News

2017 Release of "Higher Education Paving the Way to Sustainable Development: A Global Perspective"

The IAU launched the report of its 2016 global survey on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD).

IAU joined the University Alliance for Sustainability Spring Campus 2017

From March 27-31 Freie Universität hosted the second Spring Campus event of the University Alliance for Sustainability on the topic “Societal Transformation to Sustainability: Universities as Pacesetters?”. IAU Deputy Secretary General, Dr. Hilligje van't Land, was one of the keynote speaker.

IAU 15th General Conference - Speakers’ presentations available online

From November 13 to 16, the IAU held its 15th General Conference in Bangkok which was hosted by a consortium of Thai universities.

IAU and COPERNICUS Alliance join forces to work on HESD

IAU and COPERNICUS Alliance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD).

Rio Declaration 1992 and Rio+20 2012 renewed commitments from HE

The UN Conferences on Sustainable Development, in particular in 1992 and 2012, marked milestones for change and provided a platform for exchange, for all stakeholders. Higher Education strongly advocated for its role early on and mobilised the HE community to recognise the need for action and take the next steps. IAU and partners have been supporting these efforts in various ways.

IAU Engagement at COP21 (2015)

The collective voice of the world’s universities and colleges was heard at COP21 when a global alliance of tertiary and higher education sustainability networks, including the IAU, representing more than 3000 universities and colleges worldwide, jointly issued an Open Letter urging Ministers and Governments to acknowledge and strengthen the research and education role that universities and colleges play in addressing climate change. IAU also represented its members by taking part in a COP21 panel debate on “Climate change as part of the curriculum from kindergarten to university”.

2015 HESI Event before COP21: Higher Education for Climate Change Action

IAU is pleased to draw your attention to this Conference organised by HESI and supported by the IAU, which took place at UNESCO Headquarters.

IAU Horizons Volume 20, No.3, 2014 and Volume 21, No.1 on HESD (2014)

Launched at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD in Nagoya the Vol.20, No.3 issue offers a series of 18 papers on why higher education plays a crucial role in addressing the challenges of today and tomorrow. Focusing on the theme of the IAU Global Meeting of Associations 6, the Vol.21, No.1 issue offers a variety of papers on why and how higher education fosters social innovation.

Post-Nagoya Summary

The UNESCO World Conference on Educations for Sustainable Development (WC-ESD) 2014 adopts The Aichi-Nagoya Declaration and the launches the Global Action Programme.

ESD after 2014: Launching the Global Action Programme

The Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) seeks to generate and scale-up ESD action. It is intended to make a substantial contribution to the post-2015 agenda. The overall goal of the GAP is to generate and scale up action in all levels and areas of education and learning to accelerate progress towards sustainable development.

World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development 2014 Called for Renewed Commitment by all Countries

To mark the end of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and the beginning of the Post 2015 agenda activities, UNESCO and the Government of Japan held the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development - Learning Today for a Sustainable Future. The World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, closed on November 12, 2014 with a declaration calling for urgent action to mainstream ESD and include ESD in the post-2015 development agenda. The Aichi-Nagoya Declaration calls on all nations to implement the Global Action Programme on ESD (GAP) to move the ESD agenda forward.

IAU 14th General Conference focused on HESD

Under the theme "Higher Education and the Global Agenda”, the 2012 IAU GC devoted sessions to the promotion of SD by higher education

Call for African Universities and Scholars to Apply to the CADFP Programme

The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) is now accepting Project Requests from African host universities and Scholar Applications from qualified African academics in the diaspora in the United States and Canada.

Interactive Session: How to find information on higher education and SDG actions using the IAU HESD Portal

Would you like to learn how to find actions from universities on sustainable development and SDGs? Interested in resources for teaching SDGs? Join the free 30 min interactive online session to learn more about the IAU HESD Portal and the IAU HESD work.

Social Impact and IAU HESD Cluster Members

IAU HESD Cluster leads Siam University, Thailand, and Beirut Arab University, Lebanon, recently presented their work with the SDGs and social impact during an online event.

International Women's Day 2021: IAU launches new Publication on SDG 5 Gender Equality

On the 8th of March, 2021, the IAU launched a free online publication prepared with the University of Bologna on University actions towards SDG 5: Gender Equality.

Berlin Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development adopted at UNESCO ESD Conference (17-19 May 2021)

IAU applauds to the adoption and the strong call for engagement for ESD at all education levels, including Higher Education

IAU-UOC Webinar: The Mental Health Crisis - Building Resilience in a Changing World

//Watch the recording & read the event summary// Addressing Mental Health issues of students and staff at universities and taking preventive measures through information and e-health tools were some of the examples described by experts during this webinar.

Joint paper on WIA - IAU HESD Cluster on SDG 4

Read the article on "A whole-institution approach towards sustainability: a crucial aspect of higher education’s individual and collective engagement with the SDGs and beyond" with contributions from the IAU HESD Cluster (2021)

UNESCO in action for gender equality: 2022-2023 Report

During the UNESCO General Conference, UNESCO launched a new report on gender equality. IAU was pleased to attend the launch event on 7 November 2023.

Greening Education Hub at COP 28 and related activities

Education and Higher Education at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) taking place in Dubai from 30 November -12 December 2023.

Launch Announcement : IAU-SOS Responsible Futures International Pilot

The IAU is pleased to announce its partnership with Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), for the international adaptation of the Responsible Futures programme, that SOS-UK already has been conducting with further and higher education institutions for almost 10 years in the UK.

IAU Partners with UWN on the SDGs Hub

The IAU and University World News have partnered to support the work of universities by providing them with adequate and constructive visibility though the UWN’s SDGs Hub.

Join the Race to Zero for Universities and Colleges - A Global Initiative for a Zero Carbon World

Led by the High-Level Climate Champions for Climate Action, the Race To Zero mobilizes actors outside of national governments to join the Climate Ambition Alliance, which was launched at the UNSG’s Climate Action Summit in 2019 by the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera...

IAU - UNEP-YEA! Connecting Higher Education and the Green Economy Community: Workforce Development for the Clean Energy Transition and Climate Solutions

Recording available! Sign up for follow up activities

The challenge of sustainable mobility: the launch of the Green Erasmus survey report

A report from a study to compare over 10.000 students’ consumer behaviour, travel behaviour, and daily life habits while at home and during their mobility was just published

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