Dear Colleagues, Network Partners, and Friends,
Greetings from Toronto! We wish an early Happy World Teachers’ Day under the theme The Transformation Begins with Teachers to those who will be celebrating and be celebrated on 5 October! In 1994, UNESCO claimed this important day to honour the achievements of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers (1966) that led to a set of recommendations regarding rights and responsibilities but also to standards in the preparation, recruitment, and training of teaching personnel to secure quality in education.
In 2022, the importance of education for a full pandemic recovery is undisputed. Therefore, United Nations Secretary-General – following his vision of transforming education – recently convened the unique ‘Transforming Education Summit’ in New York that led to more than 130 country agreements to prioritize education in their recovery efforts and an important youth declaration. The journey has just begun!
In looking toward our futures, we also need to honour the past and we would like to acknowledge that this month will be the 30th anniversary of the World Congress on the Environment and Development (ECO-ED) that was held in Toronto, Canada, in 1992 as the first global event after the well-known Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ECO-ED brought together more than 3,000 delegates from 75 countries and offered a forum for exchange on the different ways to act on Agenda 21 in education and led to the founding of the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM). Our Chairholder Charles Hopkins was instrumental for this global conference held in Toronto under the auspices of UNESCO, UNEP, and the International Chamber of Commerce, as ECO-ED initiator and chairman following his involvement with the writing of Chapter 36 on ‘Education, Training and Public Awareness’ in Agenda 21.
Positioning sustainability as a purpose of education at all levels has been the vision of the UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability at York University since its founding in 1999 and we keep going strong with manifold activities and engagements in the framework of the 17 SDGs and ESD for 2030.
Would you like to know what we are up to? Please check the upcoming events in October 2022 and feel free to share this newsletter with your networks. See you soon at one of the upcoming virtual and in-person events!
Be well, and please keep in touch.
Warm wishes from Toronto,
Charles Hopkins and Katrin Kohl
UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability
York University
P.S. Please add unescochair@edu.yorku.ca to your contact list to make sure to stay informed.
York University is hosting the 2nd edition of the Sustainable on the Go (SOTG 2022), co-organized by York International, the UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability, and their international partners during the International Education Week 2022 on 17 November 2022. The outcomes from the Transforming Education Summit (TES) and their relevance for higher education will also be highlighted in three conference keynotes from TES Special Advisor Leonardo Garnier (Costa Rica), UNESCO Youth Representative Kenisha Arora (Canada), and UNESCO Chair Bhavani Rao (India). The SOTG 2022 will feature inclusive, innovative, and interactive formats following the joint commitment to the Toronto Declaration in 2021. Registration is open for all to join the dialogue!
The 16th IAU General Conference 2022 hosted by University College Dublin (Ireland) will take place soon on 25-28 October 2022. Under the theme ‘Relevance and value of universities to future society’, the conference will provide an opportunity to discuss the lessons learned with higher education stakeholders from around the world. The UNESCO Chair team Charles Hopkins and Katrin Kohl will represent York University and its global lead role for SDG 4 in the discussions of the IAU Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development Cluster. The dialogue will aim towards actions in advancing the role of higher education in achieving a sustainable and just society. Join us in Dublin! Registration for the conference is still open.
As a joint webinar by the IAU and the World Access to Higher Education Network (WAHEN), this event will bring together voices from around the world to examine how to advance equity in access and success in higher education on 11 October 2022 at 2:30-4:00 pm CEST/8:30-10:00 am EDT. As higher education emerges from the height of the pandemic, new and old challenges risk forcing equity down the list of institutional and government priorities. How much can we expect inequalities in access and success to change if how we deliver higher education, admit students and make policy remains the same? Is more radical change needed? Together, we will identify the best of what is being done globally to push the equity boundaries forward. Register to join the discussion.
In 2020, UNESCO adopted the ESD for 2030 framework and Roadmap for the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development ESD 2020-2030. Now, with the generous support of the Government of Japan through its Japanese Funds-in-Trust (JFIT), UNESCO is launching a new global network of education stakeholders: the ESD-Net 2030. The network will serve as a platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration, mutual learning, advocacy and monitoring and evaluation among a wide range of stakeholders. Join the launch event for the ESD-Net 2030 on 4 October 2022. Register now
Building off of the knowledge and practice accumulated in ESD, a new Greening Education Partnership aims to deliver strong, coordinated and comprehensive action that will prepare every learner to acquire the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to tackle climate change and to promote sustainable development. The Greening Education Partnership was launched at the Transforming Education Summit in New York on 17 September 2022. If you are working on climate education towards greening schools, learning, teacher training, and lifelong learning, express your organization’s support and commitment and join the partnership.
