Inclusivity and Social Equity

PART OF IntechOpen Book Series: Sustainable Development

ISSN 2753-6580

Research Topic on Inclusivity and Social Equity - always open for submissions, with an Annual Volume published each calendar year with a dedicated ISSN and ISBN.

Led by Topic Editor Prof. Dr. Ebba Ossiannilsson and an international Editorial Board, all submissions are peer-reviewed and published immediately after acceptance.

Scope

This topic is dedicated to the efforts and promotion of UNESCO SDG4, the UNESCO initiative on the future of education, and the need for a new social contract for education. It aims to disseminate knowledge on policies, strategies, methods, and technologies that increase the resilience and sustainability of the development of the future of education and the new social contract for education. It will also consider the global challenges such as globalization, demographic change, digital transformation, climate change, environment and the social pillars of sustainable development.

Responses to the pandemic and the widespread discontent that preceded it must be based on a new social contract and a New Global Deal for education that ensures equal opportunities for all and respects all people’s rights and freedoms (UNESCO; 2021). Such a new social contract, as proposed by UNESCO, must be based on the general principles underlying human rights - inclusion and equality, cooperation and solidarity, and collective responsibility and interconnectedness - and be guided by the following fundamental principle: Ensure that everyone has access to quality education throughout their lives.

We face the dual challenge of delivering on the unfulfilled promise of ensuring the right to quality education for every child, youth, and adult, as well as fully realizing the transformative potential of education as a pathway to a more sustainable collective future. To achieve this, we need a new social contract for education that eliminates inequities while transforming the future. This new social contract must be based on human rights and the principles of non-discrimination, social justice, respect for life, human dignity, and cultural diversity. It must include an ethic of care, reciprocity and solidarity. The new social contract builds on inclusiveness, equity, lifelong learning, SDG, collaboration and personal learning in a global context for democracy.

At an international level, the adoption of the Open Educational Resources recommendation and the Open Science recommendation represents an important step towards building more open and inclusive knowledge societies as well as the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda. Indeed, implementing the recommendations will help to achieve at least five more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are intertwined with the topic of this book series, namely SDG 5 (Gender equality), SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities within and across countries), SDG 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the goals).

keywords

Social Contract SDG Human Rights Inclusiveness Equity Democracy Personal Learning Collaboration Glocalization

Publishing in IntechOpen Book Series