National OER Strategy Forums
As part of the OpenMed project, four “OER National Strategy Forums” took place in Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Palestine, gathering educators, managers and decision makers from Higher Education institutions in the South-Mediterranean countries.
The first objective of these events is to give the possibility to South-Mediterranean Higher Education stakeholders to discuss, revise, and validate the Open Educational Resources (OER) Regional Agenda that is being developed by OpenMed. The OpenMed OER Regional Agenda is a long-term plan presenting challenges and priorities for opening up Higher Education in the South-Mediterranean countries, outlining possible strategic actions aimed at maximising the benefits of Open Education Practices and the use, reuse and remix of OER for university course development, thus facilitating equity, access to and democratisation of Higher Education.
The second objective of the events is to widen participation in Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices in Higher Education in the South-Mediterranean countries, by:
- Promoting the development and adoption of Open Educational Resources and Practices in
- South-Mediterranean universities, with a particular focus on Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Palestine;
- Showcasing outstanding cases of OER adoption;
- Fostering networking among policy makers, university leaders, educators and OER experts from Europe and South-Mediterranean countries.
In terms of expected impact, the Forums are expected to:
- Build consensus within the academic communities on Open Education principles that will benefit higher education in the South-Mediterranean countries
- Define a common long-term strategic plan for the adoption of Open Educational Practices at institutional level, suitable for the South-Mediterranean countries (OER Agenda)
- Inspire commitment for immediate implementation of the long-term strategic plan at universities managerial level
Dates and Venues
- Cairo, Egypt: 30 November, 2016 (hosted by Cairo University)
- Marrakech, Morocco: 6-7 December, 2016 (hosted by Cadi Ayyad University)
- Amman, Jordan: 28 February, 2017 (hosted by Princess Sumaya University for Technology)
- Birzeit, Palestine: 20 April, 2017 (hosted by Birzeit University)
Report
The full report can be consulted here [PDF]