Welcome to the February 2024 newsletter!
We hope 2024 has begun on a positive note for you and we wish all the best to those who will be celebrating Lunar New Year in just a few days.
While it is easy these days to drift into hopelessness in light of the multitude of complex global and local peace, climate, and education crises, we remain positive and pledge to strengthen our engagement with research networks, institutional partners, colleagues, and friends throughout 2024. With this year’s Summit of the Future and the Pact for the Future in mind, we continue to promote the crucial roles of education, in particular Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), in transforming societies towards a peaceful and just future. There is no future without education.
Quality education, as described in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, goes way beyond children and youth attending formal education but also includes all training and professional development in a context of lifelong learning with education systems prioritizing learning for sustainability and modelling sustainable practice, so learners can live what they learn. Recognizing the impact of non-formal and informal learning in the community and continuously informing the public to enable everyone to make informed choices and take responsible action is a powerful tool to create change.
With that in mind, we invite you to reflect on all the efforts that you are making to promote quality education with ESD at the heart and to read this newsletter. You might find new themes, publications, and events to inspire your work. Feel free to share widely with your colleagues. Thank you for your ongoing interest!
Kind wishes from Toronto,
Charles Hopkins & Katrin Kohl, UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability, York University Canada
UNITWIN webinar addressing the revised 1974 UNESCO Recommendation for international understanding on 7 February 2024
In November 2023, UNESCO adopted a new Recommendation on Education for Peace and Human Rights, International Understanding, Cooperation, Fundamental Freedoms, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development as a non-binding legal instrument for UNESCO member states.
While member states will be requested to report on their progress every four years, the Recommendation can also be used by educators, policymakers, and learners to create a better understanding of concepts such as sustainable development, ESD and global citizenship including a small number of now internationally agreed definitions, guiding principles, and learning objectives.
On 7 February 2024 at 10 am ET/4 pm CET, under the leadership of Leuphana University, the UNITWIN Network on ESD & Societal Transformation will host a virtual dialogue with four education experts from Costa Rica, Germany, and South Africa to share their insights on the revised 1974 Recommendation and respond to questions and comments from the global audience. Come and join us if you are interested to learn more about the Recommendation in a context of rethinking higher education.
Meeting of the Canadian UNESCO Chairs in Ottawa on 9 February 2024
On 9 February 2024, the Canadian Network of UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks will come together at the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO) in Ottawa (Canada) for the most recent updates from UNESCO and CCUNESCO and to discuss network contributions to UNESCO’s global efforts to advance the SDGs, in particular SDG 4, through research and policy support. Both Charles Hopkins and Katrin Kohl are invited to represent York University´s UNESCO Chair in the meeting.
More about the Canadian UNESCO Chairs and the global network of UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks.
IAU HESD Portal providing information on higher education, SDG actions and initiatives
The International Association of Universities (IAU) hosts the Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development Cluster (IAU HESD) with York University’s UNESCO Chair serving as the global focal point for SDG 4. Established in 2012 and recently relaunched, the IAU HESD Portal provides access to university actions and initiatives developed around the world to promote sustainability and contribute to the SDGs.
Would you like to learn how to use the portal to find activities from universities on sustainable development and the SDGs? Interested in resources for teaching SDGs? Join a free 30 min interactive online session on 2 February 2024, at 10 ET/ 4 pm CET.
SDG Conference in Bergen on 7–9 February 2024
The seventh SDG Bergen Conference will take place 7–9 February 2024 and address The role of universities in transformative change. Societies need fundamental changes in their structures and values to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and unsustainable consumption. Universities have a crucial role to play and to focus on their role in supporting societies on their path towards sustainable development. The conference will be hosted as a virtual event. On 7 February 2024, York University will present their SDG toolkit. Hosted by IAU and Students Organising for Sustainability, a session will particularly focus on the whole-institution approach towards ESD and the SDGs.
For our Canadian community: Reporting on the SDGs for Canadian universities and colleges: webinar on 7 February 2024
SDSN Canada, Universities Canada, and Colleges and Institutes Canada are joining forces for a shared webinar on the benefits and opportunities of SDG reporting for Canadian institutions of higher education. On 7 February 2024 at 1 pm ET, speakers will highlight best practices and discuss the potentially positive impact for students, faculty, and staff. The webinar builds on the new guide for post-secondary reporting on the SDGs in Canada, launched in October 2023.
For Canadian faculties of education: Emerging principles and pedagogies of sustainability teaching on 15 February 2024
Accelerate Climate Change Education in Teacher Education is a new project providing support to develop and deepen climate change education across Canada. Sustainability with its shifting conceptions is a complex theme to teach. Yet, there are growing calls for faculty in every discipline in higher education to integrate it into their course curricula and pedagogy to address the climate crisis. What are the key principles and pedagogical strategies that inform teaching related to sustainability? How do they change from one discipline to another?
On 15 February 2024 at noon ET, you have a webinar opportunity to listen to sustainability teaching experiences from engineering, public health, and the humanities, and to discuss sustainability principles informing teaching practices.
For our Canadian community: 5th Annual Dr. David V.J. Bell Memorial Lecture on 28 February 2024
Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF), a non-profit Canadian organization, created to integrate sustainability education into Canada’s education system, and a close partner of the UNESCO Chair at York University, presents the 5th Annual Dr. David V.J. Bell Memorial Lecture.
