UNESCO Chair

Education transforms lives and is at the heart of UNESCO’s mission to build peace, eradicate poverty and drive sustainable development.

To achieve this mission, UNESCO makes use of ´chairs´ linked to a university. In 2017, such a UNESCO chair has been established at Gulu University, Uganda, with professor Jacques Zeelen, at the time working at the University of Groningen, as chair holder on Lifelong Learning, Youth and Work. In this capacity, professor Zeelen initiated a network of researchers and practitioners to develop livelihood perspectives for young people in Uganda.

Since November 2021, dr. Josje van der Linden is appointed as UNESCO chair holder Lifelong Learning, Youth and Work. Van der Linden works as assistant professor on Lifelong Learning at the department of Pedagogy. She has co-organised two summer schools on the theme of Youth, education and work in (post-)conflict areas, the first one in the University of Groningen, the second one in Gulu University. Working at Gulu University provided interesting possibilities for fieldwork as this university is located in a (post-)conflict area itself and has, young as it is, built strong ties with the surrounding communities. The two summer schools together have resulted in a peer reviewed book, available here. Three other summer school have taken place on themes related to entrepreneurship ana mental resilience, two themes that are of importance for the youth in Gulu. 

The appointment as UNESCO chair holder has been renewed and Josje van der Linden continues organising and implementing activities to promote education and work opportunities for the youth in Uganda, among which a new summer school on Women-Led Change: Community Engagement and Rural Development in Uganda, that will take place at a university for women in Kagadi, Western Uganda from 26 – 31 May 2025.