The United Nations

Academic Impact:
a global academic
partnership to
communicate and support
UN Values

Outreach Division
Department of Public Information
I. UNAI: an idea whose time has come
• Background of UNAI
• UNAI 10 Principles
• Members, Partners and Friends

II. First steps

• UNAI Pre-conference at World EXPO2010
• UNAI launch at UNHQ
• UNAI Conference in Spain
• First projects

III. Looking ahead

• 10 global hubs, 10 UNAI Principles
• UNAI Member initiatives
• UNAI and UN Bodies, Departments and Offices
• ASPIRE
I. UNAI: an idea whose time has come
• UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon introduces the
Academic Impact concept at Fairleigh Dickinson University,
10 September 2008

It is often said that if the United Nations did not exist, we would have to
invent it. I fully agree. And that is why we have to strengthen its capacities on
each of the three pillars of the United Nations' work: peace, development and
protection of human rights. Part of that effort means continuing to open our
doors to new partners. The academic community is surely at the top of that
list. My colleagues and I have been discussing an initiative called 'Academic
Impact.' We hope to build stronger ties with institutions of higher learning; ...
we hope to benefit from your ideas and scholarship.
www.academicimpact.org

• The UN Academic Impact (UNAI) is formally launched on

at UNHQ, 18-19 Nov. 2010 .
Objectives

The United Nations Academic Impact aligns

institutions of higher education, scholarship and
research with the UN and with each other to
address priority issues with which our world is
faced. It does that by offering a viable point of
contact for ideas and initiatives relevant to the
Organization’s mandate and furthering their
direct engagement in, or contribution to,
relevant programmes and projects.
 UNAI 10 Principles

1. Commitment to the United Nations Charter Vision

2. Human rights

3. Educational opportunity for all

4. Higher education opportunity

for every interested individual Human
Education
Rights
5. Capacity-building in higher education systems

6. Global citizenship

7. Peace and conflict resolution

8. Addressing poverty

9. Sustainability Development Peace

10. Inter-cultural dialogue
 United States 157

Members, Partners and Friends India

China
46
38
Canada 28
1. UNAI Members: 572 Republic of Korea 27
Russian Federation 23
Australia 17
Colombia 14
France 10
Italy 8
Japan 8

572 UNAI Austria

Brazil
7
7

members in
Philippines 7
Spain 7
Argentina 6

98 countries Thailand
Kenya
6
5
(as of 18 February 2011) Pakistan 5
Panamá 5
Romania 5
United Kingdom 5
Azerbaijan 4
Bangladesh 4
Egypt 4
Lebanon 4
Mexico 4
South Africa 4
 Membership

2008-2011, 572 institutions in 98 countries

600

500

400

February, 563
December, 517

January, 546
November, 466
300
October, 406
September, 357
August, 305

200
July, 277

100

Number of UNAI Members on first day of the month

 Membership distribution

Regional Distribution as of 15 February 2011

Europe and Africa

CIS 33
100 6%
17%

Americas
245
43%
Asia and the
Pacific Arab States
175 19
31% 3%
Member Certificate
2. Partner Organizations: 41
3. Friends: 2427 and counting (as of 18 February 2011)

www.facebook.com/impactUN
Facebook usage
UNAI sina.com: close to 1,000 people LIKE
UNAI (as of 18 February 2011)
 II. First steps
1. UNAI Pre-conference, Shanghai, China, 1-2 Nov. 2010
The UN understands the enormous
impact of scholarship, innovation and
ideas. We are trying to harness that
great power to build a better world…

