Charles Chikunda

Dr Charles Chikunda is currently coordinating the UNESCO Sustainability Starts with Teachers, a capacity-building programme for ESD for teacher educators and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) educators, running in 11 SADC countries. The aim is to integrate sustainability principles into education and training environments, with emphasis on curriculum change in Teacher Education Institutions and TVET college programmes as well as reinforcing ESD into national education policies in the southern African region, with emphasis on policies influencing the education of teachers and TVET educators for Goal 4 of the SDGs (Target 4.7).

Charles has experience in teacher education that goes beyond 20 years in the SADC region. Before joining UNESCO, Charles was leading the stakeholder engagement/social learning section in a project whose aim was to reduce vulnerability to climate change through building improved transboundary water and biodiversity governance through the adoption of science-based strategies that enhance the resilience of its people and ecosystems through systemic and social learning approaches. This include involving various stakeholders at different levels to think through current practices, supporting learning and building collective agency towards resilience.