EAUC Receives ECOSOC Status

20th January 2022

EAUC has received Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

This means EAUC will have formal passes to attend the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). We present the SDG Accord Annual Report at this event, ensuring that the further and higher education sectors are represented at this high profile event.

This crucial event explores the role of further education to drive collective action for the SDGs and build a sustainable and resilient recovery. Access to quality post-secondary education is crucial to achieving sustainable development — it shapes the next generation of sustainability leaders while giving them the education necessary for progress. The event brings together key actors in the space to highlight the challenges, the opportunities and lessons learned to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The event is organised as part of the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI), a partnership between United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UNESCO, United Nations Environment, UN Global Compact’s Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative, United Nations University (UNU), UN-HABITAT, UNCTAD, UNITAR, Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and key actors in the space, was created in 2012 in the run-up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).

Through its strong association with the United Nations, HESI aims to provide higher education with an interface between higher education, science, and policy making by raising the profile of higher education’s sector in supporting sustainable development, convening multi-stakeholder discussions and action, and sharing best practices.

EAUC is a founding member of HESI.