The University of the South Pacific (USP) is proud to announce its appointment as Vice-Chair of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) SDG14 Hub.
UNAI is an initiative designed to connect higher education institutions with the UN to support and advance the organisation’s goals and principles. The SDG14 Hub focuses on Life Below Water.
Professor Pal Ahluwalia, USP Vice-Chancellor and President, expressed his gratitude for this important role.
We are honoured to be selected as a Vice-Chair of the UNAI SDG14 Hub. This recognition underscores USP’s enduring commitment to ocean conservation and sustainable development, principles that are integral to our Pacific identity.
As we move forward, USP will harness its extensive research capabilities and engage in regional collaborations to protect our precious Blue Pacific continent. Our region faces unique climate and marine challenges, and we are dedicated to ensuring that our voices, insights, and expertise are heard on the global stage.
This appointment complements our efforts through the new Centre for Sustainable Futures, which concentrates on critical research areas like the intersection of oceans and climate, enabling us to make impactful contributions to sustainable development.
Professor Ahluwalia
USP joins the University of Pernambuco in Brazil and the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa as the three Vice-Chairs of the UNAI SDG14 Hub.
The University of Bergen (UiB) in Norway serves as the current Hub Chair.
The University of Bergen is delighted to welcome the University of the South Pacific on board as one of the three Vice Chairs of the UNAI SDG14 Hub. This builds naturally on the collaboration between our two universities, which has been ongoing for several decades. We have always shared the commitment for SDG14, Life Below Water, and both of us provide sustainable ocean topics in our research and higher education,.
Not the least, we are proud of the Norway-Pacific Ocean-Climate PhD programme, N-POC, which was supported by Norway’s Ministry of Foreign affairs and initiated by UiB Professor Edvard Hviding, who has long ties with the Pacific and USP.
UiB Rector Margareth Hagen