The UNESCO Chair on Intercultural Competences hosted by Stellenbosch University will organize its 2nd Annual Conference in Rabat, Morocco from 29 September - 3 October 2025.​

On 20 November 2023, the 194 UNESCO Member States adopted the Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development at UNESCO's General Conference. This is the only global standard-setting instrument that lays out how education should be used to bring about lasting peace and foster human development through 14 guiding principles.

UNESCO Chair in Intercultural Competence pre-launch 14-15 August

Stellenbosch University International (SU International) recently hosted two days of activities relating to intercultural competence, which culminated in the official launch of the UNESCO Chair in Intercultural Competence on the third day.

 The chair, which was awarded to Stellenbosch University (SU) earlier this year, will be housed in the Africa Centre for Scholarship (ACS) in SU International. The Chairholder will be Dr Darla Deardorff, an SU-affiliated distinguished fellow from the United States, and deputy-chair Prof Sarah Howie, director of the ACS​

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SU celebrates inauguration of two new UNESCO Chairs

The ceremonial inauguration of the two newest United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Chairs at Stellenbosch University (SU) is a significant boost for inter-university cooperation and global collaboration.

Stellenbosch University International (SUI) recently hosted two days of successful activities related to intercultural competence that culminated in the official launch of the UNESCO Chair in Intercultural Competence on the succeeding third day.

Read more: here 

UNESCO Chair on Intercultural Competences awarded to SU

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair in Intercultural Competences has been awarded to Stellenbosch University (SU). An SU affiliated distinguished fellow from the USA, Dr Darla Deardorff, will be the Chairholder with Deputy Chair Professor Sarah Howie, Director of the ACS.

Re​ad more: here​

• Keynoted the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology ( IACCP) Conference in Limerick, Ireland in August
• Presented a conference session on “Exploring Intercultural Competence in South Africa" at the 25th Anniversary conference in Durban in August 2023, along with Stellenbosch colleagues Werner de Wit, Principal Coordinator of the Chair, and Sarah van der Westhuizen.
• Presented a conference session on “Intersections of Intercultural Competence and Eco-Literacy" at the 2023 EAIE Conference in Rotterdam, the Netherlands in September
• Keynoted the JAISE conference in Tokyo, Japan in September.
• Moderated the first virtual UNESCO Expert Panel on the Intersections of Peacebuilding and Intercultural Competence in September.
• Facilitated UNESCO Story Circles workshops at Tohoku University in Japan in September, at the University of Havana in Cuba in October, at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in North Carolina US in October, at Juniata College in Pennsylvania US in November,  virtually at Stellenbosch University and at University of Toronto, and at a peacebuilding conference in Sarajevo in December.
• Was an invited panelist on a virtual UNESCO Expert Panel on Intersections of Peacebuilding and Intercultural Competence in North America in September.
• Co-authored a UNESCO publication through UNESCO Bangkok and APCEIU on global citizenship education.
• Facilitated a 2-day virtual UNESCO workshop on Global Citizenship Development in the Asia-Pacific for UNESCO Bangkok in October.
• Gave an invited online talk on UNESCO Story Circles at the OICD(Organization for Identity+Cultural Development)  Conference in East Africa in October.
• Gave an invited online talk to university students in France in November on intercultural competence.
• Represented the Chair at OECD meetings at the 5th Global Forum on  Education 2030 in Bucharest in December.
• Keynoted the XVIII National Congress of the Spanish Society for Comparative Education (SEEC) in Spain in December.
• Held virtual meetings with regional UNESCO offices in east and west Africa, and four meetings with UNESCO Paris colleagues.
• Attended the virtual South African UNESCO Chairs meeting
• Participated in several UNESCO Chair webinars.
• Held an in-person meeting with UNESCO Chair partner Elon University, attended by nearly 20 Elon colleagues. 

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