The UNESCO’s University Twinning Program (UNITWIN/UNESCO) was established in 1992 to promote academic cooperation at the national and international level with regard to UNESCO’s goals, namely education, social and natural sciences, culture, and communication. In fact, through this program, research and higher education institutions create a bridge between academics, local and civil societies, decision-makers, and researchers to come up with innovative and creative methods for education, information and knowledge sharing, research, etc. According to UNESCO, the purpose of this program is to both develop inter-university cooperation and to share knowledge among different countries.
This program has created about 793 UNESCO chairs which are operating in 114 countries as of March 2020, among which 24 chairs in 19 countries are directly related to environmental education. In Iran so far, 17 UNESCO chairs have been established in universities and educational institutions. The UNESCO Chair on Environmental Education was registered at Payame Noor University in May 2016 as the 14th UNESCO chair in Iran, headed by Dr. Seyed Mohammad Shobeiri.
This program has created about 793 UNESCO chairs which are operating in 114 countries as of March 2020, among which 24 chairs in 19 countries are directly related to environmental education. In Iran so far, 17 UNESCO chairs have been established in universities and educational institutions. The UNESCO Chair on Environmental Education was registered at Payame Noor University in May 2016 as the 14th UNESCO chair in Iran, headed by Dr. Seyed Mohammad Shobeiri.
In 2025, following a comprehensive and positive evaluation of the performance and achievements of the UNESCO Chair in Environmental Education at Payame Noor University by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the organization issued an official letter of appreciation and approved the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding for this Chair for a third consecutive four-year term (2025–2029), under the continued leadership of Professor Seyyed Mohammad Shobeiri.