The next round of higher education conversations hosted by UNESCO, now in the leadup to the entry into force of the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, will take place on 4 October 2022 at 2:00 pm CEST/8:00 am EDT. This second conversation aims to bring together policy makers and higher education stakeholders to discuss and advance the understanding of international mobility flows from a South-South perspective. Register to join the discussion.
The next Earth Charter Conference is taking place at the Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development at University for Peace (Costa Rica) on 1-2 December 2022. This dynamic event will bring together Earth Charter supporters from all over the world with the purpose of stimulating discussion and collaboration. We will open ourselves up to two full days of learning, making new connections, and sharing and building new perspectives for turning conscience into action for a thriving Earth. The Earth Charter Center for Education, located on the University for Peace campus, is a magical setting for our gathering amid a tropical forest near San Jose, Costa Rica. Your presence will contribute to this process and elevate the depth of our conversations. Register now!
The next Environmental & Sustainability Education in Teacher Education (ESE-TE) Research Symposium will be held on May 26, 2023, at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (Canada). The theme for this biennial symposium, ‘Teacher Education for a Sustainable Future: Call to Action for Climate Justice’, invites presentations of scholarship focused on the critical role teacher education plays in helping society work toward an equitable, just and sustainable future. This symposium emphasizes the need for all educators and researchers in North America to take action grounded in climate justice, recognizing that those who are least responsible for the climate crisis will experience its impacts the most. Submit your proposal by 13 November 2022, more details here.
The Philippine Association for Teachers and Educators, Inc. (PAFTE) will hold its 51st
National and 12th International PAFTE Virtual Convention via Microsoft Live on 20-21 October 2022. Our Chairholder Charles Hopkins is invited to contribute a keynote to address issues, challenges, and best practices in attaining quality education and to suggest way for promoting inclusive and resilient education for sustainable development in our new normal. Register now!
On 27 September 2022, Charles Hopkins was invited to launch the Handprints for Change publication under the auspices of CEE India and the ESD Expert Net hosted by Engagement Global. The handbook supports teacher educators in guiding teachers to embed ESD in subject teaching.
Together|Ensemble 2022: Tracking Canada’s Commitment to the SDGs: conference report now available!
Reflect on Canada’s commitment to the SDGs with the Together|Ensemble 2022 report. This report covers everything from allyship to finance models to the interconnected experiences, causes, and solutions needed for the SDGs in Canada.
Utah Valley University, United Nations Academic Impact and the Civil Society Unit of the UN Department of Global Communications are having an academic conference on the SDGs, the first of its kind! Join virtually from 5-7 October 2022 as participants will discuss the role that academic institutions play in advancing the 2030 Agenda with the SDGs. Register for virtual participation.
The UNESCO Chair on the Interplay of Tradition and Innovation in Education for Sustainable Development at Daugavpils University in Latvia is inviting the members of the DU UNESCO Chair Network of the Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability (JTES) to participate in the 11th International Conference on Biodiversity Research by Daugavpils University on 20-22 October 2022. The UNESCO Chair with its network will hold a session on Educational Research: Biodiversity and Diversity Research for ESD. For network members, there will also be additional opportunities to present their work in the framework of the conference. Find out more about the conference!
On 25 October 2022 at 10:00 am CEST, the UNESCO-UNFCCC’s joint webinar series will feature the 7th webinar on the road to COP 27 to review the gaps, challenges and opportunities in promoting climate change education for social transformation in education and sustainable development policies and curriculum. The discussion will present concrete strategies to promote the greening of education policies and curricula, particularly around COP27. Register to participate in the last three editions of the UNESCO-led webinar series.
In 2022, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) celebrates its 70th anniversary. As the only institute in the United Nations system deeply devoted to lifelong learning, UIL has, for the past seven decades, successfully supported countries in developing policies and practices to provide everyone with a chance to learn and to advance literacy across the globe. To celebrate this UIL milestone and discuss the future of lifelong learning, you can join the virtual symposium on 27 October 2022, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm CEST that will provide an opportunity for in-depth discussions. Register to participate in the event.