Two years ago, on 4 March 2020, York University became the Global Focal Point for SDG 4 on Quality Education in the Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD) Cluster hosted by the International Association of Universities (IAU). Within the cluster, York University partners with
- University of Peace, Costa Rica;
- Charles University, Czech Republic;
- Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany;
- International Islamic University Malaysia; and
- Rhodes University, South Africa.
Despite a global pandemic changing the world and moving virtual, York University´s UNESCO Chair and its partners remained committed to achieving quality education by 2030 starting a number of new initiatives, e.g.,
- The Sustainable on the Go Conference Series in partnership with York International and further international partners
- Co-founding a new UNITWIN Network on Education for Sustainable Development and Societal Transformations (UNiESD&ST), the first one worldwide focusing on ESD and teacher education.
- Open-access publishing in co-authorship on the whole-institution approach and the promise of well-being in higher education.
More activities are planned leading up to the 16th IAU General Conference in October 2022. More details on the cluster and continuous updates are found here.