UNESCO Chair

The UNESCO Chair on ICT in Library Studies, Education and Cultural Heritage was established 2012 as a result of a successful application under a UNESCO Call for proposals. The main activities of the Chair are related to development of educational and training programs in the field of ICT in Library Studies, Education and Cultural Heritage (including e-learning and lifelong learning programs) for citizens, e.g. pre- and in-service ICT training for librarians, school and university teachers, professionals from cultural institutions (museums, galleries, archives etc.), heritage conservation professionals, etc. The major goals of the UNESCO Chair are to:

• assure a professional level of educators and researchers meeting the requirements of the knowledge based society in an integrated field of ICT, library studies, education, and cultural, material and non-material heritage preservation; . renew in depth the training system of the ULSIT faculty staff taking into account the diversity and the dynamics in globalization era;
• provide top level education introducing the students to major current issues in library and information science, heritage preservation and providing them with tools to make informed choices regarding existing and emerging practices;
• examine the existing good practices along with the major organizational and intellectual issues being faced on national and international level;
• focus on research and the preparation of PhD students by building bridges of co-operation with foreign scholars;
• support innovations and technology transfer to governmental, nongovernmental and industrial bodies

The Inter-Faculty UNESCO Chair at ULSIT plays the role of a Centre of Excellence and innovation zone in the specified areas of ICT in Library Studies, Education and Cultural Heritage. It’s the most active chair in Bulgaria and one of the leading in the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme. UNESCO Chair complies with the following priorities of UNESCO:

• Youth – realization of modern education process aimed at studying of interdisciplinary knowledge and skills relevant to the new requirements in the career development of students;
• Sustainably protecting and enhancing cultural heritage into the complex processes of globalization – to develop the Chair as a custodian of heritage and a repository of knowledge for South-East Europe;
• Enhancing universal access to information and knowledge - supports equal access to education, information and cultural heritage in support of the Education for All UNESCO Program.

The UNESCO Chair corresponds to the Millennium Developments Goals and contributes to the National Strategy for Smart Specialization and National Strategy for Science and Education. In addition, the project contributes to the Regional Development by taking into account the existing experiences and good practice across the world and in synergy with other UNESCO chairs, strengthens the existing networks of partners at regional level (South-East Europe, Danube Macro-Region).

Members of ULSIT are among the founders and active participants of the International Summit on ICT in Education (EDUsummIT) events so they apply an innovative model for transferring the EDUsummIT results to Bulgaria, Central and Eastern Europe and South-East Europe: through regular follow-up events (http://unesco.unibit.bg/en/workshops)