A stock image from a rally on science for the public good

UNESCO Chair in Science Communication for the Public Good

This UNESCO Chair responds to the urgent need for meaningful dialogue on these imagined futures being communicated by science and the different visions of transformation they have sparked. Our program of research, training and knowledge exchange explores how knowledge (both formal and informal) about the state of the environment, social relations and techno-economic systems come together in these narratives.

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unesco.cpas@anu.edu.au

About

This Chair aims to build capacity in different areas from research to policy to public engagement to grapple with these complexities of changing the way we produce and use knowledge in service of more sustainable and equitable futures. We aim to work with culturally embedded concepts of public or common good to convene conversations on these issues in the face of diverse forms of knowledge, experience and values.

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Activities in 2024

As we start the new year, here is a quick breakdown of the activities of the UNESCO Chair and its team members throughout 2024. Also scroll through our LinkedIn to see more about these activities.

Sujatha Raman and Rini Astuti are among ANU researchers involved in the Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials. Sujatha and Rini will be bringing invaluable expertise and advice throughout this ten-year project, ensuring affected communities' voices and practices are heard and respected, and that outcomes will be made sustainable and accessible for those most in need. Sujatha Raman co-wrote an article for the Conversation entitled "The human right to science is 76 years old. It’s a reminder for us all to be more curious". Written with Professor Brian Schmidt for 2024 Human Rights Day, the article expounds on the right to science as a force for curiosity. The Chair held the forum "Just Energy Transitions: Shaping Critical Minerals Governance in the Asia-Pacific", with the support of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions and CSIRO. The forum inspected what system changes are needed to address historical and existing injustices and avoid creating new injustices in critical mineral governance, and how we can avoid mineral-intensive lock-in through transitions? How to achieve alternative futures?	Ambassador to Indonesia Siswo Pramono speaking at UNESCO Chair event "Just Energy Transitions"
Some members of UNESCO Chair Team at INGSA 2024	Christer de Silva was part of the 2024 Humboldt Residency Programme with the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Christer's thesis explores the tension between established science and Indigenous knowledge with a view to ways of conserving biodiversity. Sujatha Raman and Rita Agha participated in an international forum organized by the African Union Commission and UNESCO, focusing on “Transforming Knowledge for Africa’s Future.” The event brought together participants, including stakeholders in academics and civil society from across the globe Netherlands, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Australia, Tanzania, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Austria and India whose work resonates with open science. Christer de Silva travelled to Enschede to take the PhD Course 'Transformative Research for Sustainability Challenges'. Christer worked with a group of other PhD Candidates to evaluate a case study on transformative research on "Indigenous futures thinking: Changing the narrative and re-building based on re-rooting".
Rita Agha was selected to participate in the 62nd UN Graduate Study Programme. The longest-running UN educational initiative United Nations Office at Geneva, this year's program centres on the theme "Summit of the Future: Challenges and Opportunities," addressing the essential systems change needed to approach global goals amidst evolving global dynamics. The UNESCO Chair in Science Communication for the Public Good played a prime part in the success of the recent International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA) Conference 2024. The Chair sponsored and supported the planning of INGSA204, with several members of the UNESCO Chair team also travelling to Kigali, Rwanda to deliver various panels and talks around INGSA2024's theme "The Transformation Imperative”, focusing on policy making in a post-covid, climate-shifted and digitally evolving world. The Chair held the symposium SCIENCE AND PUBLIC GOOD: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY CONVERSATION. The Symposium explored emerging agendas in science and techonology studies (STS), science communication, philosophy, bioethics and allied disciplines on the relationship between science and public good and prospects for future research. Sujatha Raman and Indigo Strudwicke were among the co-authors on the Centre for Future Sciences report, The Contextualization Deficit. The report is presented by the International Science Council's think tank, the Centre for Science Futures, in partnership with the UNESCO Unitwin Chair on Communication for Science as a Public Good,	A poster compiling discussions and insights from the Science and Public Good symposium, made in real time by Indigo Strudwicke

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UNESCO Chair in Science Communication for the Public Good

Background

More information about the United Nations Sustainability Goals and the UNESCO Chair.

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Rini Astuti at Just Energy Transitions: Shaping Critical Minerals Governance in Asia-Pacific

Themes and Objectives

Our work tackles critical questions posed by narratives and investigates how concepts of science communication for public good might answer them.

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Team UNESCO Chair at "Transforming knowledge for Africa’s future"

Events and Gallery

An archive of media of events and symposiums held by The Chair, and Conferences attended or co-planned by members of the UNESCO Chair

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Members

Chair Holder

Professor Sujatha Raman

Studies how science, tech, and environment intersect with society. They focus on energy transitions, antimicrobial resistance, planetary futures, and socio-technical methods for equitable sustainability and public good.

Researcher

Rita Agha

PhD Researcher

Dr Rini Astuti

Studies energy transitions, forest-carbon policies, and climate justice. They explore just transitions, critical minerals, and political ecology in forest/peatland landscapes, linking science, policy, and society for global environmental solutions.

Christer de Silva

PhD Researcher

Dr Faranak Hardcastle

Explores how science, technology, and society shape one another, working across disciplines and sectors to rethink what more equitable and environmentally sustainable futures could look like.

Dr Dan Santos

Studies political economy & public engagement in biotech, focusing on openness, innovation, and societal benefits. They research genetic engineering, synbio, and stem cells through economic geography & STS lenses.