The Chair is a collaborative initiative aimed at building capacity in sustainability science and its practical transfer to society.
The mandate is to strengthen initiatives in community sustainability, sustainable agriculture and community-based ecosystem management in China, Africa and Ecuador with special emphasis on empowering women. Communities are facing many societal challenges such as climate change, food security, water security, biodiversity loss. The need to find solutions that support their social-ecological systems is urgent.
Specifically, the activities of the Chair will include:
- involvement in sustainability research and development projects in communities in various developing countries;
- facilitation of joint research and work in South and North-South-South collaborations;
- provision of support for the new Graduate Program in Sustainability Science and Society at Brock University and more interdisciplinary programs to train the new generation to look at solutions in an holistic manner;
- encouragement of youth and women involvement in research for education, and action in communities, and;
- contributions to the network of UNESCO chairs in Canada and abroad as well as UNESCO and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO in the fields of gender equality and sustainability.
Canadian Commission for UNESCO
The Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO) coordinates the network of UNESCO chairs in Canada. CCUNESCO actively advances UNESCO’s mandate by serving as a bridge between Canadians and the vital work of UNESCO. By promoting UNESCO values, priorities and programs in Canada and by bringing the voices of Canadian experts to the international stage, the Commission contributes to a peaceful, equitable and sustainable future that leaves no one behind.
