The conference was also part of the events marking the 200th anniversary of the University of Oslo.

The opening session took place in the grand, original University buildings (Gamle Festsal). It started off with a beautiful musical interlude by the Charmina String Quartet.

Opening addresses by:

• Tora Aasland, Minister of Higher Education and Research, Norway
• Ole Petter Ottersen, Rector of the University of Oslo, Norway
  
• Sjur Bergan, Head of the Department for Higher Education and History Teaching, Council of Europe
  
• Ira Harkavy, Chair of the US Steering Committee of the International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility and Democracy and Founding Director and Associate Vice President of Netter Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Carola Bjørklund, Ambassador, Coordinator for the Council of Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
  
• Ana Perona-Fjeldstad, Executive Director of The European Wergeland Centre, Norway
  
• Aksel Braanen Sterri, President of the Student Parliament, University of Oslo, Norway
  

The rest of the conference days took place in the main campus of the University of Oslo. The 2. conference day focused on Reimagining democratic societies: different perspectives

Keynote Speakers:



Reimagining democratic societies: challenges and opportunities

• Jan Egeland, Director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

Reimagining democratic societies: the response from US higher education

• Eduardo J Padrón, President of Miami Dade College and Chair of the American Council on Education

Reimagining democratic societies: a global higher education perspective

• Hilligje van’t Land, Director of Membership and Programme Development, International Association of Universities

Reimagining democratic societies under challenging circumstances: the role of higher education

• Srbijanka Turajlić, former Deputy Minister for Higher Education of Serbia and former Chair of the Alternative Academic Education Network

Reimagining democratic societies: a student perspective

• Bert Vandenkendelaere, Chair,  European Students Union

Reimagining Democratic Societies: Challenges to European Higher Education

• Maria Helena Nazaré, President-elect of the European University Association (EUA)

The keynote presentations were followed by a vivid discussion before the participants split into 6 working groups focusing on the 3 topics:

A.     What does a democratic University look like?

The focus here was on the issue of the internal processes, policies, and governance of higher education institutions. How does your institution or agency currently cultivate active citizenship among students, faculty, staff, and others?  What specific practices move everyone towards the attitudes, skills, values, and understandings that will lead to civic responsibility?  Where are the levers of leadership that can affect these experiences? How might academic institutions be re-imagined differently to foster even more extensive and expansive civic knowledge, skills, and sense of agency in students and staff alike?
 
B.    What are particularly effective ways to deepen students’ education for globally responsible democratic citizenship?

The focus here was on how the curricular designs, pedagogies, and disciplinary expectations for students can enhance their democratic dispositions and capacities. What indicates to students that such knowledge is an essential component of their academic education?  Are there particular academic locations and experiences at your institution where education for democratic citizenship is especially well grounded? What pedagogies have the greatest impact on fostering civic skills for diverse, globally entwined democracies?  What newly envisioned pathways and pedagogies to democratic knowledge and practice are needed in the future?

C.    What kind of partnerships between higher education institutions and local, national, and/or global communities promote democratic commitments and cultures?

The focus here was on the nature, purposes, and integration of the partnerships between the higher education institutions and various communities. How do partnerships at your institution or through your agency deepen the institution’s and the students’ capacities for civic problem solving and further empower people in the community to shape their societies?  What elements within these partnerships are particularly effective in expanding civic capacities and commitments?  How might these partnerships be re-imagined to have even more powerful educational and social effect on building responsible democratic communities and cultures?

A panel debate on "Educating Globally Responsible Citizens: What higher Education Needs to Do" chaired by Sjur Bergan, Council of Europe and Caryn McTighe Musil, Association of American Universities and Colleges / International Consortium, took place the last conference day.



Panelists:

• Gro Beate Vige, Senior Adviser, The Ministry of Education and Research, Norway
• Walid Moussa, Rector, Notre Dame University Louaize, Lebanon/IAU Board Member
• Inga Bostad, pro-rector, University of Oslo, Norway
• Richard Guarasci, President Wagner College, USA
  
• Jens Vraa-Jensen, Education International
  

The debate and discussion was followed by the report of the working groups by the General Rapporteur, Martina Vukasović, who also included a refreshing summary of the whole event! 







Summary, keynote presentations, the report from the working groups, and a photo gallery from the whole event will be published soon. Until then, read the impressive article about keynote speaker Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, President of Miami Dade College in The New York Times !