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Several SDGs

On September 25th 2015, countries adopted 17 goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda.

The content listed in this category deals with several SDGs at the same time.

Learn more about the 17 goals

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News associated

IAU 14th General Conference focused on HESD

Under the theme "Higher Education and the Global Agenda”, the 2012 IAU GC devoted sessions to the promotion of SD by higher education

World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development 2014 Called for Renewed Commitment by all Countries

To mark the end of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and the beginning of the Post 2015 agenda activities, UNESCO and the Government of Japan held the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development - Learning Today for a Sustainable Future. The World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, closed on November 12, 2014 with a declaration calling for urgent action to mainstream ESD and include ESD in the post-2015 development agenda. The Aichi-Nagoya Declaration calls on all nations to implement the Global Action Programme on ESD (GAP) to move the ESD agenda forward.

Post-Nagoya Summary

The UNESCO World Conference on Educations for Sustainable Development (WC-ESD) 2014 adopts The Aichi-Nagoya Declaration and the launches the Global Action Programme.

IAU Engagement at COP21 (2015)

The collective voice of the world’s universities and colleges was heard at COP21 when a global alliance of tertiary and higher education sustainability networks, including the IAU, representing more than 3000 universities and colleges worldwide, jointly issued an Open Letter urging Ministers and Governments to acknowledge and strengthen the research and education role that universities and colleges play in addressing climate change. IAU also represented its members by taking part in a COP21 panel debate on “Climate change as part of the curriculum from kindergarten to university”.

IAU Horizons Volume 20, No.3, 2014 and Volume 21, No.1 on HESD (2014)

Launched at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD in Nagoya the Vol.20, No.3 issue offers a series of 18 papers on why higher education plays a crucial role in addressing the challenges of today and tomorrow. Focusing on the theme of the IAU Global Meeting of Associations 6, the Vol.21, No.1 issue offers a variety of papers on why and how higher education fosters social innovation.

2015 HESI Event before COP21: Higher Education for Climate Change Action

IAU is pleased to draw your attention to this Conference organised by HESI and supported by the IAU, which took place at UNESCO Headquarters.

ESD after 2014: Launching the Global Action Programme

The Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) seeks to generate and scale-up ESD action. It is intended to make a substantial contribution to the post-2015 agenda. The overall goal of the GAP is to generate and scale up action in all levels and areas of education and learning to accelerate progress towards sustainable development.

IAU and COPERNICUS Alliance join forces to work on HESD

IAU and COPERNICUS Alliance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD).

2017 Release of "Higher Education Paving the Way to Sustainable Development: A Global Perspective"

The IAU launched the report of its 2016 global survey on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD).

IAU joined the 2017 International Conference on Sustainable Development Goals: Actors and Implementation

On September 18-19, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia hosted the International Conference on SDGs organized by the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi). IAU Secretary General, Dr. Hilligje van't Land, was one of the speaker.

IAU, ACU & AUF sign a Memorandum of Understanding - 2020

During the UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF) 2020, the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), and the International Association of Universities (IAU) have formalised their collaboration through a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Together, the three associations represent more than 2,000 higher education institutions across more than 140 countries – providing a strong base to advocate for higher education on a wide international scale.

Social Impact and IAU HESD Cluster Members

IAU HESD Cluster leads Siam University, Thailand, and Beirut Arab University, Lebanon, recently presented their work with the SDGs and social impact during an online event.

International Women's Day 2021: IAU launches new Publication on SDG 5 Gender Equality

On the 8th of March, 2021, the IAU launched a free online publication prepared with the University of Bologna on University actions towards SDG 5: Gender Equality.

Berlin Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development adopted at UNESCO ESD Conference (17-19 May 2021)

IAU applauds to the adoption and the strong call for engagement for ESD at all education levels, including Higher Education

Joint paper on WIA - IAU HESD Cluster on SDG 4

Read the article on "A whole-institution approach towards sustainability: a crucial aspect of higher education’s individual and collective engagement with the SDGs and beyond" with contributions from the IAU HESD Cluster (2021)

Publication launched! Higher Education Engages with SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Discover the publication launched during the webinar on 23 November!

