Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) recently launched its official UNESCO Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development.
The inaugural Chair, Dr Damilola S Olawuyi (SAN) is a Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the HBKU College of Law. He presented his first lecture, setting out his vision as chair.
The high-level launch also featured keynote speeches by Qatari officials as well as senior UNESCO representatives. The launch also featured a panel discussion with foremost experts on environmental law and sustainability.
Chair’s vision
In his inaugural lecture, Dr Olawuyi said that the UNESCO Chair at HBKU will be at the forefront of galvanizing multi-stakeholder cooperation and partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals in Qatar and beyond for the next several decades. Technological innovations and changes in key economic sectors and industries in response to climate change, pandemics and other environmental and social pressures, offer a broad scope for much-needed future research.
As inaugural chairholder, he said that his aim is to develop, train and equip homegrown policy leaders capable of steering the continuous implementation of environmental and sustainable development instruments in the region.
The launch commenced with an opening speech by HBKU Provost Dr Michael J Benedik; UNESCO Director of Doha Office for Gulf States and Yemen Salah Khaled; and Sheikha Aisha Bint Mubarak Al Thani, UNESCO Department Head – Qatar National Commission for Education.
A panel discussion, chaired by HBKU College of Law Dean Susan L Karamanian, demonstrated the chair’s role in bringing together national and regional stakeholders to encourage evidence-based decision-making.
After the event, Dean Karamanian said that the launch of the UNESCO chair marks the long-term commitment of HBKU and the College of Law to fostering a ‘knowledge-intensive’ capacity to advance sustainable development. Leaders from key institutions in Qatar, along with United Nations officials, reaffirmed the importance of this objective. She said that their expressed support of the work of the UNESCO Chair was reassuring as at the heart of Dr Olawuyi’s work will be his engagement with stakeholders.
HBKU UNESCO chair
Established in 2022, the HBKU UNESCO chair is a centre of excellence that promotes research, training, public dialogue, partnerships, and international and regional cooperation on environmental law as a tool for advancing sustainable development in Qatar and the MENA region.
Programmes include fellowships, visiting professorships, lecture series, conferences, research publications and specialised degree and certificate programmes in partnership with the College of Law and the HBKU Executive Education Center.
For more information on the UNESCO chair, visit hbku.edu.qa. You can also visit cl.hbku.edu.qa for more details on the initiatives and programmes under the HBKU College of Law.
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