Two years ago, on 4 March 2020, York University became the Global Focal Point for SDG 4 on Quality Education in the Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD) Cluster hosted by the International Association of Universities (IAU). Within the cluster, York University partners with

• University of Peace, Costa Rica;
• Charles University, Czech Republic;
• Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany;
• International Islamic University Malaysia; and
• Rhodes University, South Africa.

Despite a global pandemic changing the world and moving virtual, York University´s UNESCO Chair and its partners remained committed to achieving quality education by 2030 starting a number of new initiatives, e.g.,

• The Sustainable on the Go Conference Series in partnership with York International and further international partners
• Co-founding a new UNITWIN Network on Education for Sustainable Development and Societal Transformations (UNiESD&ST), the first one worldwide focusing on ESD and teacher education.
  
• Open-access publishing in co-authorship on the whole-institution approach and the promise of well-being in higher education.

More activities are planned leading up to the 16th IAU General Conference in October 2022. More details on the cluster and continuous updates are found here.