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 two phases, the Chair has been renewed for a third term until June 2028 (see details in Highlights below). Emeritus Professor Anna Robinson-Pant is the UNESCO Chairholder and, for this third phase, three Co-Chairs have been appointed to support a more decentralised approach: Dr. Catherine (Kate) Jere, School of Global Development, UEA; Prof. Sushan Acharya (Tribhuvan University, Nepal) and Dr. Ahmmardouh Mjaya (University of Malawi).

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 brings together researchers in education and international development from across the University of East Anglia, as well as research partners in the Global South.

At UEA, the Chair’s programme of activities is supported by a faculty team consisting of: Dr. Sheila Aikman, Dr Harry Dyer, Dr. Catherine Jere, Professor Ben Jones, Professor Yann Lebeau, Professor Esther Priyadharshini, Professor Nitya Rao and Dr Spyros Themelis. The team are delighted to be joined by Dr Thi Bogossian and Dr Hannah Hoechner for this third phase. The programme also benefits from a lively and dedicated group of postgraduate volunteers from across the Faculty of Social Sciences at UEA, as well as colleagues and friends in the wider adult literacy and education community.

Beyond UEA, our UNESCO Chair programme is a partnership with university departments specialising in adult literacy, youth and community learning in Ethiopia (Bahir Dar University, BDU), Nepal (Tribhuvan University Research Center for Educational Innovation and Development - CERID), Malawi (University of Malawi), and the Philippines (University of Santo Tomas, UST). We are working together to strengthen qualitative research capacity in the field of adult and youth literacy, learning and social transformation through collaborative research, training 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, climate change, agriculture, gender and youth literacy and activism.

UNESCO Chair Partner Organisations

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