UNESCO Chair: UNITWIN network extended until 2029

Since 2005, Leuphana University has been home to the UNESCO Chair in “Higher Education for Sustainable Development” (HBNE). The Chair serves as a global point of contact for policy-makers seeking advice and support on making sustainability the core of education. The focus is on how education systems can respond to current social and environmental transformation processes.

In addition, Prof. Dr Harald Hantke has been Co-Chair since last year: “This sends a clear signal in terms of content: we want to strengthen Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) – including within teacher training for vocationally-oriented political education – and embed it fundamentally as a cross-cutting theme in teacher training. Last but not least, this can also contribute to democratic resilience and social cohesion,” explains Prof. Dr Daniel Fischer, holder of the UNESCO Chair.

Co-Chair Harald Hantke sees this as a crucial lever for spreading ESD more widely throughout society: “Teachers, in particular, shape how future generations think and act. They act as multipliers for sustainable development and thus bear a significant responsibility. For this reason, they should also be equipped, as part of their degree programme, to handle this responsibility in a responsible manner,” says the education researcher.

International cooperation will also be further expanded with the involvement of the new Co-Chair. The university is part of a strong network comprising numerous partner institutions. These include, amongst others, the ‘Sub-Saharan Africa Teacher Leadership for Education for Sustainable Development’. This joint Erasmus+ project is a transformative initiative aimed at strengthening the leadership role of teachers in the field of ESD in sub-Saharan Africa. Another project based at the UNESCO Chair is forging new links between health promotion and education. The early-career research group is specifically examining approaches to reflecting on and shaping mental health in the workplace as an increasingly relevant factor in sustainable development.

The specialised “Education for Sustainable Development” teacher training programme also builds on Leuphana’s long-standing expertise in the field of education for sustainable development and that of its UNESCO Chair. “Leuphana has expanded its teacher training programme to include a specialisation that is becoming increasingly important in the face of global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity and social transformation,” explains Daniel Fischer. Teacher training students learn to embed sustainability as a cross-cutting theme in schools and lessons, and to empower young people to help shape social transformations.