Welcome to the official website of the UNESCO Unitwin Network in Distance and Open Learning!

The UNESCO UNITWIN Network was launched in the year of 1992. In 1997, the UNESCO UNITWIN Network in Distance and Open Learning (for East Asia) was approved by UNESCO and then established, Shanghai Open University is the host institution (formerly known as Shanghai TV University). Up to now, the Network has 15 member institutions.

In the past 20 years, with the concern and support of UNESCO, the National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for UNESCO, and Shanghai Municipal Government, the Network adhered to the philosophy of UNESCO, and has worked tirelessly to create a platform for knowledge sharing in ODL and build the bond of spreading ideas through carrying out a series of extensive and in-depth activities. We have established a wide and close cooperative relationship with peers and organizations around the world, expanded the cooperation with international organizations including UNESCO, ICDE, COL, ACDE and AAOU, and established a channel for communication and exchanges with more than 40 national-level institutions of higher education. We spared no efforts to achieve the goal of serving as a distance education center in East Asia.

I sincerely hope that through this open and sharing platform, curriculum resources, research achievements and practical experience in the field of distance education will be shared with domestic and international counterparts, the communication and cooperation between China and other countries around the world in the field of ODL will be further promoted. I also hope that more professional organizations will join us, working together to achieve the realization of inclusive, equal, and quality education, and widen the access to lifelong learning for all