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IAU PARTNERS IN HESD

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To enhance international cooperation in HESD, IAU cooperates with various key partners and sits on several committees.
Click on each partner to learn more about our cooperation:

UNESCO ESD for 2030	Copernicus Alliance	Energy Observer	SULITEST
Green Gown Awards	Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie	Association of Commonwealth Universities	SOS-UK

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WHAT IS THE IAU GLOBAL CLUSTER ON HESD ?

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Launched in 2018, the IAU Cluster on HESD promotes the role of higher education institutions in building more sustainable societies. It is a consortium of IAU Member universities from all parts of the world, working in collaboration to develop existing and new exciting initiatives to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all United Nations Member States in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Cluster encourages a holistic approach to the SDGs, promoting the whole institution approach, where institutions aim to embed sustainable development in their strategic planning, academic and organizational work.

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HOW DOES THE IAU GLOBAL CLUSTER ON HESD WORK?

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Each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is assigned an institutional team leader, joined by a group of up to 8 Satellite Universities. IAU is responsible for leading the work on SDG 17 - Partnerships for the goals.
IAU and the 16 lead institutions, together with their satellite universities are acting as the voice for higher education at the United Nations’ High Level Political Forum. Through this international cooperation, the project has the most global outreach than any other projects in the field.

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WHO ARE THE INSTITUTIONS PARTICIPATING IN THE IAU GLOBAL CLUSTER ON HESD?

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Discover the Members of the IAU Global Cluster on HESD !
Click on each SDG to learn more about the lead institution and its initiatives on the IAU HESD Portal

• SDG 1: No Poverty: University of Ghana, Ghana

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger: Antonio Nariño University, Colombia

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being: Open University of Catalonia (UOC), Spain

• SDG 4: Quality Education: York University, Canada

• SDG 5: Gender Equality: University of Bologna, Italy

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: University of Tehran, Iran

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy: Assam Don Bosco University, India

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: University of Gothenburg, Sweden

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure:Beirut Arab University, Lebanon

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: University of Tsukuba, Japan

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: Siam University, Thailand

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: University of Regina and Luther College, Canada

• SDG 13: Climate Action: University of the West Indies, Jamaica/Caribbean

• SDG 14: Life Below Water: University of Bergen, Norway

• SDG 15: Life on Land: University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: University of Nairobi, Kenya

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: International Association of Universities (IAU)

The full list of IAU HESD Cluster Leads and Satellites, as well as examples for Cluster actions, can be found here.

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WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE IAU GLOBAL CLUSTER ON HESD?

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If you wish to get involved in the activities of the IAU Global Cluster on Higher Education and Sustainable Development, please contact Isabel Toman, IAU Programme Officer for HESD. Please indicate your institution’s name, your contact details and do not hesitate to provide information on the existing and/or future initiatives towards sustainable development at your institution!

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IAU developed a dedicated portal on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development: www.iau-hesd.net

This global portal presents IAU’s strategy to support sustainable development in higher education, reports on all IAU activities in the the field, provides useful resources about sustainable development in higher education and maps more than 800 inspiring initiatives implemented by higher education institutions and organizations to reach the SDGs.|

The Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD) global portal is a tool developed by the International Association of Universities; it provides access to actions and initiatives developed around the world to promote sustainability. It showcases best practises of universities and higher education institutions worldwide. Actions include student initiatives, Living Labs, Green Campuses, faculties engaged in sustainable development, and leadership initiatives.

The portal is searchable by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), type of initiative, organisation/HEI and area of work. Currently, the portal lists over 480 News items , more than 820 actions from 1186+ HEIs and 274 Organizations globally (May 2021).

If you wish to add your higher education institution, action, or news to the portal, please contact Isabel Toman.

>> WWW.IAU-HESD.NET

The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) is the yearly conference of the United Nations where governments, UN Agencies and civil society came together to discuss the achievements that have been made towards the 2030 Agenda and SDGs.