IAU Horizons on Leadership for a Sustainable Future

Discover the magazine with 34 diverse and innovative contributions in the 'In Focus' section on sustainability from IAU Members and Partners!

UNITWIN Network on ESD and Social Transformation (UNiESD&ST) launched

The newly launched network will foster sustainability learning with teacher education and capacity building

HIGHER EDUCATION AND SDG 14: Integrating Ocean Research for the Global Goals

Discover the publication with papers on SDG14 collected by the University of Bergen and IAU!

The challenge of sustainable mobility: the launch of the Green Erasmus survey report

A report from a study to compare over 10.000 students’ consumer behaviour, travel behaviour, and daily life habits while at home and during their mobility was just published

Opportunity for students to advocate for climate education in higher education

The workshop is part of the Youth and Education project, a collaboration of UNESCO, UNEP, Students Organizing for Sustainability (SOS) International, and USPESD. 

RCE Biodiversity Publication & Video

UNU-IAS and the RCE Network have launched a new publication on Engaging Communities for Biodiversity Conservation

The IAU Global Cluster on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD)

Outputs of the 2022 Meeting: The IAU HESD statement and the Strategy and Working Plan 2022-2024

Join the Solutions Summit on Green Jobs

Solutions Summit for HigherEd, Employers, Students

31st EURASHE Annual Conference: Next Generation PHE

Read more about student contributions at the EURASHE Annual Conference

UN Ocean Conference 2022

From 27th of June 27 to 1st of July, governments, academia and other stakeholders will get together for the UN Ocean Conference. IAU and UiB will advocate for Higher Education and SDG 14

Calling Students to take part in Unesco Transforming Education Survey

Contribute to the discussion and make your voice heard for transforming education for a sustainable future! Share and support students if you are a teacher.

Call for Universities to get involved in the Unesco Mondiacult Conference

Find out how Higher Education is represented at MONDIACULT, UNESCO 2022 - Mexico City on September 26-27, 2022, and get involved

HESI+10 Global Forum

Role of higher education in building back better from COVID-19 and advancing the 2030 Agenda

International Green Gown Awards 2022 - winners announced

Find out about the winning institutions and projects that made an impact for Sustainability in higher education!

IAU General Conference 2022 - UCD Dublin

Register now and join the discussion on Relevance and Value of Universities to Future Society

Transforming Education Youth Declaration 2022 & TES follow up

Read the Youth Declaration launched on 19 September for the UN Transforming Education Summit in NYC and explore the Transforming Education Hub

Travelling differently for a sustainable internationalisation

On 21st of October the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) will host the in-person conference presenting the outcomes of the Erasmus Goes Green project

Youth Consultation Report: What do youth say about higher education in the future?

An in-depth consultation with more than 100 young people from 43 countries defined the challenges, improvements, and opportunities for higher education in 2050 in a new report by UNESCO (2022)

IAU at the HEInnovate – Embedding SDGs in HE practices

IAU was invited to speak at a webinar on how innovation can foster practices for the SDGs - article and recording available now

COP27 - Climate Action and Education

Education will play an important role at the 2022 COP in Egypt

MECCE Interactive Data Platform

Just on time for COP27, the MECCE project launched a data platform to explore climate communication and education (CCE) and ACE actions from different countries

Register now- HER conference Glasgow June 2023

HER2023 invites the research and teaching community to answer this question in analysing the place and work of Higher Education in and beyond the SDGs period to 2030

Join World Climate Day 8 December 2022

IAU joins World Climate Day on 8th December at 14h CET, organised by the Green office at the University of Liège (Belgium), in partnership with AUF

Accelerating Action for the SDGs - Read the Report of the 3rd IAU Global Survey on HESD now

IAU and partners launched the Report with data from 464 HEIs in a webinar on 31 January

Watch the EWORA & IAU webinar on Higher Education, Gender and Equity

A day before International Women's day 2023, IAU and EWORA have partnered for a discussion on higher education's role for SDG 5 and equity

Nominations open for 2023 UNESCO-Japan ESD Prize

Do you know of an innovative and established project for ESD? Consider suggesting it for nomination for the UNESCO-Japan ESD Prize!

