A delegation from Iran’s Ministry of Science, Research and Technology met with officials from Turkey’s Council of Higher Education in Ankara to discuss ways to boost interaction by exchanging teachers and students, transfer of technology via academic programs, scientific and research cooperation and implementing the bilateral agreements signed during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s April visit to Turkey.
According to the deputy of Turkey’s Council of Higher Education, more than 5,000 Iranian students are studying in Turkey, and the highest number of foreign PhD students come from Iran.
During President Rouhani’s official visit to Turkey in April, the two countries signed eight memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various areas.
In the speaker’s view, freedom of expression and beliefs were said to be more important than access to information. He said, “if we believe that informed masses support governments, then the means must be provided for transforming information to knowledge and efforts must be made to enable the free flow of knowledge among the public. Expressing their views and critical thinking, will enable the public to move their governments towards purification and they themselves can play a greater share in their societies. Social inclusion and participation will develop societies into dynamic entities”, said the speaker. “The need for this and the making of more relevant and comprehensive policies”, said the speaker “calls for a more active presence and participation of related organisations including the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO. The reason for this is that the current law pursued by the Deputy Directorate for Media and Press Affairs in the IR of Iran is not as effective as it is supposed to be in assisting the circulation of information among the media and journalists and it does not respect citizenship rights regarding open access to information sources and the free flow of information”.
The next speaker was Mrs (Dr.) Mohadesseh Mohebhosseini. Her speech focused on open access to scientific and educational materials/resources. She introduced international instruments on education, including article 26 of the Human Rights Declaration and the Convention Against Discrimination in Education. She then explained that equal access to education is the main tool for achieving the right to education and named education as a public good/commodity and key for empowering women. “To achieve these”, said the speaker “countries must strive for putting free and compulsory equal and universal access to quality, inclusive and equitable learning and education in place”.
According to the speaker, the needs of people living in the 3rd millennium differed from their predecessors. She enumerated some of these needs as the need for information, the need for virtual living/life, the need for scientific development, the need for smart schools, the need for social networks, etc. The speaker then briefed the session on the different definitions offered by UNESCO for education and explained about the formation of the more elevated skill of thinking and the transfer from the stage of data to knowledge and later to wisdom.
Dr Mohebhosseini then introduced Open Educational Resources (OER) as key to lifelong learning opportunities and continued by defining the various forms of OER and digital education in addition to the history of the formation of the OER in 2002 and the relevant meeting in 2012 as well as the related Paris Declaration.
In the speaker’s view, access to quality and relevant learning materials would reduce educational costs, while bringing about a more active and dynamic participation of school pupils and university students in information and knowledge generation. Her suggestion was to build capacities to strengthen relevant strategies and policies on the production and use of Open Educational Resources, to set the grounds for the continued development of quality learning materials. She then explained that the 199th session of the UNESCO Executive Board had requested the UNESCO Director General to support the establishment of a UNESCO normative instrument for OERs by undertaking a preliminary study of the technical and legal aspects on the desirability of a standard-setting instrument on OERs for examination by the 201st Session of the Executive Board, to be submitted to the UNESCO General Conference subsequent to a consultation with the Member States, leading to the development of a standardised and internationally agreed upon document on OERs. She concluded by emphasising the need to promote lifelong learning, meet the needs of the 3rd millennium dwellers and defined the characteristics and the five pillars of lifelong learning.
The next speaker was Dr Mohammad Mahmoudi. He briefed the session on the activities of the ICT Organization of Iran for improving access to information, especially for People with Disabilities (PWDs). Among the topics discussed by this speaker were: establishment of the Consultative Council on Electronic Access; the emphasis placed by the said Council on facilitating the access of the disabled to information and their use of the ICTs, referring to the coordinating role of the ICT Organization of Iran in designing and operationalising new methods for using linguistic tools; IT structures; implementing joint projects with the Tehran Municipality, and the welfare Organisation; enhancing access of PWDs in marginalised and rural areas to information; development of post and telecommunication offices in rural areas for offering better services to PWDs; enhancing virtual meeting places; standard-setting in the cyberspace; and enhancing the access of PWDs to the ICTs.
The following suggestions were offered by the speaker to enhance access to information by PWDs:
- Designing special certificates and symbols to be awarded to sites and premises renovated to improve the status of PWDs; and
- Supporting NGOs and entities that work for empowering PWDs (empowering people who empower others).
The last speaker of this session was Dr Hossein Namakdoost. He explained about two levels of access to information, including access to general information (knowledge) and special (confidential) information (information accessible by the Governments). In the speaker’s view, access to information is a fundamental right of all humans. “However, those who are most in need of information of both types for their profession are the journalists”, explained the speaker. He then briefed the session on the history of the adoption, by the Islamic Parliament of Iran, of the law of access to information in Iran and expressed concern of the Iranian journalists’ approach to this law. He then explained about the 250-year old Swedish Freedom of Information Legislation of 1766, enabling Swedish journalists to use both general and confidential governmental information in their work. “In spite of the 7-year precedence of this law in Iran (legally established in 2009), there is still a great need to enhance Iranian journalists’ freedom of access to information”, he concluded.
The meeting was wrapped up by a conclusion by Mrs (Dr.) Aliabadi, Head of the Bureau for Media Studies and Planning, who expressed the will of her institute to continue activities in this area and to have follow-up meetings organised in cooperation with the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO and other related national and even international entities.
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