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Dili, Timor-Leste – For the first time in its history, Timor-Leste has a dedicated academic Department of History, marking a significant step in strengthening how the country teaches, researches, and preserves its own past.
On February 2026, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Culture (MoHESC) approved the creation of the new department under the Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences at the National University of Timor-Leste (UNTL).
The new Department of History represents a milestone not only for UNTL, but for Timor-Leste as a nation. We are building an institution that will honour our past, train our future educators, and ensure that our story is told with the rigour and honesty it deserves.
Madre Esmeralda Piedade de AraujoDean, Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences, UNTL
A Country Confronting its Past Through Education
Timor-Leste’s history is inseparable from its identity. Emerging from more than four centuries of colonialism, followed by decades of occupation and struggle for independence, the country continues to navigate how this complex past is understood and passed on to younger generations.
Since independence in 2002, history education has been recognized as essential – not only for national identity, but for reconciliation, human rights, and building a culture of peace.
Yet until now, no university in the country offered a dedicated academic programme in history. Teachers have taught the subject without specialist training. Researchers have worked without institutional homes.
The establishment of the new department of history addresses this gap in Timor-Leste’s higher education. It will offer two academic pathways: History Education, preparing future teachers for schools across the country; and Cultural and Heritage Management, building national expertise in the preservation and promotion of Timor-Leste’s rich cultural and historical patrimony.
Setting the foundations
At the request of national partners, UNESCO facilitated technical support to help shape the development of the new department.
A regional symposium on teaching and learning history in higher education, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, brought together more than forty experts and participants from across Southeast Asia and Canada. Through these exchanges, representatives from UNTL explored how established history departments are structured, how they develop research agendas, and how they balance teaching with research.
A bilateral conversation with the Department of History at Universiti Malaya – one of the region’s oldest and most distinguished history faculties – provided further practical insights into curriculum design, faculty governance, and the role of history department within national context.
This support culminated in a national workshop in Dili on 24 March 2026, bringing together academics, historians, archivists, government representatives, and key national institutions to define the department’s vision, priorities, and curriculum direction.
UNESCO’s Commitment: History as a Foundation for Peace
The establishment of the history department builds on UNESCO’s long-standing partnership with Timor-Leste in advancing history and peace education.
Since 2021, with the support of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), UNESCO has implemented the History and Peace Education Initiative – developing nationally approved teacher training modules, training more than 500 teachers across all thirteen municipalities, and strengthening archival and educational resources at the Centro Nacional Chega!.
These initiatives align directly with UNESCO’s broader work to advance education for peace, human rights, and critical thinking, while strengthening the role of universities in building inclusive and resilient societies.
Universities are where societies come together to systematically document and preserve their past and imagine the future. UNESCO is proud to support UNTL in building a Department of History that will do both with honesty, rigour, and a deep commitment to the people of Timor-Leste.
Maki Katsuno-HayashikawaDirector and Representative to Timor-Leste, UNESCO
Looking Ahead: First Students in 2027
The Department is expected to welcome its first cohort of students in the 2027 academic year. The strategic plan which will be finalized by June 2026 sets out the department’s vision, curriculum, research agenda, faculty development pathway, and institutional partnerships for its first five years.
For Timor-Leste, this is more than an institutional milestone. It is a statement about the kind of society Timor-Leste is choosing to build: one that remembers, that reflects, and that equips its young people to think critically about both the past and the future.
read more: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/building-future-history-education-timor-lestes-national-university-takes-historic-step?hub=701