HLPF 2022
The meeting of the HLPF in 2022 will be held from Tuesday, 5 July, to Thursday, 7 July, and from Monday, 11 July, to Friday, 15 July 2022, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. This includes the three-day ministerial segment of the forum from Wednesday, 13 July, to Friday, 15 July 2022, as a part of the high-level segment of the Council.

The theme for the HLPF 2022 will be “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. The HLPF in 2022 will review in-depth Sustainable Development Goals 4 on quality education, 5 on gender equality, 14 on life below water, 15 on life on land, and 17 on partnerships for the Goals. The forum will take into account the different and particular impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across all Sustainable Development Goals and the integrated, indivisible and interlinked nature of the Goals. See also 2022 HLPF website. IAU will continue to engage around the HLPF this year. This includes a workshop, a side event with UNODC, the annual HESI event and Award Ceremony for the IGGAs. See more below

• 5th July 2022, 2:00 to 3:45pm EST / 8:00 to 9:45pm CEST UNITAR Workshop with ACU/AUF, SDSN/Global Schools, My World Mexico, and York University on Transformative Education, Digital Learning, and Partnerships toward a more Sustainable and Equitable Future (see the programme and registration for all workshops here). IAU is co-organizing this event (session 2 workshop), IAU partners and representatives from IAU Members will be on the panel. The discussion will be moderated by the IAU Secretary General.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• 5 July 2022, 07:30 – 09:00 EST/ 13:30-15:00 CEST Side Event with UNODC “Empowering youth to uphold transparency, integrity and anti-corruption in the fight against crimes that affect the environment”. Hilligje van’t Land, IAU Secretary General, is invited as speaker on the panel. See the programme of the event here and register here
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• 6th July 2022, 07:00- 09:00 EST/ 13:00 - 15:00 CEST HESI (Higher Education Sustainability Initiative) Virtual event
  (registration here) titled: “HESI+10 Global Forum “Role of higher education in building back better from COVID-19 and advancing the 2030 Agenda ”. IAU is part of HESI and follows HESI roundtable discussions throughout the year. More on HESI here: https://sdgs.un.org/HESI
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 6th July: 13:00 EST/19:00 CEST Awards Ceremony International Green Gown Awards (IGGA) (Information and registration here): IAU is partner of the IGGA, sat on the judging panel, and the IAU Secretary General will present one of the categories and winners.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Other contributions
• IAU HESD Cluster Report 2020-21 to be submitted as input
• IAU submitted to the Global Online Consultation: SDGs under review at the 2022 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) for SDG 4

IAU at the HLPF

IAU has Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which enables participation in this High-Level event. While 2019 was the first year that IAU participated in the HLPF in New York (IAU secretariat with a delegation of 18 Members), in the years before IAU was represented by its Members (and in particular through the University of Bergen, Norway). Read about it in the 2019 HLPF Report. In 2020 and 2021, participation in the HLPF was virtual. Find out more about IAU’s participation in previous years by clicking on the boxes 2019, 2020 and 2021 below.

Follow us for updates on the UN HLPF also here:

• HESD Portal
• Twitter @IAU_AIU @IAU_HESD,
• UN livestream

>>> IAU’s participation in the UN HLPF 2021 <<<

>>> IAU’s participation in the UN HLPF 2020 <<<

>>> IAU’s participation in the UN HLPF 2019 <<<

IAU provides research and monitors trends in order to help higher education institutions worldwide implement HESD.

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RESEARCH & ANALYSES

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>>> Mapping HESD worldwide – IAU HESD Global Portal

The IAU HESD portal is a tool accessible to all, spotlighting IAU Members’ and Partners’ contributions to the sustainable development goals. The aim is to generate synergies and networking around the world in favour of sustainable development. The portal www.iau-hesd.net features more than 700 initiatives and counts some 1000 monthly visitors.

