Blog Post

Global Schools Program launches SDG resources hub for schools and educators

  • By Ryan Swaney
  • •
  • 05 Oct, 2018
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Vienna, October 5: The Global Schools Program launched its first digital hub of SDG resources for schools and educators at the IB Global Conference in Vienna.
The Global Schools Program launched its first digital hub of SDG resources for schools and educators at the IB Global Conference in Vienna.
Speaking on Friday to a global audience of IB teachers and school leaders, Mr Siamak Sam Loni, the Global Coordinator of SDSN Youth , shared the results of #generationIB , an online campaign to showcase IB students’ solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges, and announced the launch of Global Schools , saying, “IB teachers and schools are in an incredibly powerful and unique position to deliver on SDGs–you can use education as a weapon to change the world–together, let’s build a movement for sustainable development from your classrooms, our planet needs it.”
Schools are the core foundations of our society. They are the epicenters for future generation to learn, nurture knowledge, and have the power and unique responsibility to provide the knowledge and necessary skills for the next generation to tackle the biggest challenges of their time.
Centralizing curriculums, lesson plans, videos, and educational activities, the Global Schools Program provides schools and educators with resources they need to get started with teaching the Sustainable Development Goals and implementing them within their schools.
As a practical framework, the SDGs give educators the apparatus necessary to introduce complex local and global issues with specific targets to solve them, while empowering students and encouraging them to prioritize the goals in their lifestyles, behaviors, education and professional careers.
To help educators in their crucial mission, Global Schools have developed a series of tools, free and available to all, including lesson plans for grades 1-12, a library of fun resources and a pledge for schools to join the SDG movement.
SDG Pledge for schools: The pledge represents commitment by schools to recognize, support and promote the SDGs in their curriculum and campus environment. It also ensures that schools will involve teachers and students to acquire and deliver the knowledge and skills needed to solve global problems and achieve the SDGs. Sign the pledge.
Lesson plans for teachers: Developed by leading education experts, the lesson plans offer structured and comprehensive guidelines and activities to help schools and teachers educate students about the SDGs. Available from grades 1-12.
Library of fun resources for students: From games and quizzes to TED videos and comics, the library of fun resources offers alternative ways to engage and entertain students while learning on global issues.
For more information visit the Global Schools Program.
For media enquiries and interview requests, please contact: globalschools@sdsnyouth.org
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 goals included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was launched at UN Headquarters in September 2015 and adopted by 193 member countries of the UN. The SDGs, which are relevant to all countries, aim to achieve social inclusion, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.
SDSN Youth is the youth initiative of SDSN, focused on empowering youth globally to create sustainable development solutions. SDSN Youth educates young people about the challenges of sustainable development and creates opportunities for them to use their creativity and knowledge to pioneer innovative solutions for the SDGs.

Global Schools Program is a proud partner of #generationIB , a joint-campaign for collecting and showcasing student solutions for the SDGs. We thank the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), and particularly its ‘50th anniversary’ team, for its leadership and partnership.

SDSN Newsletter - July 2021

By SDSN Secretariat • 03 Aug, 2021 •
This month, SDSN celebrated its growing network, talked about the incredible amount of media coverage on the 2021 SDR, and reflected on this year's High Level Political Forum

WRI Report Spotlight: “Unlocking a Renewable Energy Future: How Government Action Can Drive Private Investment”

By Fiona Laird • 02 Aug, 2021 •
World Resources Institute recently released Unlocking a Renewable Energy Future: How Government Action Can Drive Private Investment, a report outlining key challenges to increasing clean energy investment and deployment. This report digs into the financial and regulatory mechanisms available to support policy frameworks like that outlined in SDSN USA’s Zero Carbon Action Plan (ZCAP), released in October 2020.

European Commission launches proposals to reach 55% emissions reduction by 2030

By Sam Van Hoof • 30 Jul, 2021 •
The ‘Fit for 55' package includes a ban on combustion engines from 2035, a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and a Social Climate Fund among other provisions.

SDSN Canada 2021 Members Meeting Recap

By Giovanni Bruna • 29 Jul, 2021 •

SDSN Canada reconvened the network membership on June 16th, 2021 for the annual Members Meeting.

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.
  • A ‘lightning round’ of presentations by members spotlighting SDG work from Colleges and Institutes Canada, the Interdisciplinary Research Center in the Operationalization of Sustainable Development (CIRODD), Vancouver Island University, the University of Saskatchewan, and the University of Waterloo.

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.

Public Consultation on SPA Report

By Lauren Barredo • 29 Jul, 2021 •
We encourage stakeholders to provide meaningful input to aid the development of a better and more complete report. We invite feedback from individuals and organizations, from all sectors.

Environmental and Agricultural Impacts of Dietary Shifts at Global and National Scales

By FABLE • 28 Jul, 2021 •
The FABLE Consortium is releasing two policy briefs over the coming months intended to advise national governments on sustainable land-use and diets. The first brief, entitled “Environmental and agricultural impacts of dietary shifts at global and national scales'' is now available.

Media Coverage of the Sustainable Development Report 2021

By SDG Index • 23 Jul, 2021 •
The Sustainable Development Report 2021 has been covered by the BBC, the Guardian, Washington Post, and more than 100 other media outlets.

The Multidimensional Vulnerability Index and Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

By Isabella Massa • 21 Jul, 2021 •
SDSN together with the United Nations Resident Coordinators in SIDS and the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda hosted on 12 July 2021 a High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) side event to discuss the issue of measuring multidimensional vulnerability, and its relevance for international financing mechanisms.

SDGs Today Launches My School Today!

By SDGs Today • 20 Jul, 2021 •
SDGs Today recently launched their My School Today! call to action, meant to support students and local communities to geo-reference their schools and education facilities as part of an effort to promote timely information on school locations in Africa

SDSN at the 2021 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF)

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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