Tag: UNESCO

UNESCO mobilizes leaders as 113 countries spend more on debt payments than on education

Stuart Mitchell

Four years after the landmark Transforming Education Summit convened by the UN Secretary-General, UNESCO is bringing together education leaders from around the world to identify solutions to the global education financing crisis. As new figures show that international aid to education could fall by up to 30% between 2023 and 2027, and that 113 countries spend more on debt servicing than on education, UNESCO is publishing concrete recommendations to help countries break the debt trap and invest in education. Education is the most powerful investment countries can make, yet it…

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UNESCO and SEVENTEEN scale-up global youth empowerment initiative focused on creativity and well-being

Stuart Mitchell

UNESCO and the K-pop icon SEVENTEEN celebrated the impact of their joint youth empowerment initiative “Going Together – For Youth Creativity and Well-Being”, and to officially launch the ambitious Scale-Up Phase. In the presence of JOSHUA of SEVENTEEN, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Youth, the high-level event showcased the ten outstanding grantees whose projects will be expanded under the new phase. Young people are shaping our world today through their creativity and innovation. UNESCO and SEVENTEEN have a joint ambition to empower youth, and the “Going Together” initiative has already made…

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Ferrero UK, Hutan and Chester Zoo are working together to shape the future of conservation in Borneo’s ecologically vital Kinabatangan UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Stuart Mitchell

On World Rainforest Day, Ferrero UK, Hutan and Chester Zoo are announcing details of a three year Biodiversity Research Forest programme in the Kinabatangan UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.   Led by Hutan, a community led conservation organisation working in the region since 1998, scientists have launched an innovative study combining cutting-edge methods, including thermal drones, bioacoustics recorders and camera traps to monitor several iconic species such as the Bornean elephant and orangutans as well as key indicator species that act as a barometer of overall ecosystem health, including soil invertebrates, birds and frogs.   By deploying these monitoring technologies, Hutan, Chester Zoo…

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UNESCO designates 14 new biosphere reserves on World Environment Day

Stuart Mitchell

On World Environment Day, UNESCO designates 14 new biosphere reserves across 14 countries, bringing the World Network of Biosphere Reserves to 797 sites in 145 countries. Three countries welcome their first biosphere reserves: Montenegro, Timor-Leste, and Aruba which sees its entire territory designated as such. Marking the Day, UNESCO is also launching today a practical guide for journalists to report on the environment, drawing on case studies, and offering safeguards journalists can use in their daily work. New biosphere reserves have been designated in Albania, Algeria, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Canada, Islamic…

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Number of students in higher education more than doubled in 20 years, but inequalities remain

Stuart Mitchell

UNESCO’s first Higher Education Global Trends Report shows that the number of students enrolled in higher education worldwide has more than doubled over the past two decades, reaching 269 million in 2024. International mobility has tripled over the same period, with nearly 7.3 million students studying abroad, half of them hosted in European and North American countries. Women now outnumber men in higher education but lag behind at doctoral level. Serious geographical inequalities remain with lower enrolment and completion rates in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. This new report shows…

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