UNESCO Chair Programme

The University of East Anglia was invited by UNESCO to join its prestigious universities network and established the first UNESCO Chair in adult literacy and learning for social transformation in May 2016.

After a successful first phase, the Chair (based in the UEA School of Education and Lifelong Learning) has been renewed until April 2024.

This UNESCO Chair programme aims to develop understanding about how adult learning – particularly for women and young adults - can help address inequalities in the poorest communities of the world. Through investigating how or why adult literacy might facilitate or respond to processes of social transformation, including women’s empowerment, the Chair programme sets out to strengthen the interaction between formal, non-formal and informal learning in research, policy and programmes. The programme builds directly on the expertise of the UEA Literacy and Development Group, which brings together researchers in education and international development from across the University of East Anglia (LDG Group). Professor  Anna Robinson-Pant is the UNESCO Chairholder, leading a faculty team consisting of: Dr. Sheila Aikman, Dr. Catherine Jere, Professor Yann Lebeau, Dr. Esther Priyadharshini, Professor Nitya Rao, Professor Alan Rogers.

This UNESCO Chair programme is a partnership with university departments specialising in adult literacy and community learning in Ethiopia (Bahir Dar University), Nepal (Kathmandu University and Tribhuvan University Research Center for Educational Innovation and Development), Malawi  (University of Malawi School of Education and the Centre of Language Studies), Egypt (Ain Shams University) and the Philippines (University of Santo Tomas). We are working together to strengthen qualitative research capacity in the field of adult literacy, learning and social transformation through collaborative research and curriculum development activities. The UNESCO Chair is also developing new initiatives with key policy organisations in this field, including the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning in Hamburg. Supporting a rights-based holistic approach to adult learning as the basis for active citizenship and improved livelihoods, we aim to promote greater interaction between research and policy in areas such as vocational skill development, health, agriculture and adult literacy learning.

Some highlights

'Family Literacy and Indigenous and Local Learning', synthesis and country reports

In summer 2021, the UNESCO Chair family literacy team published the Synthesis Report bringing together findings and analyses from the in-depth country-focused research reports and literature review papers.

For International Literacy Day, the country teams published in-depth reports based on their ethnographic research.

• Family Literacy, Indigenous Learning, and Sustainable Development in Ethiopia

• Exploring literacy and intergenerational learning for sustainable development in Malawi

• Exploring Literacy and Intergenerational Learning for Sustainable Development in Nepal

• Exploring the role of local and indigenous knowledge systems in promoting family literacy and lifelong learning in the Philippines

UNV State of the World’s Volunteerism Report 2022

The UEA UNESCO Chair commissioned UNV State of the World’s Volunteerism (SWVR) 2022 Building Equal and Inclusive Societies has been launched on 2 December in line with International Volunteers Day celebrations. 

• Read the full report and access other resources

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