II COOPEDU is organized by the Centro de Estudos Africanos do Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Center of African Studies, ISCTE-IUL, Lisbon) and by the Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Leiria (School of Higher Education, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria). The overall theme of the congress is COOPERATION AND EDUCATION: AFRICA AND THE WORLD. The main goal is to extend and deepen the issues addressed in I COOPEDU (4-5 February 2010, ISCTE-IUL, Lisbon), forging continuity in reflections on cooperation in educational issues between countries in Africa and those in other regions and continents.

We are pleased to invite interested panel organizers to submit proposals for inclusion in II INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON COOPERATION AND EDUCATION (II COOPEDU).
II COOPEDU is organized by the Centro de Estudos Africanos do Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Center of African Studies, ISCTE-IUL, Lisbon) and by the Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Leiria (School of Higher Education, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria). The overall theme of the congress is COOPERATION AND EDUCATION: AFRICA AND THE WORLD. The main goal is to extend and deepen the issues addressed in I COOPEDU (4-5 February 2010, ISCTE-IUL, Lisbon), forging continuity in reflections on cooperation in educational issues between countries in Africa and those in other regions and continents.

I COOPEDU allowed us to recognizethe importance of cooperation in education between Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa in its various aspects, and to bring to light the important dynamics of cultural, economic and political change that are occurring in this sector, which involve a highly diverse group of actors and initiatives. Building on these foundations, II COOPEDU will enable us to assess that same cooperation on the international level, facilitating an exchange of knowledge and experiences that promises to be enriching for all researchers involved.

If the main objective of I COOPEDU was to identify guidelines likely to generate politically- and scientifically-structured reflections about the various dimensions of cooperation in education between Portugal, Portuguese speaking countries in Africa and East Timor, II COOPEDU intends to expand these considerations in terms of the multiplicity of international relations involved, as well as the the promotion of cross-country dialogue. The intention is to concentrate more on research about this important issue, with less focuson descriptions of policies and actual cooperation projects on education. Therefore, II COOPEDU will not only provide a meeting place for politicians and educational cooperation project leaders to discuss their own activities. Above all, it will create an opportunity for researchers from all over the world concerned with the impact of educational cooperation policies and projects on the African continent to convene, share and develop their theoretical and methodological perspectives and areas of research.

As promoters of this initiative, we are aware that only an international perspective centered on research will contribute, on the one hand, to the theoretical and methodological enrichment of specific research projects in terms of issues or geographical areas. On the other hand, such a perspective will relate and structure those same investigations within the broader international political and scientific guidelines that condition education and cooperation globally, linking the African continent with numerous countries and regions of the world.

The timing of this initiative is opportune. Cooperation in the field of education in Africa is currently experiencing unprecedented momentum in terms of exchanges, partnerships, circulation of human resources and standardization of procedures and systems, presenting multiple challenges to African countries in terms of their own development processes, whether global or specific, and related to their different levels and systems of schooling.
Simultaneously, research projects on various dimensions of the globalization of educational cooperation, and on the challenges, opportunities and risks that they represent for countries with competitive disadvantages in terms of the availability and mobilization of resources(human, material), are proliferating.

Finally, and as in the case of I COOPEDU, II COOPEDU is supported by interdisciplinary research projects carried out by organizations focused on education issues in African countries. These include “Higher Education and Development: Portuguese cooperation with Lusophone African Countries” and “The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Education and Training: Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and S. Tome and Principe.” These projects cover different perspectives on education in Africa and will have reached their final stages at the time of this congress, presenting an opportunity to present and debate the results achieved.

In light of the scope and diversity of a Congress about cooperation in education in Africa on a global scale, we welcome other proposals, and would suggest that the panels are organized around the following major analytical axes:

1. Local, national and international languages: challenges, opportunities and risks;
2. Education reforms, standardized procedures and systems and their implications;
3. Management and ownership of schooling and knowledge (public, private and cooperative);
4. The role of civil society in education and training;
5. International circulation of students, teachers and researchers: networking and partnerships.

The II COOPEDU Organizing Committee invites panel organizers to submit proposals. Panels may comprise one or two sessions depending on the number of papers that will be presented. Each session (2 hours) will consist of four or five papers, with a chair and a discussant or two chairs.

The official Congress languages are Portuguese and English.
Submissions should be in English or in Portuguese and English and include:

- Panel title;
- Name(s), affiliation(s), e-mail of panel proposer(s);
- A 3000 character (maximum) outline describing the panel topic.

The panels will be selected by the Scientific Committee and will be made public the 4th of March 2012.

Submissions should be made in pdf-format to coopedu.cea@iscte.pt. The deadline for panel proposals is 1st February 2012.