VinUni UNESCO Chair

The UNESCO Chair is awarded to VinUniversity, which is the host institution. The Chair proposal has been approved by Vietnam’s National UNESCO Committee, and by Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is administered under UNESCO’s “Future of learning and innovation” program, based in Paris. 

The Chairholder is Professor K. David Harrison. The initial term of the Chair is 4 years, from October 7, 2024 through Oct. 6, 2028, and is subject to renewal thereafter. Project members include Assoc. Prof. Huỳnh Văn Đà (CTU), Dr. Trần Hoài (VNU), Dr. Myles Lynch (VinUniversity), and many VinUniversity students. Our activities are guided by expert advisors from the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Can Tho University, Thuy Loi University, Center for Nature Conservation and Development (Hanoi), Missouri Botanical Garden, New York Botanical Garden, and VinUniversity.   

Our Chair seeks to benefit multiple stakeholders working in the heritage and environment space. We value inclusivity, diversity, and mutual respect, and we practice non-discrimination. The Chair advances the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, most notably #4—Quality Education, #11—Sustainable Cities and Communities, #13—Climate Action, and #15—Life on Land (especially “halt[ing] biodiversity loss”). In our work with ethnic minority communities in Vietnam, we fully comply with all relevant Vietnamese laws, regulations and government policies. We also adhere to the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) “Guidelines for Ethical Research in Indigenous Studies” which state: “At every stage, research with and about Indigenous peoples must be founded on a process of meaningful engagement and reciprocity between the researcher and the Indigenous people.” Reciprocity is an important value in all our work, and so we relate to indigenous experts as knowledge partners, not as research subjects. We recognize cultural heritage as a form of intellectual property, and consider ourselves to be the curators, but not owners, of any data we collect. Whenever possible, we include indigenous experts as co-authors on journal papers and digital resources that we create. Additionally, any research involving human participants is approved by the Research Ethics Board of VinUniversity.

We recruit and train future leaders who will protect the environment. Our training workshops, held once per quarter, combine the best in current theory and practice about leadership with a deeper knowledge of Vietnams’ most pressing environmental issues. Students who attend our workshops develop a better understanding of their own leadership aptitude and skills. They develop competence in the theory and application of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Finally, they gain confidence and soft skills to effectively communicate and motivate others.

We conduct leadership training workshops for Vietnamese youth who will be future leaders, and who care about protecting the environment. Our inaugural workshop was held on December 7-8, 2024, with 25 participants. We will post more information here as we plan additional workshops.