Sign the Declaration

25 October 2024

Reflections on the UNESCO Draft Dubai Declaration Open Consultation  

A purple banner image with text in light blue to the left stating the title of the blog post: Reflections on the UNESCO Dubai Declaration on OER Open Consultation. On the right of the image is a KEN cog logo in light purple.

In a recent online consultation hosted by Antonio Martinez-Arboleda on behalf of the Knowledge Equity Network, key figures from the Open Educational Resources (OER) community came together to discuss the UNESCO Draft Dubai Declaration on OER.  

The event featured contributions and provocations from Paola Corti, Ebba Ossiannilsson, Felix Kayode Olakulehin and Margaret Korosec. This blog post summarises the rich discussion, practical challenges, and follow up actions required to shape the future of OER, particularly in light of emerging technologies like generative AI and in relation to the new UNESCO Draft Dubai Declaration.  

One of the key discussion points on the Declaration which was raised by a number of colleagues in attendance was the need for international collaboration as a way of ensuring that we can shape the future of education, OER and AI, actively, together.   The Knowledge Equity Network, who hosted this event, was established to convene such collaborative opportunities.  If you weren’t able to join the event and you would like to contribute to this vital conversation, we invite you to join the Knowledge Equity Network and join us in this collaborative effort to move to more open practices and be part of the movement to shape the future of open education.  

We are keen to extend our thanks to all of those who attended and participated in the consultation. The blog post below is a summary of the shared expertise and the result of colleagues’ willingness to openly collaborate. 

A Call to Action: Opportunities and Ethical Challenges in OER  

Paola Corti (METID, Politecnico di Milano) opened the consultation by expressing the privilege and responsibility of participating in such a vital conversation. She emphasised the need for practical steps to support a more inclusive OER landscape and urged participants to see UNESCO’s consultation process as a democratic opportunity to inspire and take collective action. 

In particular, she identified Generative AI as an incredibly powerful tool with ethical challenges and implications.  It was noted that AI has the potential to help make OER more accessible, but there is a need to ensure it is used responsibly. Paola urged the need to be mindful of inclusion when it comes to reaching and engaging marginalised groups with limited or no connectivity. She called for thoughtful exploration into how AI could support better access to OER for underserved communities globally, while also being conscious of its potential risks. 

Global Collaboration and The African Context  

Felix Kayode Olakulehin (National Open University of Nigeria) brought an important regional perspective, focusing on Africa’s unique challenges in integrating OER. He stressed the importance of future proofing national OER policies, and emphasised the need for existing policies to evolve to protect indigenous knowledge. Felix highlighted translation through AI as a critical area for expanding OER access, especially in multilingual contexts like Africa. However, he warned that AI could unintentionally perpetuate inequalities if not thoughtfully deployed.  

Felix also called for more equal partnerships in global OER collaborations, ensuring that African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are not merely recipients or beneficiaries of knowledge, but instead are active co-creators. The Draft Dubai Declaration offers a roadmap for these institutions to leapfrog legacy systems and to shape the future of OER, addressing local realities and infrastructure challenges.  

OER as a Common Good  

Ebba Ossiannilsson’s reflections centred on the broader ethical and societal implications of OER. She highlighted the interconnectedness of OER with global movements focused on common good and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Ebba sketched out the journey of OER and discussed the relative recentness of the movement, rooted in human rights and connected with all other open movements. She pointed to the previous declarations that had led to the latest Draft Dubai Declaration and stated that now is the time for collective action to take the OER movement forward.

Ebba referenced David Wiley’s lecture, Why Open Education Will Become Generative AI Education for his grounding of the purpose of OER and how this may be shaped and enabled by AI.

For her, the biggest challenge is taking OER beyond academic institutions and into the public sphere, understanding that this is where the movement can maximise its impact and building connections with a broader stakeholder base. She urged attendees to think holistically and to ensure that OER is contributing to a more equitable and accessible global education system as it engages with developments in AI. 

i. Capacity Building: A Recalibrated Approach

Capacity building emerged as a central theme in the consultation, particularly around the notion of knowledge dissemination and the importance of openness. Participants highlighted the role of repositories in simplifying the process of identifying licenses, ensuring that creators can easily understand how their content is being used and shared.  It was collectively agreed there is a need for more awareness among teachers and content creators about the value of open licensing as a public good.

