The Geneva Graduate Institute's UNESCO Chair in Comparative Education Policy
In February 2022, the Geneva Graduate Institute established the UNESCO Chair in Comparative Education Policy to strengthen policy research in education with the vision of amplifying the voices and promoting knowledge from the Global South. Professor Gita Steiner-Khamsi, NORRAG’s previous academic director (2017-2022), is the Chairholder, and Professor Chanwoong Baek, NORRAG’s current Academic Director and faculty member in the International Relations and Political Science Department, is the Co-Chair.
The key objectives of the Chair are:
- To strengthen policy research in graduate schools of education and associated think tanks in the Global South
- To create a network of graduate schools of education that sustain their peer support to each other in terms of using empirical research evidence for achieving SDG-4 targets
- To communicate policy research results more effectively by using different channels of communication and producing different knowledge products
- To produce demand-driven policy research with greater weight given to priorities at the country and regional level
The launch of the UNESCO Chair was announced at NORRAG’s reception during the annual meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) in Washington, DC. Sobhi Tawil, Director, Future of Learning and Innovation of UNESCO Paris also introduced all other UNESCO chairholders and their members that were present at CIES. The launch ceremony was attended by around 100 participants.
The Chair program will hold its very first event on March 30, 2023, in collaboration with Teachers College Columbia University, NORRAG, and over 30 universities and associations in South Asia. This international symposium discusses Bhimrao Ambedkar’s legacy for the right to education of disenfranchised groups and will be in English and Hindi.