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, under the patronage of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO.
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.

Organized and introduced by:

Marialuisa Lucia Sergio, Roma Tre University

Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo, University of Coimbra

Damiano Matasci, University of Geneva

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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