As the world faces complex and interconnected challenges and polycrises, fostering transformative change has never been more crucial. Higher education (HE) is vital to shaping futures that are inclusive, just, and sustainable. Informed by open science and dialogue, and the pursuit of knowledge, societies can thrive towards well-being for all. UNESCO’s recent Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education report proposed three essential questions to ask of education as we look to 2050 and beyond: What should we continue doing? What should we abandon? And, what needs to be creatively invented afresh?
Held on the sidelines of the 2025 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) under the theme “'Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for 2030”, this invitation-only Symposium aims to address the critical role and potential of as well as trust in higher education institutions (HEIs). As globally networked actors in advancing livable futures across the globe, HEIs must aim to critically engage with current frameworks, such as the SDGs, as well as a post-2030 development agenda.
The event offers a unique space to reimagine HE’s value proposition, its principles, and rethink how HEIs can best serve learners, societies, governments, industry, and civil society in their quest for a sustainable future—while preserving heritage and traditions, autonomy, and its international character.
The Symposium will commence with an assessment of the evolving role of higher education within the global landscape leading up to 2030 and beyond. This will include a collective rethinking of the path forward during a moment when its relevance is increasingly being challenged. The timely discussion will emphasize a need for cooperation and collaborative approaches within higher education, highlighting ‘educational multilateralism’. Through dialogue participants will reassess the foundational values of higher education as central to knowledge-based and future-ready societies. The event will also explore why higher education remains underrepresented in global policymaking, especially on emerging themes such as innovation, open science, humane technology and lifelong learning as a right for all.
By embracing a multilayered approach that connects academic expertise, practitioners, and policy makers from most world regions, the Symposium is set to highlight the science-policy interface and underscore HE’s unique potential to bridge local and global dialogue and action, geared towards a sustainable future.