Overview of the Chair

 

This UNESCO Chair is a research and teaching unit at the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland, and at the Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha, South Africa.

It is part of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, which was launched in 1992 by decision of the UNESCO General Conference. Its aim is to promote and strengthen international cooperation, especially North-South, South-South and North-South-South cooperation between universities, colleges and research institutions. In this network, higher education and research institutions pool their human and material resources to address urgent challenges and contribute to the development of society. In many cases, the networks and chairs serve as think tanks and bridge builders between academia, civil society, local communities, research and policy.

We focus on a range of topics surrounding 'Physical Activity and Health in Educational Settings'. The Chair is established by an agreement between UNESCO and the University of Basel. It was installed in April 2019 and reviewed by UNESCO in 2023 and extended for a further four years until 2027.

  • Switzerland currently hosts 8 UNESCO Chairs.
  • They were all established by agreements with the UNESCO and contribute to UNESCO's goal of promoting exchange among academic institutions.

Learn more about UNESCO Chairs in Switzerland

  • UNESCO Chair in 'Children, Youth and Civic Engagement' (2008); the National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland. More details
  • UNESCO Chair in the 'Development of Youth through Sports Activities' (2012); Korea Institute of Sport Science (KISS), Seoul, Korea. More details
  • UNESCO Chair in 'Inclusive Adapted Physical Education and Yoga' (2012); Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Coimbatore, India. More details
  • UNESCO Chair on 'Transforming the Lives of People with Disabilities through Physical Education Sport, Fitness and Recreation' (2013); Institute of Technology, Tralee, Ireland. More details
  • UNESCO Chair on 'Training and Empowering Human Resources for Health Development in Resource-Limited Countries' (2014); University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy. More details
  • UNESCO Chair on 'Global Health and Education' (2018); University of Clermont Auvergne, Paris, France ( more details), and Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. More details
  • UNESCO Chair on 'Youth Leadership in Science, Health, Gender and Education' (2019); Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya. More details
  • UNESCO Chair on 'Health Education and Sustainable Development' (2019); University Federico II of Naples, Naples, Italy. More details