The UN Academic Impact will help

serve as a clearing house to better
match academic innovation with
particular areas of work of the United
Nations — neglected areas of
research, countries in need of specific
help, research that will help deliver
concrete change on the ground, and
the best ideas to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals by
2015.
 II. First steps
2. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launches UNAI at UNHQ,
18-19 Nov. 2010
Today, more and more people realize that our work touches virtually all…
academic fields. That is because the mission of the United Nations
continues to evolve – at times very quickly… Whether people study
new theories of physics or timeless literary texts, their work can inspire
progress worldwide.
By sharing ideas, across borders and disciplines, we can find solutions to
the interconnected problems that cause so much suffering.
 II. First steps
3. 1st UNAI European Conference, Centro Niemeyer,
Avilés, Spain, 15-16 Dec. 2010
3 Panel discussions:
– Architecture of Peace
– Education
– Human Rights
 II. First steps – First projects
• Anhui Normal University: first Chinese university to create and
integrate environmental protection courses
• Ardhi University, Tanzania: project to improve living conditions in
informal settlements in Dar Es Salaam.
• Waseda University, Japan, pioneers work to harmonize energy
security, environmental protection and economic growth.
• Chuo University and “Team Water Japan”
• University of Nairobi: African Project, the first MA level programme in
translation and interpretation in the region.
• University of Melbourne: The Global Perspectives Summit (GPS)
was a three-day initiative run by university students.
• Handong Global University is organizing Global Entrepreneurship
Training, in South Korea, February 6-12th, 2011
• Marymount College and the MDG week.
 III. Looking Ahead
1. UNAI Members: ten hubs for each UNAI Principle

Ten global hubs corresponding to each of UNAI's ten

governing principles are created with the following mandate:

• Seek expressions of interest for each theme

• Maintain on their websites repositories of activities
undertaken in respect of the specific principle by member
institutions during the year and sharing best practices
• Develop a database of academic experts who could
participate in conferences, media opportunities and the like
on the principle
 III. Looking Ahead: 10 Hubs
Principle Country Institution
1 Commitment to the UN Charter Japan J.F. Oberlin University
2 Human rights USA Benedict College (SC)
3 Education opportunity for all Pakistan Lahore University of
Management Sciences
4 Higher education opportunity for Israel Hadassah College
every interested individual
5 Capacity-building in higher Republic of Korea Handong Global University
education systems
6 Global citizenship USA Lehigh University
7 Peace and conflict resolution India Calcutta University
8 Addressing poverty South Africa University of KwaZulu-Natal

9 Sustainability Romania Black Sea University Network

10 Inter-cultural dialogue and Ecuador Escuela Politécnica Javeriana

understanding and the del Ecuador
unlearning of intolerance
III. Looking Ahead: Planned conferences

Global hub Black Sea

University Network
Education and
Governance for
Sustainable
Development
"Ovidius" University of
Constantza, Romania,
16-19 March, 2011
III. Looking Ahead: Planned conferences

UNAI hub Handong Global University

Handong Global University, in partnership
with the Ministry of Education, Science &
Technology (MEST) of the Republic of
Korea and the Korean Council for
University Education (KCEU), will host
the first UNAI Forum on Global
Entrepreneurship as a New Paradigm for
World Development.
Seoul, Republic of Korea, Aug. 2011
 III. Looking Ahead: Planned conferences

Other conferences tentatively planned

• China, The UN Academic Impact Forum (October 2011)
Sustainable Technology and Development --- Combining
Intellectual and Corporate Social Responsibilities for a
Better World
• Lebanon, University of the Holy Spirit (USEK):
Peace Thinkings (20-21 October 2011)
• Morocco, Université Mohammed V, Rabat
(October/November 2011) Inter-cultural Dialogue
III. Looking Ahead – Working with UN Offices

• ECOSOC e-discussion
series “Building a future
for today’s youth:
improving access to
education” 16 Feb.–15
March 2011
 UNAI Facebook page
 4 UNAI Moderators
 1 UNAI Rapporteur

• Educational
Opportunity for All Video
project

Results to be presented
to ECOSOC
 III. Looking Ahead – ECOSOC e-discussion

Students speak
to Member
States
III. Looking Ahead – Working with UN Offices

• UNODC
– support to advocacy efforts

• Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC):

– roster of experts
– conferences

• Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA):

– roster of experts
– conferences
– support to advocacy efforts

• Commission on the Status of Women

– Virtual Panel Discussion, Promoting Women's Rights through
Higher Education: The Interdisciplinary Vision of the United Nations
Academic Impact. CSW Parallel Event, UNAI/Lehigh University, 3
March
 III. Looking Ahead – Engaging Students
An outcome of the launch
event was the decision to
create ASPIRE. Action by
Students to Promote
Innovation and Reform
through Education,
ASPIRE is the Student
Branch of UNAI.

Aspire groups will be

created in various higher
education institutions,
whether these are UNAI
members or not.
Communications Strategy
 Questions?

• http://academicimpact.org
• academicimpact@un.org