Global Understanding

Film by Diego Galafass / Phi-Centre

Understanding the Global Age

The intensification of globalization processes at the beginning of the 20th century gave rise to new sources of insecurity. This was particularly evident in the political arena. Current authoritarian developments in world politics, characterized by the nationalization of global problems, are one outcome of this shift. The International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU), proclaimed in 2016 based on a UNESCO resolution, addresses its challenges. The initiative aims to improve understanding of this new global human condition. Its goal is to raise awareness of the global interconnectedness of all domains of life, its impact, and how to peacefully overcome the identified challenges. The IYGU promotes a global perspective on national, regional, and local issues.

„The International Year of Global Understanding is a major step forward in helping all cultures and all peoples understand what sustainability means and how it can be achieved.“

Eliezer Batista

Initiator, UN Rio Summit 1992

Challenges Addressed

The International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) program aims to clarify the close connection between daily life at the local level and global processes. And it suggests examining how global conditions affect everyone, everywhere. This dual perspective — how the local constitutes the global and how the global shapes the local — shall be applied to the transformation of nature, societies, economies, and political relations. It will also be applied to reveal the consequences for different cultures. Most importantly, the program encourages showcasing ways in which everyone can contribute to creating healthy living conditions for others, regardless of where they live, by changing how we live.

Transformation of nature by ways of living

In the Anthropocene, our everyday actions ultimately transform nature on a global scale. The ways we live, organize our societies, and shape our cultures; how we eat, move, build, work, and communicate; and many other factors have far-reaching effects on the natural living conditions.

The Global Understanding program places ways of living at the center of sustainability. Instead of treating nature as an external backdrop, we examine how cultural patterns, and daily routines can promote regeneration rather than degrade nature.

Overcoming territorial thinking in sustainability policy

Today’s biggest challenges — climate change, resource use, social inequality, and biodiversity loss — are global by nature. Yet, sustainability policy is still largely organized within a national, territorial framework that emphasizes borders and differences.

This mental framework undermines effective solutions. Global Understanding asserts that sustainability strategies must transcend territorial thinking. It needs to adopt multilateral political approaches that acknowledge global interdependence and shared responsibility.

Culturally diverse paths to global sustainability

True sustainability policies cannot rely on one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we must promote culturally and regionally specific paths toward global sustainability.

Global Understanding acknowledges that different societies have different histories, values, and everyday practices. Therefore, it is more appropriate to understand and support multiple pathways that align with planetary boundaries and social justice than to promote a single model of sustainability. Rather than a single approach, we must support various cultural pathways toward sustainability.

Integrating humanities, social and natural sciences

Placing a stronger emphasis on the cultural dimension creates new opportunities for sustainability research and policy in the humanities and social sciences. To better integrate their expertise, new forms of cooperation with the natural sciences and new research perspectives must be developed.

The IYGU operates at this intersection. It promotes applied, human-centered sustainability science that considers the specific social, cultural, and natural contexts of human actions. This approach collaborates with everyday stakeholders to co-design practical proposals for more sustainable everyday decision-making. Education programs and information need to be adjusted.

How to Tackle

Global understanding involves recognizing the connection between local actions and the ability to address global challenges. This requires focusing on the global through the lens of local actions. It implies acknowledging that there are many different cultural pathways towards sustainability. The program draws attention to essential everyday activities—eating, drinking, housing, working, traveling, and communicating—and invites to suggest ways these practices can become more sustainable worldwide.

The IYGU program unites researchers, educators, and public communicators to clarify global processes and challenges and promote sustainable daily practices.

Key Messages

The Global Understanding program encompasses the following four key messages.

Linking the local and the global

Everyday actions matter when it comes to global climate change.
Decisions made every day depend on culture and context.
Taking a global perspective can reduce regional conflicts.

Human actions create global challenges, but they also offer solutions. Gaining a global understanding of the human condition helps individuals and decision-makers act more responsibly.

People’s practices

Global problems require solutions that are implemented on the ground everywhere.
Sustainable change must come from the ground up.

We cannot wait for an ideal global institution to emerge. Change must start with our everyday choices. Our individual votes and consumption habits influence policies at all levels, from local to global.

Science and everyday life

Everyday life and science must align culturally and socially.
Developing a global understanding relies on joint sociocultural and natural science research.
Research must address the logic of everyday life.

In order to change everyday practices, we need research that considers culturally shaped views, routines, and real-world decision-making processes with respect.

Sustainability and global understanding

Climate change highlights the close link between global and local effects.
Global change encompasses the climate, society, culture, and the economy.
Understanding the global condition is essential for managing change sustainably.

Living sustainably locally is essential for global sustainability. Global understanding enables people to recognize hidden connections and make more sustainable choices.

Today’s Legacy

From an international year to a long-term movement. The legacy of the International Year of Global Understanding is evident today in three interlinked realms.

What began as an International Year in 2016 has evolved into a long-term effort comprising UNESCO Chairs, a declaration on a cultural approach to sustainability, and a constantly growing network. All of these are dedicated to achieving global understanding and making it a practical force for sustainable futures.

As a concept: Global understanding is a way of seeing how local, everyday actions are connected to global challenges, and why cultural perspectives matter for sustainability.

As an institution: The UNESCO Chair on Global Understanding for Sustainability in Jena, as part of the UNITWIN network, and the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition are turning this concept into concrete research, teaching, and policy advice.

As a movement: The Jena Declaration and its network of partners articulate this concept, calling for a cultural shift towards sustainable everyday living and mobilising actors worldwide to work towards this goal.

Why Global Understanding matters

The Partners

The International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) was proclaimed in 2015 by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH), based on a UNESCO resolution. While ICSU and ISSC no longer exist in their former form, their legacy continues today through the International Science Council (ISC).

Currently, the initiative is sponsored by institutions with global reach as well as by local partners. We envision a broad network of organizations working together to carry off the year. In this, the year will bring together scientific actors from wide range of disciplines from the humanities, social and natural sciences as well as engineering.