Blog Post

Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands to Host International Conference on Sustainable Development

  • By Kathy Zhang
  • •
  • 15 May, 2015
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May 15, 2015, NEW YORK – The Government of Ecuador, the Earth Institute, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) will host an International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Galapagos Islands on June 30 and July 1, 2015. The conference will bring together a diverse group of experts and international leaders to launch the Andean Network of the SDSN and discuss the challenges and opportunities the Andean Region faces in terms of sustainable development.
The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa; the Special Advisor of the Secretary-General on Post-2015 Development Planning, Amina J. Mohammed; the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo; the Director of the Earth Institute and Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on the MDGs, Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs; and several recognized scientists from around the world are expected to attend.
The conference was announced on May 14 by an official Ecuadorian delegation led by Andrés Arauz, Minister of Knowledge and Human Talent, and composed of René Ramírez, Secretary of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Fernando Albericio, Rector of Yachay Tech and Ambassador Xavier Lasso, permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations and underscored the Government of Ecuador’s commitment to the successful completion of the upcoming International Conference on Sustainable Development.
The conference will take place in the Galapagos Islands, which owe their uniqueness to the geological and biological diversity. Ecosystems like the Galapagos are under pressure from human-induced climate change and other human-induced environmental stresses. Recently, scientists announced that warmer temperatures due to El Niño on top of the long-term human-induced rise in temperature would affect the Islands greatly this year. Through the international conference, the Government of Ecuador will be spotlighting the Galapagos Islands as one of the most important scientific hubs in the world, where highly qualified scientists and researchers can work together on sustainable solutions that benefit vulnerable ecosystems worldwide.
“For Ecuador, hosting the Conference on Sustainable Development reaffirms the country’s long-standing commitment of concrete proposals to effectively transform the political economy of climate change and respond to actual needs of our people. In addition, we want to convey to the world the importance of consolidating the Galapagos Islands as a scientific hub that will effectively contribute to the formulation of sustainable strategies in line with the paradigm of Good Living, or Buen Vivir, ” Arauz declared.
“I am thrilled that the Government of Ecuador and Yachay Tech University are putting forward such a strong and creative commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, and to the sustainable development of the Andean Region,” said Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Global SDSN. “The launch in the remarkable Galapagos Islands will provide a profound inspiration for the work of the Andean SDSN for the years ahead.”
The Andean SDSN will be the first regional effort aimed at building a strong regional network of universities, research centers, governments, businesses, and civil society to implement solutions initiatives for sustainable development in the Andean Region (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela). Yachay Tech, a flagship university located in Ecuador’s city of knowledge, will host the Andean Network, acting as a regional coordinating hub for activities of the Network.
The Government of Ecuador views the Network as an effective mechanism to discuss and analyze the challenges of sustainable development in the region and to jointly develop practical solutions to these challenges. The Andean SDSN work will complement ongoing efforts in areas related to Good Living , Ecuador’s conception of development and a fundamental component of the national transformation process towards a knowledge-based economy of infinite resources.
To join the SDSN visit www.unsdsn.org/join. For more information on the Network visit the Andean SDSN website.
You can further support this Summit by following #justiciaecologica.
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About the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN): Launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in August 2012, and led by Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute of Columbia University, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) mobilizes scientific and technical expertise from academia, civil society, and the private sector in support of sustainable development problem solving at local, national, and global scales. We aim to accelerate joint learning and help to overcome the compartmentalization of technical and policy work by promoting integrated approaches to the interconnected economic, social, and environmental challenges confronting the world.
About the Earth Institute, Columbia University: The Earth Institute’s mission is to mobilize the sciences, education and public policy to achieve a sustainable Earth. Through interdisciplinary research among more than 500 scientists in diverse fields, the Institute is adding to the knowledge necessary for addressing the challenges of the 21 st century and beyond. With over two-dozen associated degree curricula and a vibrant fellowship program, the Earth Institute is educating new leaders to become professionals and scholars in the growing field of sustainable development. We work alongside governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals to devise innovative strategies to protect the future of our planet.

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This year's meeting featured conversations on the current state of the SDGs in Canada, emerging opportunities for post-secondary institutions, networking breakout sessions, and a featured joint presentation by the Brookings Institution and Rockefeller Foundation on mobilizing campuses and communities for the SDGs using the 17 Rooms initiative. A lightning round of member initiatives was also included to highlight a portion of the SDG work happening across the network.

Recap the discussion by reading the meeting notes   or listening to the audio recordings for each session.

Meeting Highlights:

  • The SDSN Global annual Sustainable Development Report 2021  was released June 2021, tracking progress on the SDGs by country (Canada ranked 21st in the world). The report outlines the short-term impacts of COVID-19 on the SDGs and describes how the SDGs can frame the recovery.
  • The Government of Canada has released Canada’s National Strategy for the SDGs, Moving Forward Together. The strategy outlines a set of 30 actions towards the SDGs, including localizing the SDGs, supporting partnerships with Indigenous initiatives, and advancing research into the gaps in Canada's efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
  • The 17 Rooms initiative  is a tool for advancing SDG collaboration, community-centric conversations, and bottom-up action. There are three key principles of consideration:
    • Every SDG gets a seat at the table (a dedicated room).
    • Identify what the next step is, and not the perfect step. What are things you can do together over the next 12 to 18 months that you can implement action on the SDGs?
    • It is about conversations, not presentations. The goal is to learn from each other and create a community of practice.
    • Join the 17 Rooms-X Community of Practice to access the beta toolkit.
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The meeting was also a chance to invite the membership into initiatives designed to be more intentional about the network’s collective presence and impact. In this vein, the network thinks that the 17 Rooms process can be a critical resource for campus conversations on the SDGs. It also relaunched the Member Challenge , is starting the ‘SDG Teaching Community’ for faculty across the network, and is convening a small working group of interested members to talk about an enhanced governance structure for the network.

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By SDSN Secretariat • 20 Jul, 2021 •
SDSN and our networks are hosting a number of events alongside the UN's High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). We are thrilled to invite you to join us at the following events, which SDSN is hosting or are organized by our partners.
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