2018 IEW Conference
The United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Higher Education Conference
Ohio University, Athens Campus, Nov. 14 -15, 2018
You can see photos from the conference here
As part of the 2018 International Education Week (IEW), the Center for International Studiesis hosted a two-day conference titled “UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Higher Education,” focused on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN 2030 Agenda) speaks to “a broad and universal policy agenda … devoting ourselves collectively to the pursuit of global development and of ‘win-win’ cooperation which can bring huge gains to all countries and all parts of the world.” (UN-DESA, 2015). Unlike the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, the SDGs do not distinguish between developed and developing nations. Rather a set of 17 goals were established and agreed to by all 193 UN countries to be achieved within a very short time frame of 15 years.
Further, the local, the international and the global are fundamentally interwoven with a holistic lens adjoining the ‘here’ and ‘there’ and ‘we’ and ‘they’ to become about ‘all of us’. The UN 2030 Agenda’s core value of cooperation ‘with all, for all and by all” is timely given mounting pressures for the effective governance of emerging ‘universal’ issues such a climate change and food security.
The aim of the IEW conference “UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Higher Education,” was to critically evaluate the intentionality, viability and actualization of the SDGs and to stimulate the articulation of research questions and curricular opportunities. It is to contribute to the imperative for students, scholars, citizens and policy makers to be more aware of, and engaged in this global initiative.
Any questions about the conference can be directed to Bose Maposa at maposa@ohio.edu or 740-597-1511.
Planning Committee
The Planning Committee members for the conference included:
- Enviromental Studies Director Professor Geoff Dabelko
- African Studies Director Ghirmai Negash
- Global Leadership Center Director Matthew LeRiche
- Vice Provost for Global Affairs and International Studies Lorna Jean Edmonds
- Center for International Studies Assistant Director Bose Maposa
- African Studies Graduate Student Rosa Armstrong
- Global Studies War & Peace Major Zach Reizes
- Development Geography & Global Studies Africa Major Alex Koran