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Amritapuri, Kerala, India, 14 May 2026 | Fourteen UNESCO Chairs from across South Asia gathered at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Kerala, India, on 13 and 14 May 2026, for a regional Round Table focused on deepening collaboration, reviewing two years of collective progress, and aligning their work with UNESCO’s priorities for the 2026–2027 biennium.
Convened by the UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia in partnership with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, the meeting brought together Chairs working across education, sciences, culture, communication, and social transformation, representing some of the region’s most consequential academic and research institutions.
A critical moment for regional knowledge cooperation
Opening the two-day meeting, participants reviewed two years of collective progress across the network, identified opportunities for joint initiatives under UNESCO’s Regional Support Strategy for South Asia, and charted a path for how the region’s 24 Chairs can contribute concretely to UNESCO’s global programmes for 2026–2027. The meeting also marked a renewed commitment to intersectional approaches, connecting education, science, culture, and technology to the needs of women and girls, youth, marginalized communities, and vulnerable groups across the region.
“UNESCO Chairs are not peripheral to UNESCO’s work; you are one of our greatest strengths,” Mr. Curtis said, recalling a message from UNESCO Director-General Professor Khaled El-Enany delivered to the Global Network of UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks in January 2026. “The Director-General described Chairs and UNITWIN Networks as a unique asset within the United Nations system, powerful brokers of knowledge, bridges between universities and societies, and vital connectors of evidence, policy, and action.“
The meeting took place against a backdrop of overlapping global challenges, from the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and the erosion of trust in scientific knowledge, to the mounting impacts of climate change and persistent inequalities – making the role of academic networks in connecting evidence, policy, and communities more critical than ever.
24 Chairs, five shared priorities
Across South Asia, 24 UNESCO Chairs are currently advancing work that spans the full breadth of UNESCO’s mandate. Together, they form a regional knowledge network that enables UNESCO to better respond to the needs of people, communities, and governments, while building vital connections between scientists, researchers, policymakers, and communities of practice.
The Round Table was structured around UNESCO’s South Asia Regional Support Strategy 2025–2029, with Chairs’ work anchored in five regional priorities: responding to the environmental crisis, supporting digital transformation, meaningfully engaging youth, mobilising cultural diversity, and advancing gender equality.
Country Heads from Bangladesh and Nepal participated in the meeting, underscoring the importance of aligning national research and policy efforts with these regional priorities.
Two days of shared learning and joint planning
The meeting’s agenda was designed to move beyond stocktaking toward concrete planning. Chairs presented achievements from the 2024–2026 cycle, followed by small-group discussions in which participants identified opportunities for joint initiatives under the five regional priorities. Building on those conversations, each group then shared insights and proposed areas of collective action under the theme “Achieving Together.”
Facilitated by UNESCO programme specialists, participants explored how individual Chairs can contribute concretely to UNESCO’s global programmes for 2026–2027, including work on artificial intelligence, open science, cultural heritage, ethics, and freedom of expression.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-chairs-south-asia-convene-strengthen-knowledge-networks-and-advance-shared-regional?hub=701
