Where we work

Our partner institutions in 70+ countries engage with promoting sustainability as a purpose of education

For our research, conferences and other activities, we partner with education experts in many countries to ensure that sustainability perspectives from stakeholders in different regions of the world are included and a continuous dialogue is pursued. These longstanding and trusted relationships are at the core of our efforts towards achieving the SDGs and the Global 2030 Education Agenda.

The UNESCO Chair is official partner in both UNESCO global ESD initiatives, the Greening Education Partnership and the ESD for 2030 Roadmap.

Within the wider UN system, the UNESCO Chair is an institutional member in the Education & Academia Stakeholder Group. Both Chairholder Charles Hopkins and Coordinator Katrin Kohl are individual members of the Academic Council on the United Nations System.

Furthermore, the UNESCO Chair at York University initiated and currently hosts the following networks:

The International Network of Teacher Education Institutions (established in 2000)

The International Network of Teach Education Institutions (INTEI) promotes scaling up ESD in teacher education policies, programmes, and practices, i.e., whole-institution approaches. Since inception, the INTEI has been a unique source of recommendations for policy makers, educators and practitioners seeking to embed ESD within teacher education.

The #IndigenousESD Research Network (since 2017)

The #IndigenousESD Research Network is the first international network of researchers focusing on improving the education of Indigenous Peoples around the world in light of the SDGs, in particular SDG targets 4.5 and 4.7. In the network, Indigenous communities, students, teachers, parents, NGOs, municipalities, and governments engage on equal footing to inform policy makers in education.

The UNESCO Chair is partner to in the following global networks:

The UNITWIN Network on Education for Sustainable Development Societal Transformation (since 2021)

The UNiESD&ST is the first recognized UNITWIN Network in the world that focuses on ESD and societal transformation with research, policy development and implementation of ESD at all levels of education. It provides specific recommendations summarizing regards to global perspectives on ESD and teacher education.

The IAU Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development Cluster (since 2020)

The International Association of Universities (IAU) launched the HESD Cluster to advocate for the key role that higher education institutions play in achieving Agenda 2030. This global endeavor directly engages universities in addressing all 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). York University holds the global focal point on SDG 4. Together, IAU and York University are partners in the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI), an open partnership between several United Nations entities to advance the SDGs in higher education.

The Global Network of Regional Centres of Expertise on ESD (since 2005)

The Global RCE Network is a programme initiated and administered by the United Nations University’s Institute for the Advanced Studies on Sustainability (UNU-IAS). The RCE networks work both locally to bring ESD policy into local practice, and collectively by collaboratively sharing their expertise in a “Global Learning Space”. The UNESCO Chair was involved in the founding of the Programme, has been long-time advisory body to the RCE Network and works closely with RCEs in the Americas and in Asia.

Formal advisory roles of the UNESCO Chair team in other global networks

SDG Academy by Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)	Members High Level Advisory Council (HLAC) since 2023
Crossing Borders Education, United Kingdom	Members of the Advisory Board Active learning to develop life skills and character strengths through workshops, thought-provoking media, and engaging intergroup dialogue processes since 2022
International Islamic University Malaysia	Fellows Sejahtera Centre for Sustainability and Humanity since 2021

For their international engagement in the enabling of people, places and the planet to flourish in harmony, both UNESCO Chair team members, Charles Hopkins and Katrin Kohl, have been appointed Fellows to the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

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