The UNESCO Chair in Education for Social Justice of the Autonomous University of Madrid was created on February 2019 as a result of an agreement between Audrey Azoulay, Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ), and Rafael Garesse, Rector of the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Its existence is justified by two elements. First of all, because of the grave situation of injustice and oppression throughout the world. We are experiencing the largest refugee crisis since World War II, the gap between the poorest and the richest is growing, extreme poverty persists in many countries and millions of people continue starving in the 21st century. Gender violence, homophobia, racism, xenophobia and labor exploitation persist. Also the destruction of biodiversity, and the increasing socioecological crisis. 

And, secondly, by the conviction that education can contribute to changing this situation. If – as Nelson Mandela said – “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” we should try to change education to achieve a more just, equitable and inclusive society.

Thus, the Chair’s ultimate goal is to contribute to creating a fairer society through education: an Education in and for Social Justice. This purpose is specified in a series of objectives agreed between UNESCO and the Autonomous University of Madrid, focused on four complementary elements:

• High-quality interdisciplinary research.

• Development of curricular materials on education for social justice and promotion of innovation actions on formal and non-formal settings. 

• Training of teachers and specialists and educators in non-formal contexts. 

• Dissemination of research and resources on Education for Social Justice.

To achieve these objectives, the Chair is made up of a large research and teaching team from the Autonomous University of Madrid, as well as up of different collaborators from other universities and centers.