This year, the UNESCO Chairs Programme and the UNITWIN Networks celebrated their 30th anniversary. To mark this milestone, UNESCO organised a two-day conference on 3-4 November 2022 under the theme “Transforming knowledge for just and sustainable futures”. The purpose of this conference was to highlight the accomplishments over the last 3 decades and explore innovative ways to advance interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral dialogues and mobilization needed to address the complex challenges of the 21st century. Joining the celebration, the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe collaborated with Futures of Learning and Innovation (FLI) of the Education Sector towards the organisation of a side event which focused on UNESCO Chairs and Networks in Europe.
Many of today’s most pressing challenges, such as climate change or the COVID-19 pandemic, need more than one approach and one area of expertise from multiple disciplines in order to address them. One of UNESCO’s advantages within the more extensive UN system is its capacity to harness its multi-disciplinary expertise, together with its networks, to address complex challenges through its 5 areas of competence and its 5 functions - laboratory of ideas, a standard setter, a clearing house, a capacity builder in Member States, and a catalyst for international cooperation.
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. They support key priority areas related to UNESCO’s fields of competence: Education, the natural and social sciences, culture and communication.
The incredible potential of the chairs network, notably in the European region, has yet to be fully realised. Indeed, the regional network of European chairs consolidates the diverse expertise and knowledge of UNESCO chairs and networks in Europe for more interdisciplinary collaboration. However, there has been a gap in a clearinghouse function to build and consolidate the diverse expertise and knowledge of UNESCO Chairs and Networks in Europe for more interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthening connections between knowledge, research, education, and public policies.
UNESCO side event - Regional meeting of UNESCO Chairs and Networks in Europe
In this context, as a side event to the conference, the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe in collaboration with the Futures of Learning and Innovation team of UNESCO’s Education Sector convened on 3 November the Regional meeting of UNESCO Chairs and Networks in Europe: Addressing complex interdisciplinary challenges through knowledge sharing and cross-disciplinary cooperation of Chairs.
The side event built on the key outcomes of and Palazzo Zorzi Declaration adopted at the First Regional meeting of the UNESCO Science-related Chairs and Centres for South-East Europe and the Mediterranean, which mobilised 28 chairs and centres in 9 different countries of the region on 26-28 October in Venice.
120 Chairs, National Commissions, and other stakeholders from all over the world, especially from Europe and North American regions, attended the side event. Most participating chairs led and contributed a fruitful discussion to facilitate cross-sectoral dialogue and collaboration better and propose innovative solutions to the complex challenges the international community is facing.
The side event highlighted best practices of interdisciplinary actions and identified how Chairs can best contribute to UNESCO’s addressing today’s most complex challenges. Finally, it explored the role of chairs in knowledge sharing and improving connections between UNESCO’s areas of competence. Participants expressed their urgent need for networking, inter-disciplinary cooperation, and knowledge sharing among chairs and networks at the regional level.
The event concluded, addressing complex interdisciplinary challenges through knowledge sharing and cross-disciplinary cooperation of chairs. Some of them have initiated multiple actions inspired by the discussions. It also reaffirmed the relevant role of their respective regional offices in enhancing visibility, intellectual leadership, catalysing networking, innovation in inter-disciplinary research, and transforming the knowledge common at regional and sub-regional levels.
Participating chairs indicated high satisfaction with the event and expressed their wish to be engaged in any further actions, notably cross-sectoral collaboration and research. “The event was very fruitful and we look forward to the next similar event connecting the regional chairs”, said Qiuhua Liang, Professor of Water Engineering, Loughborough University.