What you need to know about the UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks

The UNESCO Chairs Programme and the UNITWIN Networks are celebrating their 30^th anniversary this year. To mark this milestone, UNESCO is organizing a conference to highlight the accomplishments over the last three decades and explore innovative ways to advance interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral dialogues and mobilization needed to address the complex challenges of the 21^st century.   

Launched in 1992, the UNESCO Chairs Programme and the UNITWIN Networks involve over 850 institutions in 117 countries. They promote international inter-university cooperation and networking to enhance institutional capacities through knowledge sharing and collaborative work.

Here’s what you need to know.

A UNESCO Chair is a team led by a higher education or research institution that partners with UNESCO on a project to advance knowledge and practice in an area of common priority. The partnership is formalized through an agreement between the Director-General of UNESCO and the head of the institution hosting the UNESCO Chair (Rector, President, Vice-Chancellor). Established within a teaching or research unit/department/faculty of the higher education or research institution, the UNESCO Chair is led by an academic head referred to as the Chairholder. The Chairholder is supported by a team of faculty members, lecturers, researchers and students from the host institutions and personnel from other partner organizations (e.g. other institutions, NGOs, public and private sector, authorities) in the host country and in other countries who are associated with the activities of the Chair.

A UNITWIN Network is a partnership between UNESCO and a network of higher education or research institutions of at least three institutions in different countries, at least two of which must be located in the Global South, and which pool their competencies and resources around particular themes. The partnership is established through an agreement between the Director-General of UNESCO and the head of every institution proposed as a partner in the network. The network will propose a Coordinator to represent the UNITWIN Network. Higher education institutions hosting UNESCO Chairs working on the same or closely related themes may come together as a network and/or apply to become a UNITWIN Network. If the application is accepted by UNESCO, the establishment of the UNITWIN Network is formalized by means of an agreement between UNESCO and the Network. Further, higher education institutions that are already linked with others by virtue of bilateral agreements may decide to expand these bilateral agreements into a multilateral one and apply to become a UNITWIN Network.

The UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks support key priority areas related to UNESCO’s fields of competence: Education, the natural and social sciences, culture and communication. Through this network, higher education and research institutions all over the globe pool their resources, both human and material, to address pressing challenges and contribute to the development of their societies. In many instances, the networks and chairs serve as thinktanks and bridgebuilders between academia, civil society, local communities, research and policy-making. They have proven useful in informing policy decisions, establishing new teaching initiatives, generating innovation through research and contributing to the enrichment of existing university programmes while promoting cultural diversity. In areas lacking expertise, chairs and networks have evolved into poles of excellence and innovation at regional or sub-regional levels. They also contribute to strengthening North-South-South cooperation.

In 2020, the UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks from all disciplines and scholarly fields contributed think pieces on the Futures of Education in a publication to help advance a shared vision for the future: Humanistic futures of learning: perspectives from UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks

UNESCO Chairs or UNITWIN Networks may only be established at higher education and research institutions that are recognized, accredited or otherwise sanctioned by the competent national or local authority. UNESCO also welcomes applications from UN Member States, even if they are not UNESCO Member States at the time of application. However, other types of institutions can partner with a UNESCO Chair or UNITWIN Network. These include NGOs and foundations, other academic associations, inter-university and academic networks that wish to link their activities with the UNITWIN Programme, as well as country, regional and international public or private institutions and agencies that currently cooperate with UNESCO or plan to do so in an area of intellectual cooperation. Institutions wishing to host a UNESCO Chair or become a member of a UNITWIN Network should have adequate funding secured or concrete plans to mobilize funds to undertake proposed project activities.

While UNESCO does not provide any financial support to the UNESCO Chairs or UNITWIN Networks, a proposal for funding a UNESCO Chair or UNITWIN Network may be made via the relevant National Commission for UNESCO to the UNESCO Participation Programme.

• UNESCO Chairs Programme and the UNITWIN Networks
• 30^th anniversary conference
• UNESCO’s work in higher education
• List of UNESCO Chairs
• List of UNESCO Networks