Korea National Open University (KNOU) held the 2nd UNESCO-UNITWIN Work Conference with the theme “Sharing Knowledge and Experiences of Delivery Methods for Distance Education” in Seoul, Korea, on 17-18 January 2018. KNOU is the host institution of UNESCO-UNITWIN Network on “Sharing Knowledge and Experiences of Distance Education in Higher Education,” which was launched one year ago, at the 1st UNESCO-UNITWIN Work Conference.

The workshop started with welcome remarks by Oi-sook Kim, Acting President of KNOU, and was followed by congratulatory remarks by Yeong Han Choi, Director-General of the Korean Ministry of Education, and Hyun-Mook Lim, Assistant Secretary General of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO. Robert Parua, Education Programme Specialist for UNESCO Beijing Office, delivered a keynote address on “Roles of Open and Distance Learning for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Asia.”

Delegations from the member institutions of the Network, KNOU, Open University Malaysia (OUM), and Hanoi Open University (HOU) shared their best delivery methods for distance education. Director of Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), another member institution of the Network, shared the role of Global Citizenship Education (GCED) in SDGs, focusing on disseminating GCED through Open and Distance Learning (ODL). In addition, Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST), which joined the Network as a new member institution, gave a presentation about ODL in Mongolia and the roles of MUST in it. The member institutions also explored potential areas for cooperation, including making a collaborative course for GCED.

Through the conference, the member institutions could pave the way to develop better delivery methods for online and distance education in each country by sharing best practices, and learning from respective experiences, opinions, and expertise.

If you have any inquiries regarding the Network or the conference, please e-mail knouic@knou.ac.kr.