>>> Researching HESD trends

• IAU HESD global survey 2022: Accelerating Action for the SDGs
• IAU HESD global survey 2019
• IAU HESD global survey 2016

>>> Publications

• Higher Education and SDG 14: Integrating Ocean Research for the Global Goals, 2021
• IAU-UNODC Young Scholars Competition: Higher Education engages with SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, 2021
• Higher Education and SDG 5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls, 2021
• Higher Education & SDG 13: Climate Action Through University Teaching, Research and Community Engagement, 2019
• Higher Education Paving the Way to Sustainable Development: A Global perspective, 2017
• The Role of Higher Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, 18 experts worldwide shared their views in IAU Horizons, 2014
• The Contribution of Higher Education to Sustainable Development, 26 experts worldwide shared their views in IAU Horizons, 2012

IAU started a Series of Publication, one for each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The first one on SDG 13 (Climate Action) was released in July 2019, followed by a publication on SDG 5 (Gender Equality) published on the occasion of International Women’s Day in March 2021. In November 2021, a special collection of papers on Higher Education and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) resulting from a paper competition for young scholars with UNODC/E4J was released. Also in 2021, the work on a publication for SDG 14 (Life below water) with the University of Bergen was completed.

IAU advocates for the key role of higher education for sustainable development and Agenda 2030 and high-level events such as the UN-HLPF, at UNESCO conferences and other global events with its Members and partners.

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HIGHER EDUCATION AT COP26

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IAU and its Member institutions are committed to working together towards a more sustainable future, including for SDG 13: Climate Action ahead of COP26. Several initiatives are in place to stress the role of higher education in research, teaching, student and community engagement, and more.

The UK hosted the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow from 31 October – 12 November 2021. Leaders, governments, and civil society representatives came together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Soon the younger generations will take over these events and important decision-making on the international scale. Higher education, thus has the responsibility to prepare them to create a better future for all.

>>> IAU HESD Cluster on SDG 13

The University of the West Indies leads SDG 13: Climate Action in the global IAU HESD Cluster. It is located in the Caribbean with campuses in Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and hence in one of the regions already affected by climate change. The University has multiple initiatives focusing on sustainable development: the Climate Studies Group Mona (CSGM), Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD), the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), and the cross-campus UWI Resilience Working Group (UWIRWG).

Satellites for SDG 13
• SUNY, USA
• University of Bergen, Norway
• TERI School of Advances Studies, India
• University of the South Pacific, Fiji
• University of Waterloo, Canada
• Universidad de los Andes, Colombia
• University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
• University of Aruba, Aruba
• University of Bristol, UK
• University of Ghana, Ghana

More information on their SDG13 Activities with the University Consortium on SDG 13 is available here.

>>> IAU Partner Initiatives for COP26

The Global University Climate Forum is a project that aims at empowering students to take action in order to reduce Climate Change. It brings student activists together to share ideas, learn, connect, and act on the global imperative of addressing climate change. Launched during the week of 9 November 2020, the Forum is a one-year program that is inclusive, inspiring, and impact-oriented.

134 multidisciplinary teams of students from 44 countries have been accepted to participate based on their proposals for actionable projects in one of four tracks: Inspiration and Empowerment, Ideas into Action, Governance and Policy Innovation and Innovation and Imagination. Nearly 500 accepted students participated in a series of workshops in November 2020. Once the workshops were done, students executed and reported on their ideas for six months. They are now working on a publication to be presented during COP26 to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
More information on the Forum is available here.

The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), a close partner of IAU for HESD, has also compiled information and opportunities to engage on this website
The ACU Commonwealth Futures Climate Research Cohort was created in the lead-up to COP26 with an aim to accelerate knowledge transfer across the Commonwealth. The ACU and the British Council have therefore partnered to establish the Cohort supporting 26 rising-star researchers from 16 countries to bring their expertise to a global stage.

More information on the ACU and BC Cohort is available here.

