2020 SDSN Publications on SDGs at Universities

Two 2020 publications by UN SDSN are of interest for actors in higher education working with sustainable development: 

(1) ACCELERATING EDUCATION FOR THE SDGS IN UNIVERSITIES: A GUIDE FOR UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES, AND TERTIARY AND HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS (September 2020) 

This guide draws on the experience of SDSN's global network and HEIs working with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It gives suggestions on how to get started and then where to go from there to really work with the SDGs at the institutions long-term with a specific focus on learning and teaching. About: Universities and other higher education institutions have a critical role in helping society achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their research, learning and teaching, campus operations and leadership. This guide focuses on one of the most important ways they can contribute, which is to harness their learning and teaching functions to provide “Education for the SDGs (ESDGs)”, that will help learners develop the necessary knowledge, skills and mindsets. 

Full pdf here

(2) Speaking Truth to Power about the SDGs (August 26, 2020) This working paper by Jeffrey D. Sachs, Guido Schmidt-Traub, and Guillaume Lafortune links the dynamics of our global system and the interruption by COVID19 to the goals for sustainable development. Abstract: Recent calls to change the SDGs and to lower ambition confuse two issues. The first is whether goals, such as universal access to healthcare, education, safe water, and clean energy, are achievable by 2030, which includes issues of technical and operational feasibility as well as affordability. The second is whether such goals are likely to be achieved given the failure rich countries to honor the goal of international partnership (SDG 17) as well as other failures in international cooperation and in domestic governance of many countries. We argue that the goals are achievable and affordable. Covid-19 is a setback for the SDGs but does not put the goals out of reach. Indeed, the SDGs provide a framework for recovery from the pandemic. In view of the technical feasibility of the SDGs, experts and scientists should speak “truth to power” about what needs to be done to achieve the SDGs instead of calling for lower ambition. 

Full pdf here.