Higher Education Summit 2026: Call for Contributions
The 2026 Higher Education Summit (HES2026) invites educators, researchers, students, policymakers, and others interested in education and sustainability to submit proposals for contributions. Submissions open on 15 December 2025 and are due by 15 January 2026, with contributors selecting their preferred topics and formats.
The conference is grounded in the transformative learning paradigm and focuses on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as outlined in UNESCO’s 2030 Roadmap and the 2022 Berlin Declaration. ESD is presented as central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals - especially SDG 4 on quality education - while fostering cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral skills such as empathy, solidarity, and action for individual and collective empowerment.
HES2026 adopts a global, comparative perspective, highlighting diverse cultural, socio-economic, and geopolitical contexts, including climate-vulnerable regions, multicultural settings, and displaced populations. A special emphasis is placed on learners’ well-being and climate-related emotions. The summit also highlights Europe’s role in global sustainability, its historical ties with the Global South, and the importance of inclusive, intercultural, and decolonial approaches in advancing transformative ESD worldwide.