During the Clean50 Summit 11.0, held at the Globe & Mail Centre in Toronto on 1 October 2021, York University‘s UNESCO Chairholder Charles Hopkins was honoured with the 2022 Clean50 Lifetime Achievement Award for his tireless work in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Congratulations!
Since the late 1970s, as one of the early innovators for outdoor education in Canada and first principal of the Boyne River Natural Science School, Charles has been at the forefront of global efforts in reorienting education towards sustainability. Since their adoption in 2015, he has been active in the UN efforts towards achieving the SDGs. Charles has always been a strong voice in working cross-sectoral and combining multiple initiatives in working towards a sustainable future.
Canada’s Clean50 Awards, the hall of fame for leaders in sustainability, were created in 2011 by Delta Management CEO Gavin Pitchford, a longtime sustainability advocate. A committee supported by researchers and advisors annually identifies and recognizes 50 sustainability leaders from every sector of Canadian society as well as 20 emerging leaders, outstanding sustainability projects, and bestows lifetime achievement designations. The awards and related events facilitate understanding, collaboration, and innovation in the fight to keep climate change impacts below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
In September 2021, the International Association of Universities (IAU) launched a new book “The Promise of Higher Education: Essays in Honour of 70 Years of IAU” as part of their ongoing anniversary celebrations. The impressive collection of 65 essays by 82 authors from all around the world represents a fine analysis of and reflection on the past, current, and future of higher education and is a convincing testament to the work of the IAU over the years and into the future.
Available online through open access, this book will take you on a tour across the global higher education landscape while addressing pertinent themes and challenges in higher education. The book has already been downloaded more than 100,000 times and we invite you to download your copy.
Charles Hopkins and Katrin Kohl, who coordinate the SDG 4 Group in the Global Cluster of Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (IAU HESD Cluster), contributed a chapter on aligning the promise of well-being with sustainability as a purpose of education.
IAU will celebrate the book launch with several online events. Charles Hopkins will speak about well-being, sustainability, and higher education during one of the three global launch events on Thursday, 21 October 2021, 2:00 – 4:00 pm CEST (12:00 – 2:00 pm UTC). Please mark your calendars and check our social media for more information. Details will be shared shortly.
Educon 2021 is the meeting platform for practitioners and thought leaders from all areas of education in Germany. In a participatory and collaborative manner, the organizers call for impulses for the future of education to drive educational innovation forward. In workshops, keynotes, panel discussions, as well as through a hackathon and other creative formats, educators from all backgrounds will get a voice. Participants will discuss concepts and best practice with decision-makers and leading experts at national and international levels. The summit on 4-5 November 2021 aims to create sustainable networking through digital tools and hybrid meeting places.
While the thematic focus of the conference is on German practices, international perspectives from Andreas Schleicher, Director for the Directorate of Education and Skills at the OECD, and responsible for the well-known Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and UNESCO Chair Charles Hopkins will guide the discussion.
TERA2021 is hosted by the Taiwan Education Research Association (TERA), based in the Institute of Education, National Sun Yat-sen University Taiwan and will take place on 12-13 November 2021. TERA aims to promote academic dialogue and international collaboration among educational research communities. TERA is a non-profit organization for professionals working at all levels of education committed to improving the practice of instruction as well as conducting and applying educational research. Amongst other experts from Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, and the United States, York´s UNESCO Chairholder Charles Hopkins and Executive Coordinator Katrin Kohl are invited to speak. Please register to attend.
Formal schooling at all levels has experienced an unprecedented interruption due to the pandemic. Approaching the fourth wave in many regions, we are still not back to normal. With 117 million students still out of school, it is time to think outside the box when imagining new approaches towards schooling to offer a Quality Education for all as delineated by SDG 4. What if we broaden our ideas of international education and studying abroad towards K-12 education? What if students can attend school not only in their own country but also choose to go to school in another country for a term or for a full programme? Is it time to question the traditional approach to schooling in a much broader way if students no longer attend the physical space of school? As we get better in creating appropriate virtual learning environments, we are presented with the opportunity to offer K-12 education beyond borders.
Check out our contribution to the Taylor & Francis Sustainable Development Goals Online Collection of thought leaders – compelling new writing about the SDGs by leading experts.