MECCE - Funded Case Studies: Call for Proposals

Could your university or project be a case study of a climate change communication and education initiative? Learn more and apply- deadline extended to 26 February

Higher Education at UN Water Conference 2023

Higher Education and Research are crucial for SDG 6 and all SDGs

TASK™ – The Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge – has officially launched!

Sulitest launches TASK™️ - The Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge - with the ambition to transform education by making sustainability the universal language.

2023 Global University Climate Forum

Students can apply until 30 March 2023 to be part of this year's Global University Climate Forum and actively learn and contribute to the discourse around COP28

AUF International Consortium for Gender Equality

Two years of collaborative work in favor of Gender Equality at the University: experience the workshop of the International Consortium initiated by the AUF

The #ARC9 Report on “Asia-Europe Higher Education Mapping: Working Towards the SDGs" and the recording of the launch are now available online!

The 9th edition of ARC (ARC9) explores and maps both higher education policies and higher education institution practices across Asia and Europe that contribute to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

ESD-Net 2030 Learning Webinar on ESD Pedagogies - Recordings Available!

To promote knowledge sharing, collaboration, and mutual learning ESD-Net 2030 is organizing a series of learning webinars in March, May and September 2023 on ESD pedagogy to highlight and promote innovative practices in ESD. This interactive learning series will focus on sharing and strengthening pedagogical approaches and key competencies in ESD through a broad range of topics and issues. 

Announcement of the 2023 International Green Gown Awards Winners

Get to know the winners of the award ceremony on 17 July at the UN HLPF!

ESD Okayama Award 2023 - Open for applications!

Okayama City and the ESD Okayama Award Steering Board are calling for initiatives that contribute to the spread of ESD in local communities in Japan and abroad and serve as models for the world. The award is looking for projects that educate and develop people to learn from each other and take action toward the creation of a sustainable society from various perspectives, such as environmental conservation, community development, inheritance of traditional culture, and diversity and inclusion, and more. Be sure to send your applications!

2023 SDG Summit

"The SDG Summit in September must be a moment of unity to provide a renewed impetus and accelerated actions for reaching the SGDs": António Guterres, UN Secretary General

The Cost of Net Zero in Education- Report and Calculator

The new Cost of Net Zero Calculator tool, together with the report ‘The Cost of Net Zero’ have been launched.

IAU HESD Activity Report 2022-23 - available now

Discover the recent actions from the network in the annual Cluster activity report!

IAU Partners with UWN on the SDGs Hub

The IAU and University World News have partnered to support the work of universities by providing them with adequate and constructive visibility though the UWN’s SDGs Hub.

Launch Announcement : IAU-SOS Responsible Futures International Pilot

The IAU is pleased to announce its partnership with Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), for the international adaptation of the Responsible Futures programme, that SOS-UK already has been conducting with further and higher education institutions for almost 10 years in the UK.

Students Reinventing Cities Competition

After the success of the past edition, C40 has launched a new round of Students Reinventing Cities in 12 cities globally. Students Reinventing Cities provides a unique opportunity for academics and students to collaborate with global cities to imagine a more sustainable and inclusive urban future, by rethinking how neighborhoods identified by cities are planned and designed and developing transformative solutions aligned with the 15-minute city concept.

Join the Race to Zero for Universities and Colleges - A Global Initiative for a Zero Carbon World

Led by the High-Level Climate Champions for Climate Action, the Race To Zero mobilizes actors outside of national governments to join the Climate Ambition Alliance, which was launched at the UNSG’s Climate Action Summit in 2019 by the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera...

IAU-UOC Webinar: The Mental Health Crisis - Building Resilience in a Changing World

//Watch the recording & read the event summary// Addressing Mental Health issues of students and staff at universities and taking preventive measures through information and e-health tools were some of the examples described by experts during this webinar.

