News
Isabell Kempf takes office as Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning
With a career spanning three decades within the United Nations, Ms Kempf will bring her extensive expertise in the areas of capacity-building and policy advice, as well as in the application of a human rights- and gender-based approach to education, development and peace-building, to the Institute.
"Increasing polarization, the need for urgent climate action and the ethical use of new technologies make lifelong learning a must – for personal growth, active citizenship and shaping socially just and sustainable societies. Lifelong learning is both a human right and a public good," underlined Ms Kempf upon taking office.
Prior to joining UIL, Ms Kempf held positions including Head of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) Bonn Office, where she co-created a global research and action network comprising researchers, decision-makers and social activists to advance a just and green transformation of society, and Co-director of the Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, where she led a global programme on integrated policies in over 28 countries.
She has held further roles at UNESCO, UNEP, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
Ms Kempf has published widely on the right to education and development, and social and environmental justice. She holds an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford and a PhD in International Economics and Development from Complutense University of Madrid.
About the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning
UIL strengthens the capacities of Member States to build effective and inclusive lifelong learning policies and systems at local and national levels in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4. It aims to develop learning ecosystems that work across life, in every setting and which benefit everyone while strengthening partnerships and offering data and knowledge.
The Institute’s current flagship programmes include the follow-up to the (CONFINTEA VII), the , the and the , a multimedia portal for capacity-building on lifelong learning.
Visit the to learn more about its work around the world.
