Ministerial Conference of European Higher Education Area will raise new challenges

The Ministerial Conference of the European Higher Education Area, Tirana 2024, will focus on several key areas and themes related to the challenges of implementing the key commitments of the Bologna Process, the European perspective on internationalization and mobility, the role of higher education in meeting digital and ecological imperatives, the preservation of core academic values and the social dimension of higher education.

The Tirana 2024 Conference, to be held on May 29-30 at the Congress Palace, with the presence of high-level personalities, will mark a new milestone in the joint efforts and commitments to create an inclusive, innovative and interconnected higher education space across Europe.

Participation and ideas will be crucial on the road to realizing the vision of a dynamic and responsive European Higher Education Area (EHEA) with a view to 2030. The EHEA is a project promoted by the vast majority of European countries with the main purpose of promoting the mobility and employability of European citizens by harmonizing the higher education systems of the countries belonging to the EU.

Ministerial Conferences are organized every two to three years to evaluate the progress made in the EHEA and to decide on further steps to be taken. The ministers decide there on the central aspects of the EHEA, including its evolution and the commitments of its member countries. The Ministerial Conference also decides on new applications for membership, as well as on any other major changes in the process.

In the framework of the Conference, on Thursday, June 30, the Public Policy Forum will open with the welcome address by Ogerta Manastirliu, Minister of Education and Sport of Albania; Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, Director General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission; Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director General for Education at UNESCO(video message) and Villano Qiriazi, Director of the Education Department of the Council of Europe.

In the session “Internationalization and balanced mobility, the role of regional processes, agendas and organizations” will participate Manuel Bouard, Deputy Director of European and International Affairs, France; Reka Tozsa, Director of the Education Department, ASEM; Gonzalo Baroni Boces, President of the Buenos Aires Convention Committee and Director of Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Uruguay.

Also in the session related to “Opportunities and challenges for the recognition of academic qualifications: The Lisbon Convention on Recognition in the context of the Global Convention and other regional conventions on recognition”, will participate Francesc Pedró, Director of UNESCO IESALC; Luca Lantero, President of the Lisbon Convention Committee and Director General of CIMEA, Italy; again Gonzalo Baroni Boces; Lamine Guèye, Chair of the Addis Ababa Convention Committee and Executive Secretary of the National Authority for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, Research and Innovation of Senegal; and Dolly Seow-Ganesan, Chair of the Tokyo Convention Committee and Director of Qualifications Recognition Services, New Zealand. The presentation will be given by Chiara Finochietti, President of ENIC.

More information: here