What is UNAI?
The United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) is an initiative that aligns institutions of higher education with the United Nations in supporting and contributing to the realization of United Nations goals and mandates, including the promotion and protection of human rights and access to education, sustainability, and conflict resolution.
Since 2010, UNAI has created a vibrant and diverse network of students, academics, scientists, researchers, think tanks, higher education institutions, continuing education, and educational associations. There are over 1400 member institutions in more than 147 countries that reach over 25 million people in the education and research sectors around the world, representing a global diversity of regions and a thematic wealth of disciplines.
The work of these institutions is vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals as they serve as incubators of new ideas and solutions to the many global challenges we face. United Nations Academic Impact provides an integral link to these stakeholders to ensure that the international community harnesses the energy and innovation of young people and the research community in service to humanity.
Our Ten Basic Principles
United Nations Academic is informed by a commitment to support and advance ten basic principles:
1. Addressing Poverty – A commitment to addressing issues of poverty through education;
2. Capacity Building – A commitment to building capacity in higher education systems across the world;
3. Education for All – A commitment to educational opportunity for all people regardless of gender, race, religion, or ethnicity;
4. Global Citizenship – A commitment to encouraging global citizenship through education;
5. Access to Higher Education – A commitment to the opportunity for every interested individual to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary for the pursuit of higher education;
6. Human Rights – A commitment to human rights, among them freedom of inquiry, opinion, and speech;
7. Intercultural Dialogue – A commitment to promoting intercultural dialogue and understanding and the “unlearning” of intolerance through education;
8. Peace and Conflict Resolution – A commitment to advancing peace and conflict resolution through education;
9. Sustainability – A commitment to promoting sustainability through education; and
10. United Nations Charter – A commitment to the principles inherent in the United Nations Charter.
Every subject and discipline can have a UN imprint. We want relevant institutions to recognize this link and often undertake activities that can directly support United Nations mandates and objectives without additional effort or expense.
UNAI assists stakeholders in this regard by disseminating information on UN initiatives and activities, providing ideas on how these activities can be applied at the local level on college campuses, in classrooms, and in communities, and by providing a platform where university students, academics, and researchers can connect and share ideas, research, and resources to further the Sustainable Development Goals and other UN mandates.
There is no cost or fee for universities to join UNAI. The sole responsibility is for each member institution to actively demonstrate support for at least one of the 10 UNAI principles or Sustainable Development Goals each year. We hope that this support can find reflection in the United Nations’ own policies and programs, allowing for a sharing of experiences and effective practices as well as the infusion of scholarship to advance social, economic, and sustainability objectives.
UNAI Workshop on “International Justice and Goal 16: Beyond the Targets”
In the Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) has developed a series of workshops for capacity-building for universities and colleges worldwide. These workshops provide training and enhance skills related to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development while fostering the involvement of these institutions of higher education as valuable stakeholders to achieve the Goals. Please see below the details of the next workshop in this series, to be co-hosted with the International Criminal Court:
Topic: INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE AND GOAL 16: BEYOND THE TARGETS
Date: Thursday, 8 September 2022
Time: 10:00am – 11:30am (EDT/New York) [] 4:00pm – 5:30pm (CET/The Hague)
RSVP/Registration form: Click here.
Please note that no certificate of attendance or participation will be provided.
Objective: This workshop will underscore the critical relevance of international justice in the context of the 2030 Agenda. SDG 16 provides the framework for enhancing the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including examining the work conducted by the International Criminal Court in this regard. Goal 16 also provides the space to consider the contribution of academia
to a more equitable and just world where human dignity is preserved, despite prevailing global, regional, national, and local challenges and circumstances.
Moderator:
- Omar Hernández, Public Information Officer and Program Manager of the United Nations Academic Impact
Keynote speaker:
- Judge Piotr Hofmański, President of the International Criminal Court
Presenters:
- Dr. Rebecca Hamilton, Associate Professor of International Law and International Criminal Law at American University (United States). Former Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. Former Attorney at the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Author of the book Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and the Struggle to Stop Genocide
- Dr. Bertrand Ramcharan, Former Chancellor of the University of Guyana (Guyana). Former Adjunct Professor at Columbia University (United States). Former Deputy and Acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Co-Author of the book Conflict Prevention in the UN´s Agenda 2030: Development, Peace, Justice and Human Rights