Dr Beth Taylor, Chair of the UK National Commission for UNESCO, commented:

“UNESCO’s inspirational mission is to promote peace, security and sustainability through international dialogue and co-operation, and its international network of university chairs is a key element in achieving this goal. I am proud of the role played by UNESCO chairs in the UK, in fields as diverse as water science, cultural protection and refugee integration. Iain Stewart’s work in geoscience and society will add a new dimension to this rich mixture. It is a great pleasure to welcome Iain, and the University of Plymouth, into the UNESCO family.”

Launched in 1992, the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme involves over 700 institutions in 116 countries, and promotes international inter-university cooperation and networking.

This successful application builds on the University’s existing links to UNESCO, which includes students and academics playing a lead role in the 7th International Conference on UNESCO Global Geoparks, held in Torquay in 2016.

It also complements existing research being conducted with funding from the Global Challenges Research Fund, which includes projects focussing on soil erosion in Tanzania and the forecasting and response to earthquake aftershocks.

Through the new programme, the University will establish close working links with international agencies, national bodies (including the British Council, Foreign & Commonwealth Office and British Geological Survey), and in-country non-governmental organisations.

It will develop regional networks of excellence in ‘geo-communication’ through concerted training courses, workshops and online materials and initiate interdisciplinary research projects that integrate geoscience, social science and communication science.

It is also launching the world’s first Masters-level course in Sustainable Geoscience, starting in September 2018 with the aim of setting geoscientific concerns in the wider national and global sustainable development framework.