Transforming knowledge for just and sustainable futures
Transforming knowledge for just and sustainable futures
An international conference to mark the 30th anniversary of
the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme
UNESCO Paris
3 - 4 November 2022
Last updated: 22 September 2022
Background
Established in 1992, the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme is an inter-sectoral network to mobilize and share the expertise of higher education institutions to address complex interdependent development challenges. It promotes international inter-university cooperation and networking to enhance institutional capacities through knowledge sharing and collaborative work.
The 850 university chairs and UNITWIN research networks from over 110 countries represent a unique resource for intellectual and scientific cooperation at national, regional and global levels. They play a key strategic role in strengthening connections between knowledge, research, education, and public policies.
As the world faces multiple overlapping social, economic, political, technological and environmental disruptions, the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme is needed more than ever. The inter-disciplinary nature of the Programme is well placed to address some of these issues. As well as recognizing past accomplishments, this conference will take a forward-looking approach and consider the future potential of UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks in contributing to the knowledge commons and open science.
This conference, organized by UNESCO with the support of the French National Commission for UNESCO, will celebrate the accomplishments of the Programme over the last three decades and advance authentic interdisciplinary dialogues and the cross-sectoral mobilization needed to confront the complex challenges on the horizon. Dedicated to the theme of “Transforming knowledge for just and sustainable futures”, the two-day event is grounded in the spirit of global scientific, moral, intellectual, and academic solidarity.
Participants
Current members of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, Permanent Delegations to UNESCO and National Commissions for UNESCO, higher education institutions, partner organizations, and other UNITWIN stakeholders and UNESCO colleagues and networks are welcome to attend.
The conference will be held in-person at UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris, 7, place de Fontenoy, Paris, France. Further information is available on the UNITWIN home page and the conference webpage is open for pre-registration. UNESCO strongly encourages higher education institutions with funding possibilities to consider sponsoring the travel of collaborators and partners from the Global South.
Objectives
1. Recognize the accomplishments of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme over the past thirty years
Celebration and recognition of accomplishments from across the past 30 years will be woven through the event, with attention focused on the ways that the Programme has generated knowledge and ideas that matter, strengthened capacities, enriched international and inter-cultural cooperation, and promoted intellectual solidarity.
- Invigorate greater interdisciplinary cooperation and catalyze new research collaborations
The conference will also serve as a platform for generating foresight in priority thematic areas and to envisage the further evolution of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme. It will feature plenary and parallel sessions on developing foresight within and across UNESCO’s priority programmes and provide opportunities for networking.
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Day One – Thursday 3 November 2022 |
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MORNING 08:30-09:30 |
REGISTRATION |
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09:30-10:00
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OPENING SESSION Opening Remarks (Room I)
Reflections on UNITWIN: Looking back to see the way forward
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10:00-12:00 |
The Transformation of the Knowledge Commons Public Lecture
The growing complexity and interdependence of multiple global development challenges call for more inter-disciplinary and forward-looking research and knowledge generation. As a common good, science, research and evidence can inform decision-making at all levels, and shape agendas and policy actions for more equitable, inclusive and sustainable development in the years ahead. This Public Lecture will examine the value of key concepts and actions in the quest to transform knowledge for just and sustainable futures, such as the global knowledge commons; co-creating knowledge, research and evidence; democratizing research; steering digitalization; gender equality in science; and epistemic justice. |
A welcome coffee/tea will be offered to participants from 8.30am to 9.30am.
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Day One (cont.) – Thursday 3 November 2022 |
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12:00-14:30 |
Lunch break |
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AFTERNOON 14:30-16:00 |
Responding to Multi-dimensional Crises: Implications for research Plenary Panel 1 (Room II) Today’s world is experiencing simultaneous crises of a multi-dimensional nature. Environmental damage continues, the growing effects of climate change are far-reaching, inequalities are widening, democratic space is increasingly threatened, and conflicts continue to undermine peace and development efforts. This session explores what roles researchers, scientists and related institutions can play in responding to these multi-dimensional crises, as well as the associated power asymmetries and social, economic and environmental imbalances. Do we need a new ‘eco-social contract’ as a means of preventing and addressing multi-dimensional crises? What implications for research, science and future international cooperation? How can science as a common good enhance sustainability based on principles of social, economic and environmental justice? |
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16:00-16:30 |
Break |
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16:30-18:00 |
Parallel Thematic Sessions (provisional titles) These sessions examine these implications for research in more detail, from the perspective of experts working in key areas of UNESCO’s mandate. 1. Towards a Research Agenda to Transform Education 2. Transforming Research: Indigenous Knowledge, Values and Capacities 3. Ocean Science and Knowledge for Sustainable Development 4. The Role of Social Sciences and the Humanities 5. Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development 6. Information as a Public Good in the Digital Era |
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EVENING 18:00-20:00 |
ANNIVERSARY COCKTAIL |
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Day Two – Friday 4 November 2022 |
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MORNING 9:00-10:30 |
Reimagining our Futures Together: Insights from Futures Literacy Plenary Panel 2 (Room II) As the challenges and uncertainties of our times continue to persist, the need for connecting knowledge to inclusive policy design and decision-making using research, evidence and innovation is more important than ever. This panel seeks to reveal how Futures Literacy and Futures Studies can enable creative leadership, innovation, and address complexity through a capability-based approach to development. How can we use the inter-disciplinary nature of Futures Studies to address the emerging complexities of the climate crisis, increasing inequalities and the needs of our future generations? This expert discussion will uncover how UNESCO, in its role to promote the UN Common Agenda, and the UNESCO Chairs in Futures Literacy and Futures Studies can strengthen dialogue across the UN ecosystem and its Member States, with the objective of forging a stronger link between research and policy and to enhance capabilities to design forward looking policies and programmes. |
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10:30-11:00 |
Break |
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11:00-12:30
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Parallel Workshops (Provisional titles) These workshops engage UNESCO Chairs and other experts with recent activities and international cooperation initiatives with a focus on enhancing future collaborations and promoting normative instruments in key areas of UNESCO’s mandate.
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12:30-14:30 |
Lunch break |
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AFTERNOON 14:30-16:30 |
UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme: A Global Observatory? Concluding Session and Way Forward (Room II) Recalling the aims, objectives - and evolution - of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, this session seeks to envisage its future potential for strengthening inter-university cooperation, international partnerships, research, teaching and community engagement and intellectual solidarity. Considering possible and preferred futures this panel will reflect on how the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme could best serve as a global think tank and an observatory of emerging issues and trends. UNESCO Chairs, UNITWIN Networks, National Commissions, and UNESCO Specialists will engage in an open discussion on the past, present, and strategic potential of the Programme. |
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16:30-17:00 |
CLOSING (Room II)
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