York University, organized by the Centre International de Formation des Acteurs Locaux (CIFAL) in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair, York International, and the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, is hosting a two-day knowledge-exchange dialogue: multi-level joint action for climate, nature, and people on 20-21 October 2021, 9:00 am-12:00 pm EDT.
Held shortly before the Glasgow Climate Conference COP26, this workshop will focus on strengthening integrated action for climate and biodiversity in alignment with the SDGs. Further event co-organizers are: the German Development Institute (DIE) in Bonn (Germany), and the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at the Imperial College London (United Kingdom). For updates and registration for the webinar, please check here.
Co-organized by UNESCO and the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), and hosted by Ministry of Education, Republic of Korea, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea, this virtual event will be a forum for discussion and promotion of transformative education and Sustainable Development Goal Target 4.7. 2,500 policy makers, education practitioners and experts will be invited to share their experience and knowledge. Plenary sessions will be livestreamed and made accessible to the public.
Sign up to learn more about the upcoming conference.
New (free) Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), co-developed and hosted by the University of Edinburgh, the British Council and Learning for Sustainability Scotland with input from Education Scotland, are starting in October 2021 for a limited time. This is a great opportunity for anyone, anywhere, who is interested in sustainability, to learn more. The MOOC themes will also be of particular interest to those involved in formal and informal education settings, as there are specific activities and resources for teachers/facilitators.
- Learning for a Sustainable Future has started on 4 October 2021 and will run for five weeks. It will also run again in Spring 2022. Currently available to join here.
- Learning for a Sustainable Future: Live at COP26 will begin on 31 October 2021 and will run for the duration of COP26 in Glasgow. The content will be available for six weeks as a learning resource. Join the mailing list to be notified when enrolment opens here.
Teachers from around the world have been sharing their insights on teaching for climate action with the OECD, UNESCO and Education International on the Global Teaching InSights platform. Join UNESCO for the two remaining events in a series of conversations for teachers on empowering students around climate action, where you will hear from teachers and experts.
If you’re a teacher, you might want to share your own insights on teaching climate action on or before 10 October 2021 and you can become a panelist in one of the conversations. Feel free to share the campaign with teachers you know. Please register to attend the events and learn more and explore the videos on the Global Teaching InSights platform.
This podcast series brings to you conversations with great thinkers, scholars, and activists in the fields of sustainability, ethics, education and movements of social transformation from around the world. These conversations include personal stories, reflections on current global challenges, the evolving process (and concept) of sustainability, education for sustainable development, a new paradigm of education, stories of the Earth Charter drafting process, as well as reflections on some key ideas and principles in the Earth Charter. Listen to the episode with UNESCO Chairholder Charles Hopkins on the evolution of education for sustainable development.
Attend a special film screening of The Changing Face of Iceland (52 minutes) on Wednesday, 6 October 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EDT. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with filmmaker and Dahdaleh Institute Fellow and UNESCO Chair Associate Mark Terry, Dr. Kathy Young from York University, and producer Melanie Martyn. The new documentary examines the impacts of climate change on Iceland’s glaciers, land, flora, fauna, fish, economy, and people. Please register to attend.
The IAU webinar series on the future of higher education continues with the next session taking place on 12 October 2021. Organized by the International Association of Universities (IAU) in collaboration with Education International, and Polytechnic University of Milan, this session will address the impact of COVID-19 on the work and study conditions of university staff and students and how this has affected their health and well-being. Register for the webinar on 12 October 2021 at 2:30 pm CEST.
The Hanoi National University of Education (HNUE) will hold the 2nd International Conference on Innovation in Learning Instruction and Teacher Education virtually on 11-12 December 2021, with the support of the World Bank and the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training. York University´s UNESCO Chair together with the National Taiwan Normal University, a member in the International Network of Teacher Education Institutions (INTEI), is proud to partner with HNUE for this event and to serve on the Scientific Committee. Registration for the event is now open.
UNESCO has announced that the 2021/2 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, Non-state actors in education: Who chooses? Who loses? will be launched at the RewirEd Summit on 12 December 2021.
Join the event online to hear ministers of education, non-state actors and experts from around the globe come together to discuss the new Report’s recommendations and engage in evidence-based policy dialogue on non-state engagement in education.
Expect to hear more on the global launch event, as well as regional and national events near you in the weeks and months to come by keeping an eye on UNESCO´s social media channels and our UNESCO Chair newsletter.
Sign up to receive a copy of the UNESCO report in your inbox as soon as it’s launched.