In 1974, the International Progress Organization, with the support of UNESCOand under the auspices of Senegalese President Leopold Sedar Senghor, held an international conference on "The Cultural Self-comprehension of Nations" (Innsbruck, Austria, 27 29 July 1974) which called upon United Nations member states "to organize systematic and global comparative research on the different cultures of the world" and "to make all possible efforts for a more intensive training of diplomats in the field of international cultural co-operation ...
In the past decade, there has become an increasing pressure for universities across the world to incorporate intercultural and international understanding and knowledge into the education of their students.
Students must possess a certain level of global competence to understand the world they live in and how they fit into this world.