The UNESCO Chair program is a scientific initiative of UNESCO, established in 1992. Its aim is to promote international cooperation among researchers through the collaboration of UNESCO Chairs and networks of universities (UNITWIN). The Chairs are part of a global knowledge network and encourage research and education on topics relevant to UNESCO. 

UNESCO's recent framework emphasizes the importance of integrating culture and arts education to address various societal challenges such as inequality, polarization, migration, and climate change. Moreover, arts education provides opportunities for learners to empower themselves socially and economically. The UNESCO Chair held by John Johnston at ArtEZ is aiming at precisely those values and vision, by taking arts education into schools and communities and addressing the issues that matter to the people we work with. 

About Issues Based Arts Education 

Issues Based Arts Education, abbreviated as IBAE, is an adaptable teaching approach that emphasizes pressing themes relevant to people, their circumstances, and the present moment. Ultimately, IBAE places the issue itself at the heart of a creative exploration, enriching both individual and collective awareness.

These three words - 'people, places, times' - hold particular significance for Johnston. “These three words essentially encapsulate what the UNESCO Chair is about for me, namely that I want to prove that Issues Based Arts Education is a pedagogy that allows us to educate people and communities in a way that is tailored to the times we live in, the place where it is delivered, and the people involved,” Johnston explains.