Network News - May 2017
Activity update
> If you missed out on the webinar Practical approaches to mapping university contributions to SDGs, you can now catch up via video.
> Join us and our partners for a motivating cross-sectoral workshop on Beyond business as usual: Collaboration for SDG impact reporting, in Sydney on 14 June as part of the Research for Development Impact (RDI) Conference.
> SDSN Australia/Pacific is supporting the upcoming Ecocity World Summit on 12-14 July in Melbourne, including organising the session “SDGs: Key Implications for Cities” as part of the Urban Leadership stream.
Other network news
> SDSN Australia/Pacific extends a warm welcome two new members to our network:
- Centre for Responsible Citizenship and Sustainability, Murdoch University
- Unitec Institute of Technology
> We are also delighted that three more universities have signed the University Commitment to the SDGs. They have joined other university leaders in agreeing at the highest institutional levels to promote and support the SDGs. They are:
- RMIT University
- Western Sydney University (see their related website)
- Deakin University
SDSN Youth news
> SDSN Australia/Pacific is excited to partner with the Ecocity World Summit and SDSN Youth on the Youth Scholarship to the Ecocity World Summit. The scholarship is open to students from Victorian universities and applications close 31 May
> The Outcomes Report from the inspiring 2016 National Youth Summit on the SDGs in Melbourne can now be downloaded from our website.
> Four young leaders from our region have been selected to take part in SDSN Youth’s inaugural Local Pathways Fellowship, and will be undergoing a one-year program to help them advance the New Urban Agenda and the SDGs within their local communities.
Global SDSN news
> SDSN has released its Fifth World Happiness Report, which ranked 155 countries by their happiness levels and looked at explanations for differences in happiness among countries. Both New Zealand and Australia are in the top 10.
> Registrations are now open for the 2017 International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD), in New York on 18-20 September. This year’s conference theme is The World in 2050: Looking ahead for Sustainable Development.
> The SDG Academy is launching its newest free online course, Climate Action: Solutions for a Changing Planet, in June. The course explores the options available for societies, businesses and individuals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decarbonise the economy, and ensure a safe and prosperous climate future for all. The popular Sustainable Cities course is also back.
Member news & events
> The University of Western Australia: UWA has used the SDG themes as a framework to profile a broad range of current sustainable development research activity.
> University of Technology, Sydney: The Institute for Sustainable Futures will be running a master class for development practitioners on Systems thinking for impact on Sustainable Development (15 June 2017)
> Global Ideas: Registrations are open for the Global Ideas Forum 2017: Global health in a volatile world: People, politics and planet (8-10 Sept, Melbourne).
> Auckland University of Technology: AUT plans to trial one of New Zealand’s first 100% electric buses as part of their inter-campus shuttle bus fleet, in an effort to reduce road transport carbon emissions.
> Monash University: The Monash Sustainable Development Institute co-developed the new International Council for Science (ICSU) report A guide to SDG interactions: From science to implementation.