Ten years ago, participants of the World Conference on Higher Education: Higher Education in the XXI Century: Vision and Action (WCHE), met in October 1998 in Paris reflected on the state of higher education. This event has been considered as a milestone in setting up the pace of development of higher education at the global, regional and national levels in order to meet challenges of the 21^st Century.

In preparation for this major event, a series of regional meetings took place, including the European Regional Forum: European Agenda for Change for Higher Education, organized by the Association of European Universities (CRE) and the UNESCO European Centre for Higher Education (UNESCO-CEPES) in 1997 in Palermo, Italy.

Since 1998 many initiatives worldwide have been undertaken to continue reflections on the role and value of higher education. In June 2003, a five year assessment of progress achieved in the implementation of the WCHE Framework for Priority Action took place at the Meeting of Higher Education Partners (WCHE + 5)  organized by UNESCO in Paris.

In line with the resolution adopted at the 34^th Session of the UNESCO’s General Conference in 2007, a World Conference on Higher Education “The New Dynamics of Higher Education and Research for Societal Change and Development” will be held from 5 to 8 July 2009 in Paris, at UNESCO’s Headquarters to take stock of developments since 1998 and to re-visit the framework for Priority Action.

Following a similar model as decade ago, the forthcoming WCHE+10 will be preceded by a series of regional conferences organized to bring specific regional concerns, expectations and proposals to the World Conference.

In the Europe Region such an event - UNESCO Forum on Higher Education in the Europe Region: Access, Values, Quality and Competitiveness has been organized by UNESCO-CEPES and the Government of Romania, represented by the Ministry of Education, Research and Innovation, in collaboration with the Council of Europe, the European Commission, European University Association (EUA), European Students’ Union (ESU), and Education International (EI). The Forum has been held in Bucharest, Romania, from 21 to 24 May 2009.

Essential documents

• A European Agenda for Change for Higher Education in the 21^st Century: Results of the European Regional Forum as a Contribution to the UNESCO "World Conference on Higher Education" (Palermo, Italy, 1997)

• World Declaration and Framework for Priority Action for Change and Development in Higher Education (Paris, 1998)

• Report on Trends and Developments in Higher Education in Europe 1998 - 2003 (Paris, 2003)