Higher education’s role in securing the future - a more equitable, peaceful and sustainable society. Are universities ready to assume their full responsibility?
UNESCO, the IAU, SDSN, and Mission 4.7 are co-organizing a WHEC2022 panel discussion with experts from around the world to reflect where Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD) can and must go and how to develop renewed synergies for a sustainable way forward.
2022 is a critical year, a year challenged by an increased number of global and local challenges. It is thus a crucial year for education at all levels, from primary to lifelong learning, through higher education. Universities are the key to healthier, greener, fairer, and more inclusive societies. Are universities ready to assume their full responsibility?
The 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a framework for all levels of education, with particular relevance for Higher Education. The session will debate how a whole- institution approach (WIA) and a whole-sector approach (WSA) to reach a more sustainable future are crucial to accelerate the fundamental transformative processes that are needed. All actors in education and in society at large need to be involved, from leadership to students. Leaving No One Behind is not only set in SDG 4, but crucial for the achievement of all SDGs. A holistic approach to teaching and learning, research and community engagement is required to trigger true transformation at local, national, regional, and global level.
This session will build a bridge from the Berlin UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in May 2021, and will inform the UN Transforming Education Summit in September 2022.
Agenda:
Opening remarks
Pam Fredman, President, IAU
Patrick Paul Walsh, VP of Education and Director of the SDG Academy, SDSN
Keynote: Stephen Sterling, Emeritus Professor of Sustainability Education at the Centre for Sustainable Futures, University of Plymouth, UK
Respondents
Jun Morohashi, Interim Chief, Section of Education for Sustainable Development, UNESCO
Pornchai Mongkhonvanit, President of Siam University, Thailand, & Vice President & Chair of HESD, IAU
Sebastian Berger, Head of the Global Student Forum
Sherine Omondi, Elected member of the Global Student Forum Steering Committee
Charles Hopkins, UNESCO Chair in Reorientating Education Toward Sustainability, York University, Canada, & DG 4 Cluster Lead, IAU
Joanna Newman, Secretary-General, Association of Commonwealth Universities
Moderated Q&A
UNESCO World Higher Education Conference (WHEC2022) aims at reshaping ideas and practices in higher education to ensure sustainable development for the planet and humanity.
In the view of the global health crisis, UNESCO World Higher Education Conference, initially planned to be held in 2021, will take place from 18 to 20 May 2022. The goals and strategic scope of the conference remain, and the new time frame represents an opportunity to deepen and expand our common efforts of knowledge production, policy dialogue, exchange, and networking. UNESCO considers the process of collective construction as the greatest richness of this conference, which aims to become a global conversation nurtured by diverse narratives on higher education.
The WHEC will maintain a hybrid format to provide opportunities for broad participation.