The 17th PASCAL Conference will take place on from 4-6 July 2024. It will be hosted by the University of Taipei, Taiwan University of Education and Datong Community College of Taipei City. The venue will be the Howard Civil Service International House in Taipei.

The sustainable development goals have been an important benchmark for the development efforts of policy makers, academics and practitioners for almost a decade now. Yet, many structural changes and major shocks have altered their context since 2015 when they were first decided upon as a plan to be reached by 2030. The global COVID-19 pandemic brought traditional classroom-based face-to-face education to a sudden halt and sped up the process of online teaching and learning and, generally, the digitization of many other functions of society.

Another challenge - not only for education and learning – is the artificial intelligence revolution. The launch of the latest ChatGPT algorithms, pose many challenges for learning, and the development of a world respectful to aims of the SDGs with their economic, social and moral dimensions.

At the Taipei conference what was learned, and still needs to be learnt in order to harness these challenges successfully as we move to 2030 shall be discussed.

We invite submissions of papers, panels and posters concerning the following sub-topics:

• Climate change - its impact on growth, human rights, inequality and ecology, and the transformations that come with mitigation and abatement;
• Pandemics and human-made threats – impacts on peace, human rights, migration and economic resilience;
• Diversity and social protest in cities in relation to issues of inequality, human rights and economic development;
• Cities and regions – changing economies and implications for employment, enterprise and  entrepreneurship;
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) – risks related to learning, security and peace.

Detailed Call for Submissions: 4 September 2023;

Submission Deadline: 4 March 2024;

Final Registration: 3 June 2024

Learn more about the New Challenges for Higher Education, Cities and Regions: Addressing SDGs in Changing Contexts Conference.

Discover the new report on SDGs activities carry out by the IAU HESD Cluster members in 2022-23:

• Higher Education Partnerships to accelerate action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (final version 09/2023)

What is the HESD cluster?

Unlike other projects in this area, the IAU Global Cluster on HESD brings HEIs from all continents together, and encourages them to develop joint initiatives and synergies. This project is more than just about north-south, south-south, or north-north connections; it is also about bringing in universities wishing to get involved further to work together on an equal footing.

The Cluster works on all dimensions of the SDGs, combining economic, social, cultural, and environmental sustainability. Especially the cultural dimension of SD will be at the core of this Cluster, since this is an area not touched-upon a lot by others. Yet, due to the diverse nature of the IAU, the association believes that this is the key to successful partnerships and a holistic understanding of the Global Goals.

The Cluster is composed of 16 lead Institutions, each championing and working on one specific SDG while at the same time linking it to other relevant SDGs. Work on goal 17, which consists of multiple organizations working together, is led by IAU. Gradually, additional institutions will be invited on board. The Cluster will be supported, monitored and steered by the IAU Working Group on HESD. Initiatives developed by the Cluster will be made available to all IAU Members.