UNESCO Chair Newsletter May 2025

Welcome to the May 2025 edition of the York University UNESCO Chair Newsletter!

We just returned from Saudi Arabia where we supported facilitating a unique leadership workshop under the title Leaders in Higher Education Alliance and Programme – For Accelerating Sustainability Transformations (LEAP-FAST) in collaboration with UNITAR and UNESCO and in academic partnership with Majmaah University. Leadership has become a central theme in the global sustainability dialogue. The LEAP-FAST programme is unique in its two-tiered approach of addressing university presidents and rectors in a leadership dialogue and offering a certificate training for deans, professors, faculty managers and other key actors who are crucial in influencing sustainability transformation on campuses across the globe.

With this newsletter, we present upcoming opportunities and events in the month of May and beyond where Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is at the core, aiming to equip learners of all ages with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to shape just futures. Please feel free to share this newsletter with your colleagues or invite them to sign up for future editions.

Charles Hopkins & Katrin Kohl

UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability, York University

Congratulations Charles Hopkins! In a remarkable recognition of his lifelong commitment to sustainability, York University’s Charles Hopkins has earned the esteemed 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Hopkins has successfully influenced many global initiatives for ESD, fostering institutional collaborations and engaging thousands of learners worldwide. His leadership has contributed to positioning York University as a sustainability leader and inspired transformative educational practices globally. The award ceremony will take place during AASHE's Annual Conference in Minneapolis (USA) on 22-24 October 2025.

As part of the inaugural edition of the UNITAR–UNESCO “Leaders in Higher Education Alliance and Programme – For Accelerating Sustainability Transformations,” Majmaah University in Saudi Arabia hosted a co-creation workshop from 27 April to 1 May 2025. Co-facilitated by international experts, including the UNESCO Chair team at York University, the workshop brought together 50 education leaders from 16 countries to strengthen engagement with whole-institution transformation, to advance sustainability competencies, and to make teaching and research more inclusive and transdisciplinary.

With our partner, iGoCitizen, we are celebrating the successful implementation of five fully youth-led social action plans following the 2^nd edition of the iGoCitizen Active Global Citizenship Program in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. The workshop was co-facilitated by the Visions Global Empowerment Sri Lanka, Career Guidance Unit, and Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Jaffna.

Rooted in their local contexts and values, these youth-led initiatives addressed pressing issues like menstrual health, mental well-being, plastic pollution, and accessible language learning. Projects reflect not only creativity and empathy but also a strong commitment to building more just, inclusive, and sustainable communities. Read more about the remarkable contributions of five outstanding teams from this cohort in this article.

On 8 May 2025, the UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainability and Global Citizenship at Universidad de San Andrés will host a virtual launch event featuring Dr. Namrata Sharma and her newly released book Education for Sustainability and Global Citizenship: Intercultural, Ethical, and Justice-Based Approaches. The book explores the implications of the environmental crisis for formal, non-formal, and informal education, offering a human rights-based perspective on sustainability and global citizenship.

UNESCO and UNFCCC will kick off the 4^th season of their climate education webinar series on the road to COP 30 on 20 May 2025, with a session on Greening Communities. This first webinar will explore how lifelong learning, community-based education, and local governance can foster climate-resilient, sustainable communities. The session will highlight practical cases and multi-stakeholder approaches connecting schools, curricula, and teacher training to broader community efforts.

Join the 6^th Global Climate and SDG Synergy Conference on 27-28 May 2025, at UN City in Copenhagen (Denmark). Co-convened by UNDESA and the UNFCCC Secretariat and hosted by Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the conference will unite experts, policymakers, businesses, youth, and civil society to advance integrated climate and SDG action. Discussions will also explore how education can drive climate solutions and commitments.

The ANGEL Conference 2025 to be held in Berlin (Germany) on 4-6 June 2025 convenes global education researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to explore the role of education in advancing democracy, peace, human rights, sustainability, and social justice. The event emphasizes bridging research and policy and features paper sessions, symposia, and interactive workshops. Registration is open until May 25, 2025.

Join the inaugural Citizen Science 4 Water Conference in Delft (The Netherlands) on 3–5 June 2025 to explore how community-led science supports freshwater monitoring, governance, and the SDGs. Participants will engage with global experts through workshops, research, and collaborative action. While thematically focusing on water, education, public awareness and training - central thrusts of ESD - will be addressed as cross-cutting themes throughout the conference. Registration is open until 30 May 2025.

Apply for the ESD Okayama Award 2025 by 31 May 2025! Okayama City, Japan and the ESD Okayama Award Steering Board are calling for initiatives that contribute to the spread of ESD in local communities around the world and serve as models of good practice. Projects that educate and develop people to learn from each other and take actions to create a sustainable society from various perspectives, such as environmental protection, community development, inheritance of traditional culture, diversity and inclusion, and more, are welcome.

Building on the success of the first FEE Eco-Campus International Conference, this second global event in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) on 18-20 September 2025 will highlight the roles, activities, and future potential of higher education in bridging academic knowledge with practical solutions for sustainable development. A call for proposals is open until 31 May 2025: Organizers welcome a diverse group of participants to engage in discussions on driving a whole-system approach to greening higher education.

The EU GREEN Conference Growing up the Future: Education for Sustainability in Magdeburg (Germany) on 5-6 May 2026 will investigate ESD, taking into consideration global issues and challenges as well as regional and national realities. Organizers invite proposals from educators, researchers, and students worldwide as the event emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to ESD. The call for proposals is open until 31 May 2025.

As the climate crisis intensifies, it’s becoming clear that creative strategies are essential in addressing environmental challenges. On 22 April 2025, UNESCO-IESALC launched an initiative named Earth Day Campaign, seeking to link creative writing, education, and environmental action. The campaign offers an opportunity for youth to engage and make their voices heard through the power of words.

The campaign invites higher education students worldwide to share their stories for the environment, raising awareness about the role of education in tackling climate change. Creative writing will serve as a medium for expressing visions of the future and the importance of sustainable education in the face of climate challenges.

The 2025 Charting New Horizons for Education for Sustainable Development Conference invites scholars and practitioners to critically engage with ESD’s transformative potential in today’s complex global context. Recognizing higher education’s central role in addressing the polycrises. The call emphasizes creative and democratic approaches to sustainability, including storytelling, heritage, peace-building, and institutional change. Proposals should reflect how ESD can inspire agency and system transformation. Abstracts are due by 30 June 2025 with in-person presentations scheduled in Hanover (Germany) for 19–21 November 2025. Download the call for proposals here:

Scotland’s new Learning for Sustainability (LfS) Framework is a significant milestone in the country’s longstanding commitment to embedding sustainability in education. Co-created with the teacher education community, it supports both school-based and university-based teacher educators in realising the entitlement of LfS for all learners. Framed around the national ‘Target 2030’ vision and the four ‘Cs’—Curriculum, Culture, Community, and Campus—the Framework encourages reflective practice and empowers institutions to co-develop inclusive, place-based approaches that strengthen sustainability across Scottish Initial Teacher Education.

Following their annual network meeting in Montreal on 10 March 2025, the UNESCO Chair Network of Canada issued a joint statement reaffirming its commitment to democratic values, human rights, and the SDGs. This collective declaration also highlights the role of academic institutions in advancing quality education, sustainability transformation, and global citizenship through research and international collaboration and acknowledges a shared responsibility for just and equitable futures.