Presentation of the 6th GUNi report at the UNESCO General Conference in Paris

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference meets every two years, and is attended by Member States, associate Members and observers representing non-member States, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The General Conference determines the policies and the main lines of work of the Organization, and sets UNESCO’s programmes and budget.

At its 39th session, the UNESCO General Conference is expected to consider, inter alia, a resolution on supporting member States in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 (quality education), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 3 (good health and well-being), 12 (responsible consumption and production), 13 (climate action), 5 (gender equality) and 17 (partnership for the Goals).

GUNi will be present at the conference by the hand of Josep M. Vilalta, director of GUNi and executive-secretary of ACUP in a side event that will take place on the 31st October 2017. Josep M. Vilalta will present the 6th GUNi report 'Towards a Socialy Responsible University - balancing the Global with the Local', giving a special emphasis on the dual responsibilities of universities at local and global scale, exploring the potential conflict, or intrinsic difficulties, in addressing both local demands of society based on the race for global competitiveness and local and global demands to contribute to a more equitable and sustainable society.

GUNi was created within the framework of the UNITWIN / UNESCO Chairs Programme, by UNESCO, UNU and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) after UNESCO's World Conference on Higher Education (WCHE) in 1998 to give continuity to and facilitate the implementation of its main decisions.