WHEC2022 in numbers

Connecting the HED Ecosystem at WHEC20222, Barcelona

With more than 160 parallel sessions and 400 speakers, the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference (WHEC2022) gathered 2500 higher education stakeholders in Barcelona, Spain, from 18 to 22 May 2022, to reshape ideas and practices in higher education to ensure sustainable development for the planet and humanity.

Conceptualized as a global conversation in a hybrid format to provide opportunities for broad participation, 115 onsite Round Tables, HED Talks and Workshops were followed by more than 8300 virtual connections from all over the world, while 48 “Speakers Corners” and 66 official side-events were organized onsite in Barcelona or online.

Youth played a significant role before and during the conference. By raising Youth's voices, they could set their insights on the table and be part of the Global Conversation interacting with HED stakeholders. As part of the Youth Strategy, the WHEC2022 reunited more than 650 young people and 15 Youth Organizations actively participating in different activities that directly impacted the conference's inputs. Among all the Youth organizations engaged in the WHEC2022 the conference met the Foundation Princess of Girona, Alwa, Erasmus Student Network, Global Student Forum, Global Changemakers, Foundation for Rural Youth Empowerment, Tec de Monterrey, University Pompeu Fabra, Alwa, RMIT, Sustainability Institute, and others.

The WHEC2022 hosted 30 Youth HED Talks, 8 workshops,  the WHEC2022 Creathon, the UNCHR Capacity Building, a fire-side chat by SDG4 youth delegates, and arts activities. Besides, the Youth strategy organized 15 webinars before the conference (on social entrepreneurship for HED innovation, social and emotional learning, SDGs in the curriculum, HED indigenous inclusion, and creative knowledge systems, etc.), received 80 testimony videos and launched online consultations based on the ten thematic areas of the conference reaching more than 300 responses. 

The WHEC2022 is revising all the material received and analyzing the conference's outputs. Our digital library has become the most prominent knowledge hub on HED, with more than 50 contributions (visit here). As an open working document, the HED2030 Roadmap will integrate the data collected during the WHEC2022 conversation to ensure the inclusion of the entire HED Ecosystem. We encourage organizations, institutions, HED stakeholders, youth, and others to participate in the enrichment process of the HED2030 Roadmap.