Focus was brought to licensing in relation to technical innovation, particularly concerning the challenges posed by generative AI. Questions were raised around how open licenses might evolve to accommodate AI-driven OER creation. There was consensus that Creative Commons licensing frameworks are still relevant but will need to adapt to the evolving landscape of content creation in the age of AI. Collaboration between OER experts and AI engineers will be crucial in developing licensing models that balance openness with the need for proper attribution and content integrity. 

The difficulties in balancing open access with protection, were highlighted here, especially when dealing with bad actors in the AI space. While “good AI” tools will respect licenses, rogue AI models may bypass these rules, leading to issues around content quality, integrity, and attribution. This situation calls for new models that protect creators while ensuring AI remains a tool for educational good and suggests the need for end-users to be given clarity on which AI tools are ethical and reliable.

New technologies like AI pose challenges to traditional open licensing models. As one participant noted, AI’s role in generating and repurposing content raises questions about the reuse scope of different licenses, particularly when it comes to ensuring credit is given where this is a requirement of the licence. This requires a recalibration of capacity-building efforts to address emerging technologies, ensuring as well that no region is left behind as Generative AI is adopted more broadly and as AI systems gather and prioritise knowledge.

A lack of awareness about OER beyond dedicated communities was also flagged as an issue, underlining the need for capacity building to extend to other sectors. The conversation around inclusivity also touched on the role of students as end-users and advocates for OER, promoting open textbooks and access across educational institutions, ultimately for their own educational benefit and which should improve wider access.  

Ultimately the question of capacity brought up the importance of understanding the new goals of the OER community, particularly as a result of changes resulting from AI, and how to achieve these goals, as well as promoting and implementing learning.

ii. Developing Supportive Policy: Aligning OER and AI  

Policy development in the OER space was raised as another significant focus. The importance of not “reinventing the wheel” was discussed and the need to instead build on existing OER cultures and legal practices as they adapt to new technologies like AI.  

The collaboration between OER experts and AI engineers was seen as critical to ensuring that policies are future-proof and scalable across different levels, from institutional to national.  

The discussion also highlighted that policies should not only come from top management but must exist at every level within institutions. Aligning policies across departments and organisations is key to creating a cohesive framework that ensures equitable access to OER.  

iii. Addressing Disability, Translation, and Local Communities

Attention was drawn to three critical areas where AI and OER intersect: disability, translation and access for diverse communities.  

AI has the potential to support learners with disabilities by making information more accessible in a discrete manner, without drawing attention to their disability. In highly multilingual regions like Africa, AI-powered translation tools can potentially be used to bridge language gaps, but there was a cautionary acknowledgement that translation alone is not enough.  

It is vital to maintain the core values of openness and public good within the OER framework, or risk losing the critical edge of what OER represents. Political will and institutional mandates were highlighted as necessary drivers for ensuring that OER initiatives are truly inclusive, especially for marginalised groups.  

iv. Sustainability Models for OER and the Environmental Impact of AI

AI’s environmental impact was a key concern when it came to sustainability. Some participants expressed concern about the tremendous energy demands brought about by the increasing use of generative AI. It was noted that every prompt we type into an AI tool contributes to its environmental footprint, raising questions about how we choose to use AI within the OER community. This highlights the need to balance the benefits of AI with its sustainability challenges, especially when scaling OER across regions with limited resources.  

Moving Forward: The Dubai Declaration and Beyond  

As the consultation concluded, Margaret Korosec reflected on the importance of taking a systemic view of OER. She urged participants to consider the OER ecosystem as a whole, recognising the interdependencies and implications of the decisions being made. Are we true to the principles of openness, equity, and accessibility? Who is included in these conversations, and who is left out? Korosec’s questions served as a reminder of the need for broad, representative involvement as the OER community looks to the future.  

The Dubai Declaration offers a framework for this evolution, but the realisation of our aspirations for Knowledge Equity through OER requires active participation from all regions and stakeholders to ensure its success. As Antonio Martinez-Arboleda reminded the group, this is a crucial moment for the OER movement – an opportunity to shape the future of education in ways that are equitable, inclusive, and sustainable.  

Thank you 

The KEN team share special thanks with Paola Corti, Felix Kayode Olakulehin and Ebba Ossiannilsson for their reflective speeches which began this consultation meeting; to Margaret Korosec for her plenary speech; to Chrissi Nerantzi for her invaluable contribution in co-designing this session; and to Antonio Martinez-Arboleda for suggesting this event and hosting it.