The 8th World Women University Presidents’ Forum

PARIS - The 8th World Women University Presidents Forum took place in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China from 8 to 10 April 2018, gathering more than 70 university presidents and experts to hold in-depth exchanges on the topic “Future Education, New Leadership, Community with Shared Future for Humankind”, according to the UNESCO.

Co-hosted by Wuhan University, the Communication University of China and the Organizing Committee of World Women University Presidents’ Forum, this Forum aims to create an international platform for women university presidents and experts all over the world to communicate and collaborate, and to share new ideas and thoughts in the field of higher education.

Ms. Sanye Gülser Corat, UNESCO’s Director for Gender Equality, delivered a speech at the Opening Ceremony along with Ms. Chen Zhili, Former State Counselor of the People's Republic of China and Ms. Wi Qidi, former Minister of Education of the People's Republic of China. In her speech, Ms. Corat said “The current wave of technological changes including digitization, automation, and artificial intelligence, are posing a number of key issues and challenges to the future of work. It is essential to begin by identifying what kind of learning and education is needed at a global and national scale before exploring ways through which technologies may be able to support such a vision. As critical is ensuring gender equality in economic benefits and decision-making processes associated with new opportunities are considered, beginning with gender equality in the acquisition of new skills”

In line with the main theme, this year’s discussions were divided into 5 sub-topics, in particular University tradition and Future Education; Digital Technologies and New Talents Cultivation; Women University Presidents and New Leadership; Change of Leadership and Gender Study in the New Era; and the Belt and Road Initiative & Exchanges and Cooperation between Universities.