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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 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 project 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, and 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 come together to discuss the achievements that have been made towards the 2030 Agenda and SDGs.

HLPF 2023
The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will be held from Monday, 10 July, to Wednesday, 19 July 2023, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. This includes the three-day ministerial segment of the forum from Monday, 17 July, to Wednesday, 19 July 2023 as part of the High-level Segment of the Council. The last day of the High-level Segment of ECOSOC will be on Thursday, 20 July 2023.

The theme will be "Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”.

In the forum, participants will be able to further discuss the effective and inclusive recovery measures to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and explore actionable policy guidance for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs at all levels.

The HLPF in 2023, without prejudice to the integrated, indivisible and interlinked nature of the SDGs, will also review in-depth Goals 6 on clean water and sanitation, 7 on affordable and clean energy, 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure, 11 on sustainable cities and communities, and 17 on partnerships for the Goals.

More information on events at the HLPF 2023 will be confirmed shortly.

HLPF 2022
The meeting of the HLPF in 2022 was 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 included 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 was “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 reviewed 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 took 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 continued to engage around the HLPF this year. This included a workshop, a side event with UNODC, the annual HESI event and Award Ceremony for the IGGAs. See more below

• 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, was invited as speaker on the panel. See the programme of the event here.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• 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 for all workshops here).
  Recording here
  IAU co-organized this event (session 2 workshop), IAU partners and representatives from IAU Members were sharing their expertise on the panel. The discussion was moderated by the IAU Secretary General.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 6th July 2022, 07:00- 09:00 EST/ 13:00 - 15:00 CEST HESI (Higher Education Sustainability Initiative) Virtual event titled: “HESI+10 Global Forum “Role of higher education in building back better from COVID-19 and advancing the 2030 Agenda ”.
  Recording here
  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) Announcement of Winners here & Recording here
  IAU is partner of the IGGA, sat on the judging panel, and the IAU Secretary General presented one of the categories with its winners.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Other contributions
• IAU HESD Cluster Report 2020-21 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. Read also HLPF 2022 Consultation Report.

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, 2021, and 2022, 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 COP

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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 COP27. Key concepts are:

• ESD: Education for Sustainable Development (UNESCO)
• ACE: Action for Climate Empowerment (UNFCCC)
• CCE: Climate Change Education (MECCE)

Several initiatives are in place to stress the role of higher education in research, teaching, student and community engagement, and more at COP27. This page aims to provide a general overview and some further links (non-exhaustive).

Egypt hosted the 27th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh from 6 Nov - 18 November 2022. 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.

>>> UNESCO/UNFCCC on the Road to COP webinar series and events during COP27

The complexities of climate change require a holistic approach, which UNESCO provides though its longstanding expertise combining science, education, culture, and communication and information. UNESCO will organize and join a series of events and exhibitions to bring this expertise to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27) which takes place at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from 6-18 November 2022.
Read more about ESD/ACE at COP27

>>> IAU Partner Initiatives for COP27

UNESCO is hosting a pavillion and organise/takes part in a series of events and exhibitions to bring this expertise to COP27.

The MECCE Project, in which IAU is a partner, also sends a delegation to COP 27 and is involved in discussions around ACE (Action for Climate Empowerment). More information on how MECCE is involved at COP27 is available on the MECCE website. Furthermore, MECCE launched an interactive data platform on CCE around the globe.

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 Cohort will be continued, more information on the ACU and BC Cohort is available here.

SOS-UK is a student-led education charity focusing on sustainability. SOS is represented at COP27 and involved in various activities.

Second Nature is organising several events for and with higher education at COP27 here .

The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) members and partners are engaged around COP27.
Universities and individuals can sign on to the SDG Accord and "Race to Zero" commitments. More information here.

OECD COP27 Virtual Pavilion is now open for registrations. Browse upcoming events, and register to join the conversation on translating climate change ambitions into action and tangible outcomes here.

The ISDD Earth Negotiations Bulletin is informing about COP27 and related activities by UNFCCC. An overview can be found here.

Updates on general COP27 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.