The UNESCO Chair on ‘Physical Activity and Health in Educational Settings’ at the University of Basel and Nelson Mandela University recently took part in the Future Matters: AIESEP Specialist Seminar on Sustainability; an international conference focused on reimagining the role of Physical Education in a changing world. The event brought together academic experts and representatives from five UNESCO Chairs to engage in interdisciplinary scientific exchange and collaborative discourse.

Hosted as part of the AIESEP (Association Internationale des Écoles Supérieures d’Éducation Physique) specialist seminar series, Future Matters emphasized sustainability, pedagogy, and the potential of sport and Physical Education to contribute to global sustainable development goals, reflecting broader United Nations educational and research priorities.

The conference featured an interactive hackathon, where multidisciplinary participants worked intensively in teams to prototype innovative solutions to real-world challenges. Alongside the hackathon, the event integrated design thinking methodologies to help attendees frame problems from a human-centered perspective, generate ideas, and develop user-focused concepts. This combination of hands-on hacking and structured design thinking fostered collaboration, rapid learning, and creative outcomes among developers, designers, and innovators at the conference.

Representatives of the University of Basel Chair joined peers from multiple countries and research domains to share their latest findings, discuss innovative approaches, and strengthen international academic cooperation in the spirit of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, which fosters global knowledge sharing and capacity building across disciplines.

This participation underscores the Chair’s ongoing commitment to advancing scientific dialogue and contributing to global networks that bridge research, practice, and policy in education and health. The seminar provided a valuable platform for mutual learning and highlighted the importance of international partnerships in addressing complex societal challenges through education, sport, and sustainability.

For more about the UNESCO Chair's participation and its conference activities, visit the conference website or the AIESEP website.