Advancing Global Engagement

In November 2024, a delegation from CIFAL York attended the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

CIFAL York, part of the global network of training centers coordinated by United Nations Institute for Training & Research (UNITAR), was represented at COP29 by Mark Terry, a professor in York’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and executive director of the Youth Climate Report, and graduate student, Peyman Naeemi.

At COP29, the CIFAL York delegation took part in a UNITAR panel on how academic institutions are exemplifying sustainability leadership and impact through education, research, and innovation, spotlighting the critical role they play in addressing the climate crisis.

York University’s Faculty of Education recently launched ED Global, a consulting initiative that partners with school boards, educational organizations, governments, and communities to strengthen education systems worldwide.

Led by a professional team of educational and university leaders, including Dean Robert Savage, ED Global offers a range of services to countries and regions around the world. Leveraging the Faculty’s experience in kindergarten to Grade 12 education, the initiative provides expertise in school and system leadership, curriculum development, assessment, digital and inquiry-based learning, social and emotional learning, and inclusive education.

By building collaborative networks and sharing best practices, ED Global helps partners implement strategies and solutions that create a lasting positive impact on education and extends the University’s pedagogical leadership globally.

York University is opening a new chapter in international research with the launch of the Thai-Canada Research Laboratory, a world-class biomedical research facility created in partnership with Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) in Thailand.

Spearheaded by York Biology Professor Gary Sweeney, this milestone collaboration fuses clinical and laboratory science to accelerate breakthroughs in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases, diabetes, heart disease, and aging-related conditions.

Officially opened in November 2024, the lab was made possible by a new memorandum of understanding between York University’s Faculty of Science and SWU. The agreement also unites York and SWU in their shared goals of supporting student mobility and academic collaboration through a commitment to facilitate mutual academic exchanges and study abroad programs, joint programming, research initiatives, and more.

In November 2024, York University made a strong impression during the Canada China Business Council's flagship events in Beijing, which included the 46th Annual General Meeting and Business Forum and the 2024 Canada Education Forum.

At the Business Forum, York’s Asian Business & Management Program and the Faculty of Science both received the Academic Collaboration Award (Bronze) for fostering robust educational and research collaborations with Chinese institutions.

York was also represented at the Canada Education Forum, which brought together participants from Canadian academic institutions and educational organizations, and Chinese academic and government representatives.

Rhonda Lenton, York University President and Vice-Chancellor, delivered a presentation at the Forum where she highlighted York’s strengths in global collaboration, its partnerships with several prestigious Chinese universities, the role of higher education in cultural diplomacy, and the importance of continuing to work together to build a brighter and more prosperous future.

York University’s Glendon Campus, as Toronto’s only bilingual university campus and the only fully integrated bilingual faculty of its kind in Canada, has long been cultivating engagement with francophone communities.

Building on Glendon’s successes in hosting immersion programs, including the federally-funded Explore program, the faculty has been expanding its global reach in partnership with Avantage Ontario, a consortium funded by the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security that facilitates the recruitment of Francophone and Francophile students from around the world.

In Summer 2024, Glendon and Avantage Ontario launched a three-week pilot Summer ESL Program for 16- and 17-year olds. This summer, the program has expanded to include 49 international students from Africa and Europe, elevating Glendon’s reputation as a prime location for cross-cultural and bilingual educational experiences.

In December 2024, Osgoode Hall Law School at York University hosted the third Tri-National Meeting on Labour Rights under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), drawing legal scholars, trade unionists, and policy leaders from across North America to critically assess the state of labour rights enforcement.

Held just ahead of the agreement’s six-year joint review, the meeting provided a forum to evaluate the effectiveness of CUSMA’s Labour Chapter and its Facility-Specific Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM).

Reflective of Osgoode’s deep commitment to legal scholarship and public policy, the meeting served as a platform for reform-minded dialogue where participants shared updates on Mexico’s labour law reforms, examined case studies under the RRM, and explored options for closing enforcement gaps and strengthening labour protections in North America.

Since its opening in 2016, York’s Las Nubes EcoCampus in Costa Rica, located beside one of the largest rainforest ecosystems in Central America, has offered students unique experiential learning opportunities rooted in sustainability, conservation, and community wellbeing.

As part of their capstone course, students from the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA spend a week at the campus, co-creating alternative business models with local youth, while learning to integrate social, economic, and environmental priorities and deepen their understanding of community entrepreneurship.

At the heart of the experience is Casita Azul, the EcoCampus library and community hub which builds local capacity and opportunity. Following their time there, the MBA students recently made an unsolicited donation to the library, a gesture reflecting the power of values-driven learning to inspire meaningful community support.