This international webinar series, marking UNESCO's 80th anniversary, aims at showcasing groundbreaking historical research at the nexus of educational and cultural transformations.

Presentation

The international webinar series UNESCO’s Role in Post-War Educational Transformation and Decolonization is being organized by the Roma Tre University, University of Coimbra, and University of Geneva. The series will be held on march 26, april 14, and april 16, 2025, at 4:00 pm Rome Time (CET).

This international webinar series, marking UNESCO's 80th anniversary, aims at showcasing groundbreaking historical research at the nexus of educational and cultural transformations.

Each session will feature two parallel panels, inviting participants to actively engage in critical dialogues concerning the multifaceted legacies of decolonization and the complex challenges posed by globalization, with a keen focus on fostering innovative approaches to knowledge production and cultural exchange.

Program

March 26, 2025 - Panel 1

Beyond the Empire? UNESCO, Education, and the Contested Terrain of African Decolonization 

• Chair: Hugo Gonçalves Dores, University of Coimbra
• Discussant: Caterina Scaveldi, Hutton Honors College of Indiana University Bloomington

Speakers:

• Pedro Gonçalves & Érica Pontes, FCT, Foundation for Science and Technology, Lisbon - Reforming Empire? UNESCO and the Challenges of (De)Colonial Education in Portuguese Territories (1960s–1980s) 
• Silvia Benini, Department of Arts, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna - Reforming Post-Colonial Education: The Influence of UNESCO Principles in the School Systems of Senegal and Zambia

• Domenico F.A. Elia, Department of Humanistic Research and Innovation, University of Bari “Aldo Moro” The UNESCO Guidelines and School System of Somalia in the 1950s
• Anja Marine Rakotonirina, Department of Political Science, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UNESCO and the Malagasy Independence: A Transnational Construction of the Role of History?

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Panel 2

Whose Knowledge for Development? UNESCO, Technical Education, and the Remaking of Pedagogies in Postcolonial Asia and Africa

• Chair: Federica Guazzini, University for Foreigners of Perugia
• Discussant: Michele Mioni, Centre d’histoire sociale des mondes contemporains (CHS), University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne  

Speakers:

• Chiara Maria Pulvirenti, Sapienza University of Rome  - UNESCO’s Arid Zone Program (1950–1964) and Colonial Legacies
• Yarong Chen, School of International Organizations, Beijing Foreign Studies University and Institute of Global and Area Studies, Capital Normal University.  - Amidst the Politics of Development Regime: UNESCO Technical Aid to Taiwan, 1950-1971
• Lourens van Haaften, University of Groningen  - UNESCO, Higher Education and Anticolonial World-Making: The Case of Early-Postcolonial India
• Bidisha Dhar, Department of History, Tripura University  - World Crafts Council: Defining Pedagogies 1960s-1980s

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April 16, 2025 - Panel 3

Bridging Divides? UNESCO’s Influence on Education and Culture in Cold War Eastern Europe

• Chair: Antonio D'Alessandri, Roma Tre Univerity
• Discussant: Mikuláš Pešta, Charles University, Prague - Research Center for the History of Transformations (RECET), Vienna

Speakers: 

• Kyrill Kunakhovich, University of Virginia  - “Sometimes It’s Hard to Find a Common Language”: UNESCO Summer Camps in Communist Poland, 1958-1989
• Maja Lorbek, Technische Universität Wien and Project Coordinator, Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Research (IOER), Dresden - Experimental Schools and UNESCO Technical Assistance Program in Socialist Yugoslavia (1952-1958)
• Andrei-Dumitru Olteanu, Faculty of History and Philosophy, Babeș-Bolyai University  - UNESCO’s Role in Propaganda Diplomacy: Romanian Cultural and Educational Policies (1980–1989)
• Gian Lorenzo Zichi, University of Cagliari  - UNESCO and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE): Education and Security in a Multilateral Perspective during the Cold War.

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Panel 4

UNESCO: Universal Aspirations, Diverse Realities? Exploring Education, Social Justice, and Gender Equality in a Global Context 

• Chair: Elena Zizioli, Roma Tre Univerity
• Discussant: Veronica Riccardi, Roma Tre Univerity 

Speakers:

• Anna Ascenzi & Elena Girotti, Department of Education, Cultural Heritage, and Tourism, University of Macerata  - Multilingual Education, World citizenship, Fundamental Education and Literacy: UNESCO and the Relationship with the Emerging European Community (1948-1963)
• Serena Sani, University of Molise - UNESCO and the Fight Against Educational Inequalities in Postcolonial Societies: From Fundamental Education to Intercultural Education
• Flavia De Lucia Lumeno, Università degli Studi “Nicolò Cusano” - From Peace to Tolerance: Marisetta Paronetto Valier’s Perspective on UNESCO’s Transformations 
• Agnes Desmazieres, Centre d’études en sciences sociales du religieux, EHESS, Paris - Education as a Women’s Right: Feminist NGOs and the UNESCO

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May 14, 2025 - Panel 5

Reimagining Heritage and Decolonial Cooperation: What Role Do Transnational Networks Play in Shaping Post-Colonial Cultural Identities?

• Chair: Juliet Thondhlana, UNESCO Chair in International Education and Development, University of Nottingham
• Discussant: Elisa Prosperetti, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Speakers:

• Maëlle Gélin, Sciences Po Centre for History, Paris - Building up a Transnational and Decolonial Program With(out) States? Africa, UNESCO, and the Society of African Culture (1956-late 1970s)
• Sarah Dwider, Department of Art History, Northwestern University - Displaced Forms: Pharaonic Imagery and New Cultural Imaginaries in Modern Egyptian Art
• Lou Jacquemet, Département d’Histoire Générale, Université de Genève & Institut für Kunstwissenschaft, Technische Universität Berlin  - The “Mobile Museum for Africa” Experiment: Improvising Informal Education Spaces in Newly Independent States.

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Panel 6

South-South Cooperation: Global Perspectives on Development and Transnational Cooperation from Latin America to Africa 

• Chair: Ellen Vea Rosnes, VID Specialized University, Stavanger
• Discussant: Lavinia Bianchi, Roma Tre University 

Speakers:

• Elisabetta Bini, University of Naples Federico II  - Establishing a School for Community Development: The Centro de Cooperación Regional para la Educación de Adultos en América Latina (CREFAL) during the 1950s
• Francesca Frisone, Department of Political and Legal Sciences, University of Messina - Transnational Experiences of Community Development Between Italy and Latin America: The Pilot Project for Abruzzo and the Role of UNESCO (1957-1962)
• Carlotta Mozzone, Roma Tre University  - The Inclusive Approach of IASSW: a Bridge Between Local Knowledge and Global Standards for Social Work Education in line with UNESCO

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Organized and introduced by

• Marialuisa Lucia Sergio, Roma Tre University
• Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo, University of Coimbra
• Damiano Matasci, University of Geneva