Blog Post

SDSN Youth is Looking For Stubborn Urban Optimists to Advance Sustainable Development in Cities

  • By SDSN Youth
  • •
  • 21 Oct, 2020
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SDSN Youth calls for applicants for the 2021 Local Pathways Fellowship

NEW YORK, N.Y., October 19, 2020: The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Youth Initiative (SDSN Youth) announced the launch of the call for applications for the 2021 cohort of its Local Pathways Fellowship program on Monday, October 19th. The new edition of the program offers a refined curriculum and comprehensive networking opportunities for its fellows.

The Local Pathways Fellowship is one of the world's leading training and research programs on Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities for young urban leaders. It offers the knowledge and resources needed to empower them to take local actions for the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda in their localities. The core component of the Fellowship is a practically-oriented training program that guides fellows through the development of a project of their choice - from local community initiatives to policy changes. The program is supported by multiple partners that contribute with their thought leadership, advisory, and access to opportunities - the SDG Cities Guide, MIT Solve, World Urban Campaign, Milan Urban Food Policy Act, UN-Habitat, Alliance for Peacebuilding and the World Federation of United Nations Associations are among them.

The Fellowship has recently expanded its team to increase the support and guidance provided for its fellows. The team has been constantly working on polishing the program curriculum that now focuses more on project development. The 2021 edition of the program also leverages global networking opportunities for its fellows, fostering even more collaboration among fellows through cooperative assignments and peer-to-peer feedback. Additionally the fellows will be working more closely with the wider SDSN Youth network to build local connections through the SDG Students Hubs and SDSN's national and regional networks for a bigger impact. These new developments will allow the 2021 fellows to benefit from greater visibility and ultimately walk out of the fellowship with a concrete project that successfully localizes SDG 11.

“At the Local Pathways Fellowship we offer an interdisciplinary program that includes an online course, mentorship throughout the development of a project, visibility opportunities, connections with experts from the industry and, what I believe is our strongest asset, a peer-to-peer network of young urban leaders from around the world,” said Ana Ynestrillas, Project Lead of the Local Pathways Fellowship program. “With three cohorts under our belt we have successfully grown into a network of 253 fellows who are leading change on the ground. We are looking forward to welcoming 100 stubborn urban optimists as our new members who are ready to make a bold impact in their cities.”

The Fellowship is open to talented and innovative early-career professionals and students between 18 and 30 years of age (some exceptions may apply), interested in deepening and expanding their understanding of sustainable urban development. Successful applicants should have a minimum of one year of professional or academic experience in development practice, urban planning, community engagement, advocacy, or similar disciplines. The chosen fellows should be based in the same city throughout the entire Fellowship, from February to November 2021.

The 2021 Local Pathways Fellowship applications will be accepted until November 30, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). The selected fellows will be notified by January 25, 2021, and the Fellowship begins on February 1, 2021.

Applications and additional information can be found at www.localpathways.org.

For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact: Yulia Lesnichaya, Project Officer, Communications at yulia.lesnichaya@sdsnyouth.org 

About Local Pathways Fellowship

The Local Pathways Fellowship (LPF) was launched in 2016 in Quito at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) intended to build on the momentum around the adoption of the New Urban Agenda.

Each year, LPF brings together a network of young thought leaders, urban planners, sustainability practitioners, researchers, and innovators from more than a hundred cities across the world to advance local dialogue, collaboration, and problem-solving around Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11) to make cities and urban settlements “smart, fair and sustainable''.

The program, which is in its third year, offers a practically-oriented training program designed to enable young fellows to understand the process of “localizing” SDG 11 in the cities they represent and guide them through the development of their own projects.

The latest 2020 cohort consists of 140 young urban innovators from 100+ different cities around the globe.

For more, visit www.localpathways.org

About Sustainable Development Solutions Network Youth

UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Youth (SDSN Youth) is the official youth initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) launched by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Founded in 2015, the network currently has approximately 1000 member organizations in 85 countries, being coordinated by 26 regional centres, to support localization and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Working with partners from the UN, academia, civil society, business, and government, SDSN Youth trains and supports young leaders and organizations to tackle the most urgent problems in their communities and help shape a sustainable future. The core projects include programs on innovation and entrepreneurship, education, sustainable cities, and sustainable campuses, all designed to respond to community challenges through practical, structured, and science-based approaches.

For more, visit www.sdsnyouth.org

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

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By Fiona Laird • 02 Aug, 2021 •
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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.

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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.

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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!

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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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