Skip to main content Skip to local navigation

IN THE MEDIA: Reorienting education towards sustainable development

IN THE MEDIA: Reorienting education towards sustainable development

York University UNESCO Chair Charles Hopkins sitting in front of a background of blocks that each represent 1 of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals
Charles Hopkins, York University’s UNESCO Chair, received the 2022 Clean50 Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in reorienting education systems towards sustainable development and fostering cross-sector collaboration.

There is a powerful tool that can help to address the interconnected global challenges of our time, including climate change, loss of biodiversity, poverty and inequality – and this tool is education.

Yet how do we hone such a tool to enhance its application and impact? How do we ensure it can be effectively used in different circumstances and communities across the globe? Such questions are at the core of the career-long efforts of Charles Hopkins, York University’s UNESCO Chair, who received the 2022 Clean50 Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in reorienting education systems towards sustainable development and fostering cross-sector collaboration.

Climate challenges affect us all – and they cannot be resolved by anything less than a collaborative approach, says Mr. Hopkins. “We need to create linkages between governments, academia, business, industry, the arts and civil society. What is required is a sense of responsibility and engagement from everyone to advance a common goal: a better future for all, while ‘all’ is not limited to humans.”

Read the full article in the Globe & Mail