17th PASCAL Conference: New Challenges for Higher Education, Cities and Regions: Addressing SDGs in Changing Contexts - July 4-6 2024

Under the general theme of the conference, New Challenges for Higher Education, Cities and Regions: Addressing SDGs in Changing Contexts, key issues address both the larger international dimension of the mission of universities and colleges with the aim of contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and their role for the development and well-being of cities and local communities.

Transforming Education Together: 2023 ESD-NET Global Meeting in Tokyo

The ESD-NET Global Meeting in Tokyo, which commenced on December 18, 2023, marked a successful gathering at the United Nations University with the presence of representatives from more than 80 countries. This year’s meeting focused on sharing the implementation and progress of the ESD-2030 national initiatives, trends, challenges and innovations within the framework of Agenda 2030 and discussing the action points for the next two years 2024-2025.

Call for African Universities and Scholars to Apply to the CADFP Programme

The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) is now accepting Project Requests from African host universities and Scholar Applications from qualified African academics in the diaspora in the United States and Canada.

Interactive Session: How to find information on higher education and SDG actions using the IAU HESD Portal

Would you like to learn how to find actions from universities on sustainable development and SDGs? Interested in resources for teaching SDGs? Join the free 30 min interactive online session to learn more about the IAU HESD Portal and the IAU HESD work.

Spotlight #2 on pilot participants - IAU and SOS Responsible Futures Programme

Learn about the participants in this international pilot and their achievements so far in the journey of integrating ESD at the whole institution. This second spotlight looks at Queen's University, Canada

Responsible Futures International - ongoing pilot with 7 institutions around the world

Find out how your institution can join the next cohort 2024-25 of the Responsible Futures International Programme !

International Green Gown Awards 2024: Apply now!

We are thrilled to announce that the International Green Gown Awards 2024 Awards are open. Join us in celebrating sustainability for the 10th anniversary of the IGGAs. With 8 categories to choose from, reward your sustainability journey and apply today! Don't miss the deadline on April 29, 2024.

2024 Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award

UArctic and the Arctic Circle welcome nominations for the 2024 Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award until April 30, 2024.

Spotlight #3 on pilot participants - IAU and SOS Responsible Futures Programme

Learn about the participants in this international pilot and their achievements so far in the journey of integrating ESD at the whole institution. Murdoch University and their "Murdoch Mettle" initiative engaging students is up next!

UNESCO launches new publications for “Greening Education Partnership”

On World Environment Day, UNESCO unveils two new concrete tools for greening schools and curricula, highlighting the need to empower young people to play a concrete role in tackling the climate crisis.

ESD Okayama Award 2024 - Open for applications!

Okayama City (Japan) and the ESD Okayama Award Steering Board are calling for initiatives that contribute to the spread of ESD in local communities anywhere in the world and serve as models of good practice. Apply now!

Annoncement of the 2024 International Green Gown Awards Finalists

In the 10th year of the IGGAs, an incredible number of 95 finalists from 28 countries across eight categories applied! Discover the shortlisted finalists for 2024 now

Spotlight #4 on pilot participants - IAU and SOS Responsible Futures Programme

Learn about the participants in this international pilot and their achievements so far in the journey of integrating ESD at the whole institution. We're pleased this month to highlight Responsible Futures International pilot institution Mykolas Romeris University (MRU, Lithuania).

Exploring Perception of Faculty Engagement in Sustainability: Discover the results of the Global Survey

The report presenting results of the global survey on Exploring Perception of Faculty Engagement in Sustainability: An International Survey Identifying Levers of Action and Best Practices is available!

Spotlight #5 on pilot participants - IAU and SOS Responsible Futures Programme

Participating institutions in this international pilot are advancing the work for sustainability! This month, discover the example of Women's University in Africa (WUA) in Zimbabwe!

IAU HESD Cluster Activity Report 2023-24 published

Read the latest report on SDGs activities carried out by the IAU HESD Cluster members

2024 International Green Gown Awards Winners

For this year's Green Gown Awards, several IAU members were amongst the finalists and congrats to those awarded!