UNESCO Chair Newsletter December 2024

Welcome to the December 2024 edition of the York University UNESCO Chair Newsletter!

This last newsletter of the year is packed with opportunities and events for our community and we hope that you will once more enjoy reading the articles below focusing on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as a key enabler of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This edition highlights the save the dates for the coming year 2025. Please feel free to share this newsletter with your network. Thank you for your interest!

For the upcoming holiday season, we wish you and your loved ones a joyful time filled with peace, warmth, and happiness. May this special time bring you moments of relaxation and reflection, as well as inspiration for the year ahead. Thank you for incredible 90+ % opening rates of our monthly newsletter in 2024, for your support, impactful collaborations, and for your continued dedication to ESD as we look forward to more shared achievements in 2025!

Winter wishes from Toronto,

Charles Hopkins & Katrin Kohl

UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability

York University Canada

The Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, together with the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Korea and the Salzburg Global Seminar, will host the International Forum on Education and Climate on 13 December 2024. The forum will bring together key decision-makers and knowledge experts and allow a timely exchange on current successes and challenges and the role of education in an age of climate change. York’s UNESCO Co-Chairs Charles Hopkins and Katrin Kohl are invited to share their perspectives on the role of education in the fight against climate change and towards a more sustainable world. A livestream will be available for those who will not be able to join in person.

York University has launched their Sustainability Strategy 2030, Positive Change: Connecting People, Planet and Purpose to address humanity’s code red climate crisis. As a living document, the strategy is set to guide York’s commitment while answering the call to action towards sustainability.

The York University Sustainability Strategy 2030 aims to integrate environmental, economic, and social sustainability into its operations, education, and research. It focuses on reducing emissions, promoting equity, and fostering innovative solutions to global challenges, and aligning its actions with the SDGs. The new strategy is uniquely forward-looking as it is framed not only within the frameworks of the SDGs but within UNESCO's Futures of Education on the wider role of education as a social contract.

On 23 November 2024, Mark Terry, UNESCO Chair Associate and adjunct professor in York’s Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change, received the prestigious J. Robert Cox Award for Environmental Communication and Civic Engagement by the National Communication Association (NCA). This marks the first time the award has been given to someone outside the U.S. in the NCA’s 110-year history. Congratulations!

On 2-4 December 2024, UNESCO’s International Forum on the Futures of Education 2024 will provide a platform to strengthen dialogue in relation to the Futures of Education Initiative and an opportunity for policy-makers and other education specialists to exchange and share contextualized experiences in innovative policy, practice and research to transform education. While the conference is held in Suwon (Gyeonggido, Republic of Korea), sessions will be livestreamed for everyone to join.

On 4 December 2024, the Canadian Accelerating Climate Change Education Project will host a webinar to discuss UNESCO's new Greening Curriculum Guidance, aiming to integrate climate mitigation and adaptation in teaching and learning. Co-authors Dr. Felisa Tibbitts, Dr. Christina Kwauk, and Dr. Ellen Field will discuss the key principles for integrating climate change and sustainability into curricula.

On 5 December 2024, the fourth session of the ESD-NET Learning Webinar Series, will feature updates on the ESD for 2030 country initiatives, highlight upcoming UNESCO projects, showcase innovative practices from partner organizations, and discuss key action points for the network in 2025 at both the global and regional levels. Speakers will highlight paths forward towards embedding sustainability throughout education systems.

One highlight will be the presentation of the Leaders in Higher Education Alliance and Programme - For Accelerating Sustainability Transformations LEAP-FAST Initiative - a collaboration between UNESCO and UNITAR. York's UNESCO Chair has been involved in advising the programme and by contributing to the first leadership programme and side events throughout 2024.

On 8 December 2024, the International Centre for UNESCO ASPnet together with the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education will host an international closing ceremony in Sanya (Hainan, China) for the 2024 Youth Innovation Contest: Collaborating to Improve and Protect our Planet. UNESCO Chair Charles Hopkins will deliver a keynote to the next generation of changemakers encouraging young people from Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to continue striving towards a better future for all.