The MECCE Project, in which IAU is a partner, also sends a delegation to COP 26 and is involved in discussions around ACE (Action for Climate Empowerment). Read more on how MECCE is involved at COP26 here.

Carbon conservation and sequestration in ocean: nature-based and technology solutions

Professor Lise Øvreås from SDG Bergen (University of Bergen, Norway), IAU HESD Cluster Lead for SDG 14: Life below water, is one of five panellists in a COP26 side event discussing how marine ecosystem-based systems and technology can contribute to ocean health on 06 November 2021. More information and livestream here.

SOS-UK is a student-led education charity focusing on sustainability. The IAU has renewed the cooperation agreement with them in June 2021. They are planning various activities at an around COP26.

At COP26, Education Ministers will also meet during the session on “Youth empowerment and education” on 5 November. More on the presidency programme here.

The UK COP presidency, Italy and UNESCO co-organize a joint meeting of Ministers of Education and Ministers of Environment/Ministers responsible for addressing Climate Change. The event will be part of the UN Climate Change Conference COP 26 and organized in collaboration with youth partners including MOCK COP and Youth4Climates delegates and the support of other partner organizations.

The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) is also planning various activities around COP26, including the participation at the THE Climate Impact Forum.
Universities and individuals can sign on to the SDG Accord and "Race to Zero" commitments. More information here.

IAU Secretary General Dr. Hilligje van’t Land joined a pre-COP26 webinar on Higher Education, Knowledge Democracy and Sustainability on Monday, 11th October 2021, from 4-5:30 CEST. Based on the book Socially Responsible Higher Education: International Perspectives on Knowledge Democracy, this webinar focused on two themes: knowledge democracy and place-based learning, offering perspectives from India, Africa, Latin America, and North America. The event is a joint initiative between the UNESCO Chair in Community-based Research and Social Responsibility, the Centre for Research and Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning (University of Glasgow) and the Low and Middle Income Countries Research Network (University of Glasgow).
More information here..

The International Science Council (ISC) will be sharing news from its community at the Conference on this regularly updated page , through the Transform 21 portal, and through our social media.

The page UK Universities’ Climate Innovation Showcase comprises an exhibition of climate-related research, as well as a series of events. This page has been curated by the COP26 Universities Network, an informal association of academics in the UK active on subjects related to climate change, who wanted to work together in support of the aims of the 26th UNFCCC Conference of the Parties, i.e. COP26.

The ISDD Earth Negotiations Bulletin is informing about COP26 and related activities by UNFCCC. An overview can be found here. A webinar for "Youth @ COP 26 " is planned for 25 October. Registration here.

Updates on general COP26 negotiations can also be found on the UNFCCC page here.

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STATEMENTS & DECLARATIONS

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>>> IAU Policy Statements on HESD & supported declarations

• UNESCO Berlin Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development (adopted at the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in 2021)

• IAU Iquitos Statement on Education for Sustainable Development (drafted in 2014 and adopted in 2016 at the General Conference) IAU Members commit to build synergies and promote collaboration in favour of sustainable development.

• IAU Kyoto Declaration on Sustainable Development (drafted and adopted in 1993) IAU Members urge all universities worldwide to undertake research and action to achieve sustainable development.

>>> Letter from the President of the United Nations General Assembly (2017)
H.E. Mr. Peter Thomson, Former President of the United Nations General Assembly, reached out to the IAU to call on all leaders of higher education institutions to embrace the sustainable development goals. The Association disseminated the UN letter to all IAU Members and Partners worldwide.

>>> Open Letter to COP21 Ministers and Governments (2015)
On 1 December 2015, a global alliance of higher education sustainability networks, including the IAU, representing more than 3,000 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.

>>> Rio+20 People’s Sustainability Treaty on Higher Education (2012)
A partnership of over 30 agencies, organizations and associations, led by Copernicus Alliance and the IAU, developed the Higher Education People’s Sustainability Treaty to influence Rio + 20 dialogues.