UNESCO Chairs are programmes based at higher education institutions that connect research, teaching, capacity building and international cooperation with UNESCO’s wider mission. Rather than functioning only as academic titles, they create networks through which scholars, students, professionals, communities and public institutions can exchange knowledge and translate it into practical action. The Netherlands currently has **18 UNESCO Chairs**, distributed across universities, universities of applied sciences and specialised higher education institutions. Together, they form part of the international UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN network, which brings academic institutions together around education, science, culture, communication and sustainable development. The Dutch Chairs address a broad range of contemporary challenges. Several examine human rights, citizenship, inequality and social cohesion. Others explore how cultural heritage, museums and historical memory are affected by colonialism, climate change, urban development and emerging forms of crime. Another group focuses on sustainability, landscapes, futures thinking and transformative learning. The network also includes Chairs concerned with artificial intelligence, digital technologies, innovation policy and diversity within global science. What connects these different fields is their emphasis on the relationship between knowledge and society. Research is only one component of their work. Education, professional training, public engagement, policy advice, capacity building and international collaboration are also central to the UNESCO Chairs programme. The organisational forms of the Chairs differ considerably. Some are primarily represented by an individual chairholder, while others involve multidisciplinary teams of researchers, educators and practitioners. The people included below should therefore not be interpreted as a complete census of everyone contributing to the activities of each Chair. ### UNESCO Chairs and their institutional homes | UNESCO Chair | People associated | Host institution | |:---|:---|:---| | AI & Data Science for Society | **Lampros Stergioulas** | The Hague University of Applied Sciences | | Anthropology of Digital Diversity | **Bart Barendregt** | Leiden University | | Comparative History of Slavery and the Transition to Citizenship | **Karwan Fatah Black** | Leiden University | | Cross Cultural Sustainability | **Sylvia van de Bunt** | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | | Cultural Heritage and Emerging Crime | **Donna Yates** | Maastricht University | | Decentralized Information Society Engineering | **Jaap Gordijn**
Kousar Aslam | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | | Diversity and Inclusion in Global Science | **Ismael Rafols**
André Brasil
Louise Bezuidenhout
Rodrigo Costas Comesaña | Leiden University | | Futures Literacy | **Loes Damhof**
Jitske Gulmans
Ramila Khafaji Zadeh | Hanze University of Applied Sciences | | Heritage and Values | **Ana Pereira Roders** | TU Delft | | Human Rights and Peace | **Andrea Broderick** | Maastricht University | | Human Rights in Higher Education | **Felisa Tibbitts** | Utrecht University | | Issues Based Arts Education, Intercultural Dialogue and Social Cohesion | **John Johnston**
Féilim O’hAoláin
Marloes Verhoeven | ArtEZ University of the Arts | | Museum Collections, Repatriation and Interculturality | **Mirjam Shatanawi**
Britt Marie van der Drift
Csilla Ariese
Martín Andrade Pérez
Ruben Smit | Reinwardt Academy, Amsterdam University of the Arts | | Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development for Latin America | **Carlo Pietrobelli** | UNU MERIT | | Social Learning and Sustainable Development | **Arjen Wals** | Wageningen University & Research | | Sustainable Landscape Governance, Education and Citizen Science | **Frans Sijtsma** | University of Groningen | | Technology enhanced Learning for Sustainable Development | **Joop de Kraker** | Open Universiteit | | Water, Ports and Historic Cities | **Carola Hein** | TU Delft | This study asks how the Dutch UNESCO Chairs are connected through their publications, collaborators and research topics. It also examines where connections remain limited and where shared countries, organisations and emerging themes could provide opportunities for closer collaboration.