The American University of Iraq-Baghdad (AUIB) participated in the UNESCO International Conference of Chairs in Iraq that convened on the 1st and 2nd of October at the University of Baghdad, where Dr. Stephen Robinson, Dean of AUIB’s College of Education and Human Development, and Dr. Elizabeth Bishop, Dean of AUIB’s College of International Studies, contributed to the conference’s proceedings in their capacity as co-Chairholders on Education for Global Health and Wellness.
Dr. Robinson and Dr. Bishop contributed to panels discussing “Policies Governing the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Education for Sustainable Development,” “Education and Development in Palestine – A Vision from the Gaza Strip,” “UNESCO Chairs as Global Think Tanks,” and “Quality Education for Sustainable Health Justice.”
UNESCO Chairs were conceived in 1992 under the United Nations’ University Twinning and Networking Programme (UNITWIN). Their purpose is to foster academic and institutional links, uniting universities and research centers worldwide around a shared vision of global development, peace, and justice. The series of UNESCO Chairs conferences in Iraq are convened in this spirit. They approach higher education and scientific research as instruments for driving societal change and “cultivating intellectual and societal stability”.
This latest UNESCO Chairs conference aimed “to invigorate the (Chairs’) capacity to confront the pressing global challenges, particularly those impacting the Islamic world.” These include “violent extremism,” genocide, “manifesting in both overt and insidious forms against minority groups”, the “systemic breakdown of essential education, health, and welfare infrastructures within certain vulnerable contexts”, and the “conspicuous absence of constructive dialogue among diverse religions and cultures.”
