The Spanish and Mediterranean UNESCO´s Chairs Meeting will be held in Valencia from 23 to November 25. It has two main objectives:

1. Reactivate the academic and supportive role of UNESCO Chairs in the Spanish university cooperation for development, increasing its visibility and connecting it to other university actors working for human development as the Observatory of the University Development Cooperation (OCUD) or Spanish Association of Development Studies (REEDES)
2. Prepare a document of university strategies by UNESCO Chairs in Spain and the Mediterranean Area for mainstreaming the ODS in training university (undergraduate and graduate) and to encourage support and recognition of universities by the ODS. With this meeting we begin the voluntarily process for universities to be credited faced with the United Nations as "Universities for Sustainable Development Goals" and therefore be recognized internationally. We need reflections about establishing parameters or indicators to self-assess and propose for such recognition.

This UNESCO´s Chair Meeting is the result of an analysis of the role of the Chairs in the last five years and the development of a shared project with other university agents is funded by the Secretary of State for International Development Cooperation (MAEC) through the call for proposals for initiatives on Sustainable Development Goals .

The methodology proposed for this meeting is composed of:

1. Ideation stage: prior to the meeting celebration. Enrolled Chairs may make their contributions since October 2015 in theUniODS Forum of Meeting website, throught text - paper prepared by experts. Any contribution in line with the objectives will be evaluated for it inclusion.
2. Stage of discussion and reflection: during the Meeting sessions. It has been established in the provisional agenda two areas of work:
   • plenary sessions with relevance´s issues to UNESCO Chairs. These sessions will be open to interested public assistance and will include debate.
   • simultaneous group work sessions where discussions on the proposed indicators and parameters to be considered by the Spanish universities to incorporate the ODS in academic life : institutional and formatively.
3. Input stage: with the working groups conclusions, the UNESCO´s Chairs plenary participants must form a clear proposal of measures to be taken by the Spanish universities in its commitment to the ODS . These conclusions are timely move to different institutional settings that can legitimate and incorporate these proposals in their university policies .

For more information about the Meeting, click here.