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ICDE Global Presidents’ Forum 2023

The ICDE Global Presidents’ Forum 2023 took place as a pre-conference event on 6 November as part of the 29th World Conference in Costa Rica.

This exclusive forum is developed specifically for Presidents, Vice-Chancellors, Principals, Rectors, and CEOs of ICDE member institutions and organisations and aims to bring together expert insights and valuable viewpoints from top leaders in the Open, Flexible and Distance Learning (OFDL) field.

Led by the ICDE President Neil Fassina, the forum gathered among 30 executive leaders from various member institutions across the globe. This year’s selected topic built on the 2022 ICDE Global Presidents’ Forum, which concluded that OFDL has its unique DNA, and that there is a potential need for a “brand refresh” to explain its value as a transformative power for sustainable education and social justice.

ICDE President, Neil Fassina, addresses GPF participants

The GPF 2023 focused its discussions on how ICDE leaders may consider alternative messages and strategies to advocate for the growth of modern OFDL environments. The discussion is linked to the ICDE Global Advocacy Campaign, which has been rolled out over the past couple of years through member-led task forces in various regions.

GPF participants discuss questions in groups

In his introduction, the ICDE President addressed the following points relevant to the global advocacy of OFDL:

  • To think about the next generation of talking and explaining
  • How do we change from attention to momentum
  • Try to avoid the narrative and language that you normally use
  • Think about multiple messages

The delegates worked in small groups, who reported back into plenary their suggestions for the questions addressed by the ICDE President:

  • How can leaders effectively convey the complexity of modern OFDL environments using messaging that is understandable and accessible by the average person?
  • What new approaches to advocacy can be used to ensure that this message is received by a wider audience?

The final outcome of the GPF 2023 will be a summary report of the observations and descriptions created by the participants.

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