Cattedra UNESCO in Education, Gender Equality and Climate Action

Established in June 2025 at the University of Naples L’Orientale, the UNESCO Chair in Education, Gender Equality and Climate Action (2025IT3162) promotes research, education, and international cooperation to address the interconnected challenges of climate change, gender inequality, and sustainable development. With a particular focus on the Mediterranean region, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Chair serves as a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collaborative action among academic institutions, policymakers, civil society organizations, and international partners.

Climate change is not only an environmental challenge but also a social, economic, and ethical issue. Its impacts are experienced unevenly across societies and often exacerbate existing inequalities. Women and girls, particularly in vulnerable communities, are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation, resource scarcity, and climate-related crises. At the same time, they play a crucial role in promoting resilience, sustainable resource management, and community development.

Particular attention is devoted to locally driven adaptation and mitigation strategies, forms of community resilience, and the contribution of women to the sustainable management of natural resources, food security, environmental governance, and inclusive development. The Chair seeks to advance scientific knowledge that can inform the design of climate policies that are more equitable, inclusive, and responsive to gender differences.

To achieve these objectives, the Chair operates through an international network of academic cooperation involving universities and research centres in Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, and Mozambique. Through joint research initiatives, advanced training programmes, academic mobility, and capacity-building activities, these partnerships foster collaborative research agendas and generate knowledge grounded in local realities, while recognizing and strengthening the contributions of scholars and institutions from partner countries.

The Chair embraces a decolonial perspective that promotes the co-production of knowledge and challenges hierarchical models of international cooperation. By fostering academic partnerships based on reciprocity and the recognition of diverse epistemologies, it seeks to strengthen the role of universities as strategic actors in sustainable development and international cooperation.

Building on the University of Naples L’Orientale’s longstanding expertise in Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean, the Chair aims to strengthen cooperation between institutions in the Global North and the Global South. It fosters collaborative research, capacity-building initiatives, policy dialogue, and the exchange of best practices in order to enhance the effectiveness of international cooperation and support evidence-based policymaking.

Founded in 1732, the University of Naples L’Orientale is the oldest institution in Europe dedicated to the study of Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean. Its mission has always been to promote intercultural dialogue and to build bridges between peoples, languages, and societies. Drawing on this unique heritage and on an extensive network of international partnerships, the UNESCO Chair seeks to advance innovative and inclusive solutions to global challenges while strengthening regional cooperation, human development, social stability, and sustainable integration across the Mediterranean and African regions.

Through research, education, outreach, and policy engagement, the Chair contributes to the creation of more equitable, resilient, and sustainable societies, placing education, gender equality, and climate action at the heart of international cooperation.

The UNESCO Chair in Education, Gender Equality and Climate Action is committed to advancing research, education, and international cooperation in order to better understand and address the interconnections between climate change, gender equality, and sustainable development.

The Chair explores the complex relationships between education, gender equality, climate action, and development, contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with particular emphasis on SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Through an interdisciplinary and human rights-based approach, it promotes a deeper understanding of sustainability as both a developmental objective and an ethical imperative.

Through an interdisciplinary, inclusive, and human rights-based approach, the Chair generates and disseminates scientific knowledge on the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the climate crisis, with particular attention to gender inequalities, vulnerable communities, and processes of local resilience. It recognizes and promotes the role of women and local communities as key agents of climate adaptation, sustainable resource management, and the construction of more just and sustainable societies.

The Chair fosters equitable and long-term academic partnerships among universities and research institutions across the Global North and the Global South, with particular reference to countries that are strategic partners of Italian development cooperation in Africa and the Mediterranean region. Through collaborative research, institutional capacity strengthening, and the mobility of students and researchers, it supports the co-production of knowledge and encourages dialogue among diverse scientific and cultural traditions.

Inspired by a decolonial perspective, the Chair is committed to overcoming hierarchical approaches to both cooperation and knowledge production. It promotes relationships grounded in reciprocity, the recognition of local knowledge systems, and the collective development of innovative responses to global challenges.

Guided by UNESCO’s values and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Chair seeks to strengthen the role of education and university cooperation as catalysts for social transformation, climate justice, and sustainable human development.

Prof. Ersilia Francesca

Chair Coordinator

Ersilia Francesca is Full Professor of Islamic History at the University of Naples L’Orientale and a leading scholar in the fields of Islamic studies, gender studies, and the social and economic history of the Middle East and North Africa. Her research explores the intersections between gender, social transformation, religious thought, and development processes across the MENA region. She has held visiting appointments at internationally renowned institutions, including SOAS University of London, École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) and INALCO in Paris. Through her scholarly work and international collaborations, she promotes intercultural dialogue, inclusive knowledge production, and a deeper understanding of the social dynamics shaping contemporary African and Mediterranean societies.

Prof. Valeria Saggiomo

Co-Chair Coordinator

Valeria Saggiomo is Associate Professor of International Development Cooperation at the University of Naples L’Orientale. Drawing on extensive professional experience in Africa with international NGOs, United Nations agencies, and the Italian Development Cooperation, she has developed a research perspective that combines academic rigor with first-hand knowledge of development contexts. She was a Visiting Fellow at the Center for International Development at Harvard University and serves on the Advisory Committee for Evaluation of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Her research focuses on the role of civil society, diasporas, and university cooperation in fostering inclusive and sustainable development processes.

The UNESCO Chair fosters an international network of academic cooperation involving universities and research centres across Europe, Africa, and the MENA region. Through joint research initiatives, education and training programmes, academic mobility, and capacity-building activities, these partnerships contribute to the co-production of knowledge on climate change, gender equality, and sustainable development.

The Chair adopts a multi-stakeholder approach that brings together academia, public institutions, civil society organizations, and international development actors. Within this framework, non-governmental organizations play a key role in facilitating engagement with local communities, supporting participatory processes, and promoting the transfer of knowledge to local stakeholders and policymakers.

The Chair benefits from the support of an international network of distinguished scholars, research institutes, and centres of excellence that contribute to its scientific and educational activities. These include Professor Michael Woolcock (Harvard University), a leading international scholar in the fields of development, social capital, and governance; the Colorni-Hirschman International Institute, which promotes innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to development;  INALCO – Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Paris), and the University of OSLO (Dep. of Culture, Religion, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies – Dep. of Social Anthropology), key partners for research on the societies, cultures, and contemporary transformations of Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean region.

Egypt
Morocco
Kenya
Tanzania
South Africa
Mozambique

Among the Chair’s key partners in the field of international cooperation is CISP – Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli (International Committee for the Development of Peoples), a civil society organization with extensive experience in international cooperation, local development, and community resilience across Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. Through its collaboration with CISP, the Chair strengthens the link between academic research, field-based action, and social impact.