On June 4, Professor Marco Antonia R. Dias, the former director of the Division of Higher Education of UNESCO,  visited Shanghai Open University (SOU).  Dr. Diaz was the founder of UNESCO Chair and UNITWIN Network Program.

Professor Jiang Hong, the President of SOU, delivered his welcome speech first. He gave an overview of  SOU and its role in establishing Shanghai as a learning city and achieving popularization of higher education in Shanghai. SOU Vice President Gu Xiaomin  introduced the work of SOU as the UNESCO UNITWIN Network in Open and Distance Education since its establishment in 1997. She also expressed her gratitude to Dr. Dias for his effort and support in establishing the UNESCO Chair/UNITWIN Network program.

Dr. Dias appraised SOU’s contribution to UNITWIN Network and its international influence in the field. He pointed out  that the inter-university cooperation and people-to-people exchanges were very important and encouraged SOU continue its international cooperation with universities in different regions in the world. He also emphasized the importance of bringing together the online educational resources and finding a sustainable operation model.