Introduction

Resource governance is at the heart of sustainable development. A range of interconnected and complex contemporary resource governance challenges exist including on water, food, energy and climate change. Inclusive, transparent and accountable resource governance contributes towards attaining human security, building peace, sustaining healthy ecosystems, and ensuring social and ecological justice. Furthermore, in the age of the Anthropocene resource governance must also account for a broader ethics of human-nature relations and the concerns of more-than-human things.

Within resource governance, the imaginaries of the future act on the possiblities of the present, including in terms of whose voices are heard in debates articulating desirable or undesirable futures. Futures literacy is a capability and a skill that enables a better understanding and anticipation of the role that the future plays in society. It fosters agility of the mind, allowing uncertainty and complexity to be embraced. Being futures literate empowers people to use the futures to innovate the present, leading to creative solutions and policy shifts.

About the UNESCO Chair

The ‘Chulalongkorn University UNESCO Chair in Resource Governance and Futures Literacy’ aims to establish a hub of researchers, policy makers, graduate students and other societal actors to catalyze inclusive and sustainable governance of resources through futures literacy-focused networking, research, dialogue and capacity strengthening. We will proactively and constructively engage towards the inclusive, equitable and sustainable resolution of resource governance challenges emphasizing the identification of transformative pathways through building futures literacy. We aspire to catalyze thought leadership and activities that result in clear impacts in policy and on-the-ground.

The goal of the UNESCO Chair is to contribute towards a transformation of resource governance in Southeast Asia on water, food, energy and climate change that is sustainable, inclusive, equitable and just. Our work will be global in perspective with a focus on to Southeast Asia and emphasize the importance of gender equity and the role and aspirations of youth.

The objectives of the Chair are:

To build Futures Literacy capacities and anticipatory competencies among the present and next generation of researchers, policy makers, civil society, media and others that are engaged in various forms of resource governance at levels ranging from the local to transboundary, including supporting life-long learning
To deepen conceptual understanding of resource governance futures, including the politics and policies towards resources, and the implications of plural futures portrayed that act on the present
To undertake interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research that draws on the concepts, tools and practices of Futures Literacy and futures studies to explore, understand and contribute towards solutions on resource governance challenges.
To serve as a convening platform for futures literacy on resource governance among active networks engaged in resource governance, and those that teach and research on it, that will explore inclusive, socially just and environmentally sustainable futures and determine the transformative pathways towards them.

The UNESCO Chair in Resource Governance and Futures Literacy is an institutional appointment hosted by Chulalongkorn University and housed within Faculty of Political Science, where it is managed by the Center for Social Development Studies. The Chair is supported by Chulalongkorn University’s Office of International Affairs and Global Network (OIA). It was launched in March 2023. In the process of preparing the UNESCO Chair, Chulalongkorn University hosted the ‘Chula Futures Literacy Week’ from February 28 – March 4, 2022, which included public lectures, a book talk, a Futures Literacy Lab, and 2-day international conference. See here for further details.

Building partnerships is a vital approach of the Chair. This includes across faculties and research units within Chulalongkorn University, and between universities, government agencies, think tanks, and civil society in Thailand, regionally and globally. Please contact us to connect your activities with the UNESCO Chair in Resource Governance and Futures Literacy’s work.