On behalf of Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all to this international scientific conference. Drylands are often considered fragile ecosystems, yet they have a remarkable resilience to stress. They are home to unique and well-adapted plant and animal species that we need to conserve. Some of the world’s greatest cultures and belief systems have originated in drylands. On the other hand, desertification and land degradation in drylands often result in poverty and cause environmental refugees to abandon their homes. These problems can only be addressed in a holistic manner, based on sound scientific research and findings. Solutions to the problems of dryland degradation need to be communicated as widely as possible through education at all levels. These are many reasons why UNESCO – within its mandate of science, education, culture and communication – took the intiative to organize this conference. And we are glad that so many partners have responded to our call. UNESCO considers this conference as its main contribution to the observance of the International Year of Deserts and Desertification in 2006. We have deliberately chosen the title ‘The Future of Drylands’ as we feel it is time to redefine our priorities for science, education and governance in the drylands based on 50 years of scientific research in arid and semi-arid zones. In fact UNESCO has one of the longest traditions, within the UN system, of addressing dryland problems from an interdisciplinary, scientific point of view. In 1955, the ‘International Arid Land Meetings’ were held in Socorro, New Mexico (USA). They were organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), sponsored by UNESCO and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. One important output of the International Arid Land Meetings was a book entitled The Future of Drylands, edited by Gilbert F. White and published in

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

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Government Printing Office expands database access

Ability to use information and communication technologies (ICT) is an imperative for effective participation in todays digital age. Schools worldwide are responding to the need to provide young people with that ability. But how effective are they in this regard? The IEA International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) responded to this question by studying the extent to which young people have developed computer and information literacy (CIL), which is defined as the ability to use computers to investigate, create and communicate with others at home, school, the workplace and in society.The study was conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and builds on a series of earlier IEA studies focusing on ICT in education.Data were gathered from almost 60,000 Grade 8 students in more than 3,300 schools from 21 education systems. This information was augmented by data from almost 35,000 teachers in those schools and by contextual data collected from school ICT-coordinators, school principals and the ICILS national research centers.The IEA ICILS team systematically investigated differences among the participating countries in students CIL outcomes, how participating countries were providing CIL-related education and how confident teachers were in using ICT in their pedagogical practice. The team also explored differences within and across countries with respect to relationships between CIL education outcomes and student characteristics and school contexts.In general, the study findings presented in this international report challenge the notion of young people as digital natives with a self-developed capacity to use digital technology. The large variations in CIL proficiency within and across the ICILS countries suggest it is naive to expect young people to develop CIL in the absence of coherent learning programs. Findings also indicate that system- and school-level planning needs to focus on increasing teacher expertise in using ICT for pedagogical purposes if such programs are to have the desired effect.The report furthermore presents an empirically derived scale and description of CIL learning that educational stakeholders can reference when deliberating about CIL education and use to monitor change in CIL over time.

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Preparing for Life in a Digital Age: The IEA International Computer and Information Literacy Study International Report

Digital competence is an evolving concept related to the development of digital technology and the political aims and expectations of citizenship in a knowledge society. It is regarded as a core competence in policy papers; in educational research it is not yet a standardized concept. We suggest that it is a useful boundary concept, which can be used in various contexts. For this study, we analysed 76 educational research articles in which digital competence, described by different terms, was investigated. As a result, we found that digital competence consists of a variety of skills and competences, and its scope is wide, as is its background: from media studies and computer science to library and literacy studies. In the article review, we found a total of 34 terms that had used to describe the digital technology related skills and competences; the most often used terms were digital literacy, new literacies, multiliteracy and media literacy, each with somewhat different focus. We suggest that digital competence is defined as consisting of (1) technical competence, (2) the ability to use digital technologies in a meaningful way for working, studying and in everyday life, (3) the ability to evaluate digital technologies critically, and (4) motivation to participate and commit in the digital culture.

Digital competence --- an emergent boundary concept for policy and educational research

A free electronic version of this report is available through www.eua.be This project has been funded with the support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Tables Table 1 (page 16) Q11. Besides the Bologna Process, what have been the three most important reforms implemented in your country? Table 2 (page 18) Q8. Over the past ten years how important have the following changes been to your institution? Table 3 (page 23) Q9. In the past fi ve years what have been the three most important developments in the funding of your institution? Table 4 (page 26) Q7a. Over the past three years, how important have the following developments been for your institutional strategy? Table 5 (page 30) Q6. In my institution, the realisation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has been Table 6 (page 34) Q12. Does your institution have a degree structure based on either two or three main cycles (Bachelor, Master, PhD) in most academic fi elds? Table 7 (page 36) Q16. Has your institution reconsidered curricula in connection with the Bologna Process, particularly with regard to adapting programmes to the new degrees structures? Table 8 (page 37) Q14. If the following professional disciplines are taught at your institution, does the Bachelor/Master structure apply to them as well? Table 9 (page 40) Q32. What do you expect your students to do after the fi rst cycle (Bachelor) degree? Table 10 (page 42) Q.15 In the framework of the Bachelor/ Master structure, has your institution recently defi ned the entry requirements for Master level programmes? Table 11 (page 46) Q18a. Have you changed the organisation of study programmes from a system based on the academic year to one based on study units or modules? Table 12 (page 47) Q18b. If yes, has the modularisation of courses led to? Table 13 (page 47) Q18c. If yes, has the modularisation of courses led to? Table 14 (page 48) Q19. Have Learning Outcomes been developed? Table 15 (page 50) Q21. Does your institution have a credit transfer system for all Bachelor´s and Master´s programmes? Table 16 (page 52) Q20. Does your institution use a credit accumulation system for all Bachelor's and Master´s programmes? Table 17 (page 55) Q22. If your institution has a credit system, …

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Trends 2010: A decade of change in European Higher

Key Data on Education in Europe 2009.

Mathematics Education in Europe: Common Challenges and National Policies.

Building on the previous Eurydice publications on information and communication technologies in schools in Europe, this report focuses on the evolution of ICT use in education and the changes it has brought about in national policies and practices concerning teaching methods, contents and evaluation processes. It examines the EU key competences as well as the promotion of transversal skills and the role of ICT in this process. It also sheds light on the strategies used in countries to train and support teachers in the use of ICT.

Key Data on Learning and Innovation through ICT at School in Europe 2011.

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Sogol Noorani

Papers

Key Data on Education in Europe 2009.

Mathematics Education in Europe: Common Challenges and National Policies.

Key Data on Learning and Innovation through ICT at School in Europe 2011.

Teaching Reading in Europe: Contexts, Policies and Practices.

National Testing of Pupils in Europe: Objectives, Organisation and Use of Results.