The UNITWIN Network on Open Education (UNOE) is one of the initiatives by UNESCO with the aim to contribute to the Open Education Agenda. Launched in June 2024, this global network convenes UNESCO Chairs and partners, in all regions of the world, working on Open Education.

The UNOE values the importance of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs programme – established 30+ years ago, with the aim to foster inter-university collaboration and enhance institutional capacities through knowledge sharing and collaborative research initiatives. 

To help achieve its mission, UNOE is convinced of the necessity to share courses, resources, data and findings of the UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks openly. 

UNESCO Chairs are entities where knowledge is created, collected and curated. In line with the 2019 Recommendation on Open Educational Resources and the 2021 Recommendation on Open Science, when UNESCO Chairs disseminate this knowledge, they have a specific responsibility: to make it available, openly and freely, to all.

On the first day of the third OER Congress in Dubai, we the UNOE Network, are proposing that dissemination of research articles and other written materials from the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme members are systematically released as Open Access, and educational materials as Open Educational Resources. We propose that UNESCO makes this a policy.

If UNESCO adopts this idea, UNOE, the Unitwin Network on Open Education, will provide its support by sharing material, running webinars and assisting all UNESCO chairs in transforming their practices.