Professora Doutora Helena Marujo

For more than 70 years, peace has been the goal and nucleus of the United Nations mandate. During this period, we have witnessed the reconfiguration of the concepts and dynamics of peace, among scholars, and both by the United Nations itself, and its Education Agency - UNESCO.

In line with the idea that education is a fundamental human right, and one of the most important instruments for positive social change, citizenship, social justice, and global peace promotion, we are now chairing this UNESCO project on “Education for Global Peace Sustainability” (E = GPS) at Lisbon University, that began on July 2018 for a period of 4 years, renewable. It foresees the sustenance of positive interventions to achieve positive peace.

The goals of this UNESCO Chair are to contribute to mainstreaming peace, human rights, global citizenship, and wellbeing through education at all levels, action-research and dissemination, and to strengthening the common understanding of the values and actions of peace and wellbeing. The aim is also to ensure that global peace, human rights, sustainability and wellbeing are duly embedded in social and learning environments of all kinds - teacher education programs, school and academic programs and curriculum, the corporate world, youth political parties, sports and others – where individual human beings, and their communities, deserve to flourish in a fair, ethical and sustainable way.

Therefore, the purposes of the project are to use education and research as means to protect and respect each living creature in a dignified and harmonious way; to shield biodiversity of all species, languages and cultures; to prevent conflicts and all forms of violence; to transform conflicts constructively; to foster greater human virtuosity for the common good; to amplify and innovate in all forms of human cooperation; and, therefore, to raise well-being, public happiness, and quality of life for all.

These are ambitious goals. Therefore, we can only achieve them with you.

Because peace makes us free, and serving humanity must be a universal mission, let us work together to revitalize and celebrate the best of humanity.

Helena Águeda Marujo

Chair Coordinator

Institute of Social and Political Sciences