The University of Malta was officially accorded a UNESCO chair in Global Adult Education. This is the first time that a chair has been established at the university, and is the result of the efforts by pro-rector Godfrey Baldacchino and Peter Mayo, the incumbent. The UNESCO chair is also twinned with the University of Kalyani in West Bengal in India.

Malta’s ambassador to UNESCO Joseph Vella Gauci said: “It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that I receive the news of the favourable evaluation of the University of Malta’s request for the establishment of a UNESCO chair on Global Adult Education. This proposed UNESCO chair’s mandate falls within the goals of Sustainable Development Goal 4, i.e. to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

The chair’s work package includes plans to re-establish the International council for Adult Education (ICAE) flagship adult education journal Convergence – originally founded by the late J. R Kidd – as an electronic open access outlet. There are also plans to offer the university Masters in Adult Education online, as well as internationally.

There’s also hope that the book series International Issues in Adult Education, which Professor Mayo has been editing for Brill Sense, will also be connected with the chair.