The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has formally renewed Professor Olunifesi Suraj Adekunle’s global leadership role in the UNITWIN Cooperation Programme on Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue, extending the validity of the agreement until 31 December 2029.

The renewal letter, addressed to Professor Javier Lafuente, Rector of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain; Dr Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior, Rector of the University of São Paulo, Brazil; and Professor Folasade T. Ogunsola, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, confirms Suraj’s continued appointment as Network Co-Coordinator of the UNESCO-backed global university network.

According to UNESCO, Suraj will continue to serve in this leadership capacity alongside Professor José Manuel Pérez Tornero of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, who remains the Network Coordinator. UNESCO emphasised that the appointment and any future changes to the Network’s leadership are subject to its formal approval.

The renewal reaffirms UNESCO’s confidence in Suraj’s intellectual leadership and his contributions to advancing media and information literacy and intercultural dialogue across universities worldwide, particularly from Africa and the Global South.

UNESCO also used the opportunity to encourage participating institutions to regularly update the contact details of members of the UNITWIN Network team to ensure effective communication and engagement. Such updates are to be communicated via [email protected].

The renewed UNITWIN Network will operate under the updated unique identifier ID 2011ES0953, which UNESCO advised should be used in all official correspondence.

Suraj’s renewed mandate further consolidates the University of Lagos’s international standing and underscores Nigeria’s growing influence in shaping global academic and policy conversations on media literacy, education, and intercultural dialogue.