Colleges and institutes Canada (CICan), SDSN Canada hosted by the University of Waterloo, and the Sustainability Hub at UBC, today, officially opened the first-ever SDG Week Canada on March 6, 2023. Modelled after the United Nations’ Global Goals Week, SDG Week Canada was a showcase to accelerate action on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across college, institute, and university campuses in coordinated and collaborative ways that are also uniquely Canadian.
Throughout the week of March 6-10, over 100 independently organized workshops, panels, and other interactive programming took place on participating campuses across the country to raise awareness of and engagement with the 17 SDGs.
Each event enabled post-secondary institutions to come together and across disciplines to advance the SDGs, to learn from each other to better integrate the guiding values of the SDGs across programming, and to build long-term momentum for SDG action across the sector.
The SDGs are a blueprint for collaboration to create positive change. They are a global call to action for countries, communities, and campuses to come together to co-create solutions to the fundamental challenges facing the global community – like poverty, hunger, inequality, and climate change – and lay the groundwork for a long-term equitable, peaceful, and prosperous future.
“A simple, bold promise lies at the heart of the SDGs: end poverty and leave no one behind. The SDGs are even more important as the world adjusts to the strain of the third year of the global pandemic and reels from a growing number of extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change. UBC is excited to co-organize the first national SDG Week and work with universities and colleges across Canada to increase awareness and action on the global goals. Our SDG work is critical as we pursue our vision to inspire people, ideas and actions for a better world.”
Linda Nowlan, Senior Director, Sustainability Hub
Please visit the UBC Sustainability Hub website to read the full story.
Through Strategy 3: Thriving Communities, UBC is committed to supporting the ongoing development of sustainable, healthy and connected campuses and communities.