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Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) has published an exclusive interview with Abdul Waheed Khan, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, in which he shares his insights on education and the role of ICT for socio-economic development.



The GKP Secretariat extends its channels for active solicitation of insights into knowledge for development (K4D) and information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) with prominent individuals through the “GKP Through the Looking Glass” series. The last interview published in the series is one with Abdul Waheed Khan, in which he shares his insights and experiences on education and learning with focus on the role of ICT and its importance in empowering people for socio-economic development.

Mr Khan is a member of the GKP Executive Committee who has played an instrumental role in the knowledge society movement, particularly in open and distance learning. He was also President and Chief Executive Officer (Vice-Chancellor) of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), one of the largest universities in the world with an enrolment exceeding 1.5 million students.

He was recently awarded the title 'Honorary Fellow' of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) in recognition of his outstanding leadership in improving access to quality education and training using new information and communication technologies (ICT).

"If knowledge is the engine of development and technology is the fuel, then without the fuel the engine cannot run. Today the advancement of ICT allows us to look at a paradigm shift in teaching and learning," says Mr Khan.

Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) is the world's first multi-stakeholder network promoting innovation and advancement in knowledge and information and communication technologies (ICT) for development. GKP brings together public sector, private sector and civil society organisations with the goal of sharing knowledge and building partnerships in knowledge and ICT for development.

GKP Through The Looking Glass Series: An Interview with Abdul Waheed Khan