UNESCO IESALC is launching a report, titled Reaching for the right to higher education: Evidence from 15 countries. This new report highlights the critical need to tackle ongoing inequalities in higher education and will be launched during the Inaugural Conference of the World Access to Higher Education Network (WAHEN), the first global network focused on addressing inequalities in access and success in higher education, on 10 December 2024.

In this interdependent world, tackling global challenges demands informed engagement. However, many young people lack the essential knowledge, skills, and opportunities. For 20 years, the Global Citizenship Alliance has been at the forefront of global citizenship education, helping colleges and universities graduate students who grasp their role in a globalizing society and are empowered to create change. Explore the transformative week-long seminars that are facilitated by thought leaders from across the globe at our historic Salzburg (Austria) campus.

Hosted by the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) India and their partners, the International Conference Educating for Sustainability Action, scheduled for 9-11 January 2025, will bring together academics, practitioners, teachers, and youth to address the triple planetary crises requiring urgent action. One of the most promising pathways towards societal change is promoting education including public awareness. Speakers and participants aim to highlight the power of ESD and to identify strategic education interventions, resources and proven practices.

The 6th edition of the Learning Planet Festival will take place from 23 to 25 January 2025. This year, over 80,000 participants in 600+ events in 193 countries celebrated the International Day of Education. in 2025, with a special focus on Co-designing the Future of Learning with Youth, the Festival will spotlight events and collaborations across pressing topics, such as Education for Sustainability, Education for Peaceful Futures, Education for Inner Development, and more. Submit your event or register for participation.

Save the date of the next SDG Bergen Conference on 5-6 February 2025. Under the theme Sustainable Health in Turbulent Times, the event will explore critical interconnections between health, people, and the planet. Emphasizing integrated and accelerated solutions, education, training, and public awareness, - in short: ESD - have an important role to play.

The next SDG Action and Awareness Week is only a few months away. Every year, the University Global Coalition invites university students, staff, faculty, and partners from around the world to plan and host SDG-focused events during SDG Action & Awareness Week. Please register for the upcoming webinar on 11 December 2024 to find out more about the concept, ways to engage, and resources available for planning events for 2025.

Mark your calendar for the next Academic Network for Global Education & Learning Conference on 4-6 June 2025. The event will bring together academics, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners with an interest in research on Global Education & Learning, Education for Sustainability, and Global Citizenship, will take place in Berlin (Germany). A call for proposals is currently open until 15 January 2025.

Co-hosted by Times Higher Education and Türkiye's Council of Higher Education, the next Global Sustainable Development Congress. will take place at the Istanbul Congress Center on 16-19 June 2025. Over four days, keynote speakers, panellists, and representatives from our track and global content partners will share their insights on health, sustainable cities, clean energy, AI, gender equality, the environment and much more.

York University's UNESCO Co-Chairs Charles Hopkins and Katrin Kohl will be hosting one of the six thematic core tracks, Education, Gender and Inequality: Equitable Higher Education for an Inclusive Future, throughout the four conference days. This track will focus on innovative approaches and partnerships to ensure that education is accessible to all and is adapting to the evolving needs of society, supporting sustainable development and reducing inequalities within and among countries. Tickets and more information is available now.

The Ages of Globalization, a new online course hosted by Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) with their partners in contribution to SDG 4.7, tells the story of humanity across the world and over time. Find out more about engaging with environmental sustainability by using this new resource, designed in collaboration with Compass Education. It offers essential background information, key concepts, interactive activities, and practical ideas for taking action on critical environmental issues.

Wherever and whenever crisis hits, United Nations staff members are on the ground saving lives and negotiating at the highest levels to avoid suffering and make this world better. What motivates someone to lead the global fight for human rights, equality, and justice? Get to know the extraordinary people that make up the United Nations team.