World Access to Higher Education Day
Advocacy and Action: Making Equality in Higher Education Happen
24 November 2026: A global day of action
For WAHED 2026 we are looking to extend opportunities to galavanise the global higher education opportunity community. It is a critical time for those supporting first generation and other students as the global challenges facing higher education have local impact. This year’s WAHED will focus on action and advocacy, and how higher education access and success can be made truly equitable.
WAHED 2026 will include:
WAHED @ EPHEA: our first WAHED hybrid conference in the Asia Pacific region in partnership with Equity Practitioners in Higher Education Association.
The 2026 WAHED FREE online conference, ‘AI, Advocacy and Action – Making equality in HE happen’.
Events hosted around the world by WAHEN members, partners and organisations committed to equity in higher education.
AI, Advocacy and Action – Making equality in HE happen: A free online conference
The 2026 WAHED FREE online conference, ‘AI, Advocacy and Action – Making equality in HE happen’, will feature the following speakers with more to confirmed:
- Mia Wallin-Hansen (Policy Officer, EU Commission)
- Andreas Schleicher (Director of Education and Skills, OECD)
- Arturo Cherbowski Lask (Exective Director, Santander Universities, Mexico)
- Alicia Salomone (Profesora Titular, University of Chile)
Meeting the AI challenge
AI is enabling a re-configuration of how we access and create knowledge in higher education while it opens up new ways of social engagement. We will be launching our landmark report on the relationship between AI and equitable access and success in higher education on WAHED. This study based on consultation with universities, colleges, policymakers and international bodies will be the first to examine the ways that AI can open up higher education for new groups of students while identifying the threats to equity it presents.
Have your say and complete our survey here.
Host Your Own WAHED Event
One of the most impactful ways to participate in WAHED is by running your own activity on or around 24 November 2026.
Your event could be:
- A seminar or keynote lecture
- A panel discussion featuring students, staff or policymakers
- A school or community outreach activity
- A workshop exploring widening participation challenges and solutions
- A showcase of innovative practice within your institution
- A student-led discussion or campaign
- A networking event bringing together regional partners
Whether your event is large or small, online or in person, every contribution helps strengthen the global movement for equitable access and success in higher education. For more information on running your own WAHED event please see here.
By registering your event with WAHEN, you’ll become part of an international programme of activities, receive promotional support, and have the opportunity to connect your work with a worldwide audience committed to advancing educational opportunity.
What has WAHED achieved?
350
Over 350 separate events held to recognise WAHED.
1,800
1,800 organisations engaged, including 1,000 universities
107
Delegates to WAHED conferences have come from 107 countries
WAHED across the world
Around the world WAHEN members, partners and organisations can show their commitment to equity in access and success in higher education by hosting their own events.
Last year’s WAHED25 events included:
From policy to practice: Student equity at global, national and local levels
The Equity Practitioners in Higher Education Association held three compelling online panel sessions, where speakers explored student equity through global, national and local perspectives.
Insights & Innovations in Disability Support for Students in Higher Education
EUROSTUDENT Talks presented a special episode focusing on students with disabilities in HE across Europe. Researchers and student support professionals from Finland, Austria and Spain will come together to discuss key challenges faced by these students, institutional and national responses, and share successful practices for improving inclusion and access.
Conversations4Citizenship: Fighting Inequality in Global Higher Education
Professor Graeme Atherton joined the Conversations4Citizenship podcast to explore the evolving landscape of global higher education access, drawing on his leadership at WAHEN and Ruskin College.
