The UNESCO World Higher Education Conference 2022 will bring together all relevant stakeholders to reshape ideas and practices in higher education to ensure sustainable development for the planet and humanity.
As a global university association advocating for the key role that higher education plays in achieving sustainable development, the ACU will be contributing to the discussions through hosting and participating in a series of panels and roundtables together with our partners and members.
ACU contributions
- Roundtable: International aid for higher education: global trends and future talks, with the participation of ACU Secretary General, Dr Joanna Newman. 18 May | 16:15 – 17:00 CEST
- Roundtable: ACU co-hosted with ACU member University of Victoria. Transformative Change Makers in Higher Education, moderated by ACU Secretary General, Dr Joanna Newman. 19 May | 09:30– 11:00 CEST
- Panel: UNESCO, IAU, SDSN/Mission 4.7 Session: Higher Education’s role in securing the future - a more equitable, peaceful and sustainable society. Are universities ready to assume their full responsibility? With participation from ACU Secretary General, Dr Joanna Newman. 20 May | 9:30-11:00 CEST
Throughout the event, we will be advocating for higher education’s vital role in sustainable development and in delivering progress across all 17 UN SDGS; for the importance of investing in higher ed to further strengthen this contribution; and in the value of higher education led partnerships for sustainable development.
As part of the formal contribution to the conference, the ACU also submitted two ‘knowledge products’:
- Joint report into HE partnerships and the SDGs: Joint submission with the British Council
- Higher education associations: supporting the development of international higher education partnerships to accelerate progress towards the SDGs: Joint submission with IAU and AUF
About the event
UNESCO WHEC22 is the third version of the conference and will bring together relevant stakeholders to define and prepare a roadmap for ‘a new era of higher education’. This roadmap will respond to the challenges faced by humanity and the planet, with special attention to the global disruption created by COVID-19. It will look at both the higher education systems (norms, policies, structures, stakeholders) and institutions (universities, specialized entities, networks).
UNESCO is organizing the WHEC2022 to offer new knowledge, innovative ideas creative alliances, and produce an enlarged and reinvigorated coalition of the global higher education community in favour of the 2030 Agenda for Development and beyond.
Join us online!
ACU members can still join online to follow the discussions through the Conference Platform, by registering online. All sessions will also become available on-demand following the conference, and the ACU will be sharing the key outcomes of the event with members shortly after.
Discover the UNESCO WHEC2022 provisional agenda here, and the concept note for the conference here
Register