UNESCO Chairs Seminars

UNESCO Chairs Working Sessions and Seminars

Online events to strengthen collaboration and advance the boundaries of knowledge on topics related to UNESCO's mandate in education, culture, communication and sciences

About

The collective intelligence and experience of UNESCO's network of some 1100 university Chairs and UNITWIN networks from around the world is mobilized through a combination of online and in-person events. Through interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary discussions, these events strengthen collaboration and advance boundaries of knowledge research and action on topics related to UNESCO's mandate in education, culture, communication and the sciences, as well as broader issues for the United Nations.

Open to the public, online working sessions and seminars bring together the UNESCO Chairs community, researchers, civil society representatives, practitioners and UN specialists in an open platform for discussion, collaboration and knowledge exchange, with a view to expanding cooperation to tackle the pressing issues for peace and sustainable development.

Each session is linked with a particular programmatic focus of the Organization on which UNESCO Chairs work. UNESCO Chairs Working Sessions and Seminars have stimulated debate through a broad, transversal approach, engaging the community of UNESCO Chairs, UNITWIN Networks, partners and other experts.

See recordings of previous Working Sessions and Seminars below.

Priority Africa Flagship Programmes Banner

Priority Africa Flagship Programmes | Working sessions

Flagship Programme 5

Enhance Open Science - Part I (12 March 2025)

Flagship Programme 4

Harnessing emerging technologies for sustainable development in Africa (19 February 2025)

Flagship Programme 3

Fostering cultural heritage and capacity development (12 February 2025)

Flagship Programme 2

General History of Africa, as a catalyst for achieving Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda (11 December 2024)

Flagship Programme 1

Campus Africa: Reinforcing Higher Education in Africa (31 October 2024)

Series 5 - Towards a Pact for the Future (February to July 2024)

Series 5 of the UNESCO Chairs Seminars provided an interdisciplinary platform for UNESCO Chairs, UNITWIN Networks, and experts to explore key themes of the UN Summit of the Future. This initiative contributed to shaping a collective vision for enhanced global cooperation.
An overview of the Pact for the future (5 March 2024)
Sustainable development & financing for development (9 April 2024)
International peace and security (16 May 2024)
Science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation (5 June 2024)
Youth and future generations (26 June 2024)
Transforming global governance (17 July 2024)
Concept note for Series 5
Pact for the Future Zero Draft

Series 4: Transforming knowledge for Africa's future

The fourth series focused on key issues in Africa – a priority for UNESCO - under the theme "Transforming Knowledge for Africa's Future. It contributed towards the African Union’s Theme of the Year 2024, devoted to education.
Empowering African Science
Advancing the reflection and the action on the ethics of artificial intelligence
Advancing the Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER)
Fostering cultural heritage
Decolonising the teaching of Africa's history
Reinforcing higher education in Africa
UNESCO's work on Priority Africa

Series 3: Science and sustainability

June 2023
Large-scale renewable energy deployment for climate change mitigation
UNESCO's work in Natural Sciences

Series 2: Human rights

The second series of UNESCO Chairs Seminars (May-June 2023) covered issues related to UNESCO's work on human rights, linked to issues of society, knowledge and freedom.
A solution in plain sight: a human rights economy
Science benefiting society: the role of the right to science
Academic freedom and the freedom of science
UNESCO's work in Social and Human Sciences

Series 1: Futures of higher education

The first series of UNESCO Chairs Seminars (January-March 2023) was a wide-ranging discussion on the changing role of higher education.
Beyond limits: new ways to reinvent higher education
Knowledge-driven actions: transforming higher education for global sustainability
Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education
Futures of Education
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"Transforming knowledge for Africa’s future": upcoming series

From September to November 2023, the UNESCO Chairs Seminars will focus on the 5 Flagship Programmes of the  2022-2029. 

These Seminars will provide an interdisciplinary venue for UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks, and other experts, to engage with each Flagship Programme.

The Seminars are a contribution towards the African Union’s Theme of the Year 2024, devoted to education.

Vers un pacte pour l'avenir