ordinary session of the Intergovernmental Conference of the States Parties takes place.
Armenia was presented in the Intergovernmental meeting by G. Harutyunyan, General Director of the Armenian National Information Center for Academic Recognition and Mobility, who has been also part of the working group on developing of the intermediate work program adopted during the meeting.
The vast majority of States Parties to the Global Convention (26 out of 28) are also States Parties to one of more regional recognition conventions. Together they host one fourth of the world’s 6.4 million internationally mobile students.
