The United Nations University Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility (UNU-GCM) in Barcelona: Mission and vision

Abstract

Based in Barcelona, in the Sant Manuel Pavilion of the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site, the United Nations University Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility (UNU-GCM) is the newest institute to date of the United Nations University (UNU) and the only one in southern Europe. The UNU, which consists of a globally dispersed set of research and training institutes, is a global think tank and postgraduate teaching organisation headquartered in Japan. The mission of the UNU-GCM is to contribute to good governance, cultural diversity, democracy and human rights through a better understanding of cultural mobility and diversity in the context of globalisation. Its focus is thus on the major cultural and social phenomena of migration and media, as hallmarks of the era of globalisation. The institute aims to foster cutting-edge research in these areas at global and local levels through the lens of key cultural concepts, such as borders, gender and transnational connections. The UNU-GCM thereby also aims to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular those of gender equality and the notion of development as a global partnership.

Keywords: culture · mobility · migration · diversity · globalisation