Short Abstract

The panel will examine how the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and Open Educational Resources (OER) is transforming the landscape of equitable education by exploring both the opportunities for inclusive learning and the emerging risks of technological and educational inequality.

Description

To enhance global access to quality education, the UNESCO (2019) Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER) calls on stakeholders to promote the creation, adaptation, and sharing of open-licensed learning materials. Yet, for educators and students in under-resourced contexts, developing content and accessing OER repositories remain challenging due to infrastructural limitations, inadequate digital literacy, and insufficient institutional support. To close these gaps, the 2024 Dubai Declaration on OER advocates adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to expand inclusive access to knowledge. Generative AI tools now enable new ways to create, reuse, and distribute educational content; however, their integration also introduces ethical, technological, and educational inequalities. Hence, this panel examines how the intersection of AI and OER is reshaping the pursuit of equitable and inclusive education envisioned in Sustainable Development Goal 4. It interrogates emerging disparities in digital access, AI literacy, and the localisation of open content, while questioning whose knowledge and values are embedded in algorithmic systems driving OER creation and curation. Drawing insights from both the Global South and North, the discussion highlights tensions between technological innovation and social justice. It explores pathways for ethical, inclusive, and context-sensitive integration of AI in open education, thus further informing ongoing governance and policy efforts. Ultimately, the panel seeks to reimagine learning futures that are not only intelligent but also inclusive, equitable, and sustainable. Papers addressing this theme through diverse methodological lenses are invited to this panel convened by members of the UNESCO SDSN Joint Committee on the Implementation of the UNESCO OER Recommendation (2019).