ebba.ossiannilsson3rd UNESCO World OER Congress Digital Public Goods: Open Solutions and AI for Inclusive Access to Knowledge
The theme of the Dubai congress was “Digital Public Goods: Open Solutions and AI for Inclusive Access to Knowledge”. Digital public goods (DPG) are defined by the UN’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, as
“open-source software, open data, open AI models, open standards and open content that adhere to privacy and other applicable laws and best practices, do no harm, and help attain the sustainable digital goals (SDGs)”.
In this context open education resources are regarded as digital public goods that “support the enrichment of the global knowledge commons”.
In addition to the Sustainable Development Goals, the UNESCO Recommendation on OER, and the Road Map for Digital Cooperation, the Dubai Declaration also references Commitment 7 of Our Common Agenda: to “Improve digital cooperation”.
The objectives of this 3rd UNESCO World OER Congress were to:
1) Share best practices and innovations in the implementation of the UNESCO 2019 Recommendation on OER in the five years since its adoption;
2) Identify strategies for supporting the implementation of the UNESCO 2019 Recommendation on OER to meet emerging challenges;
3) Identify collaborative mechanisms to mobilize more stakeholders to implement the UNESCO 2019 Recommendation on OER, and to expand access to quality, free, accessible, openly licensed learning resources in support of the Global Digital Compact and the Transforming Education Summit 2023 Call for Action.
Recommendations
"Emerging technologies, including AI, provide opportunities to advance the UNESCO 2019 OER Recommendation. Beyond the creation of new openly licensed content, potential applications include: facilitating the detection of existing openly licensed content online; developing techniques for effective OER curation; translating OER into multiple languages; and facilitating content indexing through the recommendation of descriptive metadata. Other emerging technologies, such as blockchain-based services and applications, could potentially ensure the provenance, integrity, and lawful use of OER.
Legal frameworks are then not up to date with technological advancements such as these. In the realm of intellectual property rights (IPR), the key to OER, this can lead to ambiguities on what constitutes legal use as well as issues regarding how exceptions and limitations to copyright law may be used even when a work is not openly licensed. Developing clear guidelines and policies that address these issues can help protect the rights of content creators, ensure proper attribution, and create innovative technology spaces for the public good.
The Global Digital Compact, and UNESCO’s ROAM-X principles, which are Rights-based, Open, Accessible, and promote Multi-stakeholder Participation based on cross-cutting principles, and in particular Gender Equity, can inform policies for OER by providing a comprehensive framework that ensures inclusivity, equity, and collaboration in the development and implementation of Open Educational Resource.
These frameworks and principles, alongside the UNESCO 2019 Recommendation on OER, provide a robust foundation for developing OER. The stakeholders addressed in this document are those in the UNESCO 2019 Recommendation on OER[1] . With regard to Generative AI, it is important to underscore that these recommendations apply both to the inputs and outputs of LLMs. Furthermore, the principle of human centered use of technology prevails in all recommendations. The principles of transparency and knowledge sharing are fundamental for the implementation of these recommendations. The below guidelines aim to provide actions to harness the opportunities posed by emerging technologies, such as AI, for expanding knowledge sharing and creation through the implementation of the 2019 Recommendation on OER.
[1] teachers, educators, learners, governmental bodies, parents, educational providers and institutions, education support personnel, teacher trainers, educational policy makers, cultural institutions (such as libraries, archives and museums) and their users, information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure providers, researchers, research institutions, civil society organizations (including professional and student associations), publishers, the public and private sectors, intergovernmental organizations, copyright holders and authors, media and broadcasting groups and funding bodies.
ASEF7 weekly team meeting #ASEF7 #ASEFEd #ASEFInnolab
Today, 24 July 2026, we held our weekly meeting to write and edit our white paper on behalf of ASEF7 and ASEF7 Innolab. Our topic is the triangulation of Open Education/OER, AI, and the SDGs. Our main question is: How can Quality Open Education shape the future of AI and sustainability? The central premise of this white paper is captured in the mantra: Human Wisdom. Trusted AI. Sustainable Futures. These three pillars are mutually reinforcing. Human wisdom provides the ethical judgment, critical thinking, and contextual understanding that AI cannot replace. Trusted AI enables responsible and transparent use of technology while respecting human values and rights. Open Education provides the knowledge infrastructure that allows reliable, multilingual, openly accessible educational resources to be created, shared, adapted, and continuously improved in support of the SDGs.
In today’s world, universities have a global social responsibility to help create dynamic, sustainable communities founded on equality of wealth, gender, and cultural background. International higher education has been criticised for being too neoliberal; now is the time for it to change. Hence, our white paper also focuses on the role of universities and on innovative, future-oriented leaders who have the courage for change, agility, and resilience.
Nutidens utmaningar kan inte lösas av enskilda länder, forskargrupper eller vetenskapsområden
Frågan är vad högskolor och universitet ska lära studenterna i denna ovisshetens tidsålder. Det skriver Sylvia Schwaag Serger den 29 december 2017 i en debattartikel i Sydsvenska Dagbladet. Sylvia Schwaag Serger blir efter nyår blir prorektor, ställföreträdande rektor, vid Lunds universitet.
Under de senaste fem åren minst, har jag hävdat detsamma, under min tid vid Lunds universitet fram till September 2015. Emellertid togs dessa frågor dessvärre inte på då allvar. Idag jobbar jag internationellt med de stora organisationerna, som ICDEinom området, och äve UNESCO och EU Kommissionen, samt att jag publicerar en del oftast på uppdrag (se exemplel nedan) både bokkapitel, böcker, vetensjapliga artiklar, debattartiklar och bloggar på temat om nutidens utmaningar och universitetens roll i en alltmer omvälvande tidsålder pga globalisering, digitaliering, förändrad demografi och inte misnt relaterat till UNESCOs hållbarhetsmål (SDG), och framförall mål 4, som övergripande handlar om att:
SÄKERSTÄLLA EN INKUDERANDE OCH JÄMLIK UTBILDNING AV GOD KVALITET OCH FRÄMJA LIVSLÅNGT LÄRANDE FÖR ALLA
Ledord för SDG4 är access, equity, equality, inclusiveness, quality och lifelong learning. Utbildningsfrågor ska ses utifrån behovet av kunskapsinhämtning under hela livet och då särskilt kopplat till möjligheten till deltagande i arbets- och samhällsliv. All utbildning ska främja värderingar, kunskaper och färdigheter, som bidrar till hållbar utveckling. 2030-agendan inkluderar tydligt utbildningens kvalitativa innehåll inklusive tillgången på kvalificerade lärare. Läs mer om mplen på engelska här