Under the theme How to be hopeful in a world of doom: The Practice of Evidence-Based Hope, the lecture will take place virtually on 28 February 2024 at 7PM ET. The 2024 keynote speaker, Elin Kelsey, PhD, is an award-winning author, speaker and thought-leader for the evidence-based hope and climate justice solutions movement.
The Annual Dr. David V.J. Bell Lecture helps to bridge the gap between research and practice in education in Canada by identifying thought leaders to share insights on ESD as it applies to education policy, teacher education and practice, as well as student empowerment.
SDG Action & Awareness Week on 4-8 March 2024
The University Global Coalition will host the SDG Action & Awareness Week on 4-8 March 2024. The event invites university students, staff, faculty, and partners around the world to plan and host both virtual events to be shared with a global calendar and to plan events on your campus showcasing work and encouraging action towards the SDGs. If you are hosting or wish to attend events, register and join the planning webinar on 26 February 2024 at 11 am ET.
Canadian institutions of higher education will highlight efforts in Canada with their national SDG Week Canada, featuring workshops, panels, and other interactive programs to raise awareness for the SDGs. If you wish to join in hosting activities, please register in advance. If you wish to attend events during the week, stay tuned for more information.
UNESCO now offering a podcast series highlighting its crucial mandate
UNESCO has joined the podcast landscape and now offers a selection of podcasts radiating UNESCO’s vast mandate in building peace in the minds of men and women through education, the sciences, culture, and communication, e.g. Leading SDG 4 Conversation curated by the SDG 4 High-Level Steering Committee’s Inter-Agency Secretariat and highlighting thought leaders and experts in transforming education.
Publication: On Behalf of My Delegation…
Is 2024 the year when you will be joining a delegation for climate talks for the first time? You have experience but have always been nervous to speak? You are returning to the table after an absence? Help is on the way. Check out this survival guide that will support you in manoeuvring through the complex world of climate negotiations.
Publications: Common Agenda Policy Briefs
In light of the Summit of the Future and in implementing his vision of the Common Agenda, the United Nations Secretary-General has issued 12 policy briefs on themes over the course of the last year. Together, they form a collection of detailed proposals of priority themes; one of them focuses on the importance of transforming education following the 2022 Summit.
Online toolkit: net zero on campus
Following the Net Zero on Campus Guide and hosted by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a new online toolkit is available from and for community members to exchange knowledge, ideas, and experiences on campus efforts and opportunities in achieving net zero.
Explore UN CC:e-Learn
Make 2024 a year of learning about sustainability and climate change. Join the UN CC:e-Learn’s worldwide learning platform and benefit from over 100 courses in 19 languages. Tackling climate change requires action at all levels. But first, we need to understand the facts.
Higher education policy observatory launched by UNESCO-ISEALC
Launched in December 2023, the Higher Education (HE) Policy Observatory is the first online platform that centralizes and compares key legislative information on higher education systems across the world in a single place. The interactive online platform developed by the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) showcases primary information on HE policies and governance systems in nearly 150 countries through 40 indicators drawn from a battery of 150 variables and over 22,000 data points. This new observatory will provide key data to higher education researchers and professionals across the globe. Check to see if your country is included.
A success story from our network: Inclusive teaching and learning practices in Pakistan
At the University of Education Lahore (Pakistan), a new project under the leadership of Professor Sadia Shaukat on inclusive teaching and learning practices aims to address the diverse needs of all learners by creating an inclusive and supportive learning environment. A series of workshops on integrating a Heart, Head and Hands Apprenticeship Approach and addressing inclusive teaching practices is part of this funded project. Hands-on activities (peer assisted learning, role playing, scenario-based case studies) are employed to conduct this training to enable student teachers to use this practice in real classrooms.
In case you missed it: UNITWIN Network Statement on Education for Sustainable Development
On the occasion of the first ESD-Net Global Meeting in Japan on 18-20 December 2023 within the new framework of the ESD for 2030 Roadmap, the UNITWIN Network on ESD & Societal Transformation issued a shared statement in further clarifying the vision of ESD.
The statement was published on the first day of the global conference and since then shared with policy-makers, researchers education professionals and sustainability experts. As the academic discourse on the understanding of ESD is an active conversation, positioning ESD beyond its contribution to quality education but also recognized as a key enabler for all SDGs with a role in transforming societies is hoped to raise awareness for all those tasked with SDG implementation.
The ESD-NET Global Meeting highlighted country progress on ESD through initiatives, trends, and innovations for the 2030 Agenda with the SDGs. Participants also agreed on action points in 2024-2025.
In case you missed it: Watch the last edition of the York Education Public Lecture Series
Under the theme Making research matter: Mobilizing research to impact on homelessness policy, Associate Professor and President of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Homeless Hub at York University, Stephen Gaetz, recently explored the role that social innovation can have in inspiring change in the response to youth homelessness in Canada.
Find more about the York University Faculty of Education Public Lecture Series, featuring cutting-edge research and leading perspectives on contemporary sustainability discussions as we face numerous sustainability challenges in today’s globalized world.
In case you missed it: Putting the community at the centre of higher ed’s sustainability efforts
Since the SDGs individually or as a whole will only be achieved with strong contributions from higher education, University World News regularly engages with diverse voices in the global community. In December 2023, York UNESCO Chair Coordinator Katrin Kohl contributed to an interview with the University World News that addresses how universities can go beyond embedding sustainability in the whole institution but actually moving towards meaningfully prioritizing the community in all of their efforts towards sustainability. The communiversity aligns with an imperative to put ESD at the centre of the agenda.
