RCE Americas Wiki:Main Page

UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)

• Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform
  • United Nations’ introduction to the SDGs and The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• SDG 4: Quality Education
  • This SDG is the primary focus of all RCEs, especially Target 4.7: “By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”
• Learning to live together sustainably (SDG4.7): Trends and Progress
  • UNESCO contributes to the measuring of progress towards Target 4.7 of Sustainable Development Goal 4 on Education which focuses on Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This webpage publishes regular reports, news, analyses and publications produced by UNESCO and its partners which provide evidence and links to data sets that indicate how the world is progressing towards the achievement of this target.
• Liam's Legacy Symposium at Georgia Tech: Creating, Implementing, & Measuring the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals
  • The 7th annual Liam's Legacy Symposium features Jessica Espey, Senior Advisor to the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). In 2015, after a 4-year negotiation process, 193 United Nations member countries agreed upon a new global framework for development that included 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The “SDGs” span nearly every developmental issue facing the world, from climate change to poverty to sustainable production and consumption. They are as relevant in the United States as they are in places like Somalia. The ambition of this universal agenda is to shepherd the whole world towards a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous future, where no one is left behind. Jessica Espey, who was a lead negotiator in the SDG process, will reflect on the negotiation process and shares insights into SDG implementation in diverse locations around the world. (For more details, see bio below.) Her talk will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Bruce Stiftel, chair of the School of City and Regional Planning, and featuring GT faculty and partners from our newly forming Greater Atlanta U.N. University Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCE): Danny Boston (GT International Affairs), Shatakshee Dhongde (GT Economics), Serena Newhall (CIFAL Atlanta at Kennesaw State), and Fatemeh Shafiei (Spelman Political Science).
• SDG Dashbaord
  • Sustainable Development Goals Interactive Dashboard is a data-driven initiative that supports tracking and monitoring of the United Nations’ global goals. The dashboard uses data from the UN Statistics Division's (UNSD) SDG Global Database to allow users to explore and visualize data to analyze progress. The SDGs Dashboard enables users to perform easy analysis via innovative visualizations and tools for exploring data from global data sources. The interactive platform includes the capability to link national statistical office (NSO) data and government databases with the SDGs Dashboard.
• SDSN SDG Academy
  • The SDG Academy is an educational initiative of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The Academy provides free online resources and courses with educational content on health, education, climate change, agriculture and food systems, and sustainable investment.
• The 17 SDGs
  • The United Nations' video depicting all 17 SDGs.
• Making the World a Better Place by 2030
  • Social progress expert Michael Green hosts a Ted Talk to help us imagine how the SDGs and their vision for a better world can be achieved by 2030.

Sustainable Development with US Cities and Universities

• 2019 US Cities Sustainable Development Report
  • The 2019 US Cities Sustainable Development Report is Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s third city-level report ranking 105 US cities on progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDGs).
• The ‘SDG Effect’: The emerging Pittsburgh platform to deliver the global goals locally
  • Brookings' story on Pittsburgh's movement to commit to the SDGs and lessons for other cities interested in adopting plans to meet the SDGs.
• Tackling the Sustainable Development Goals one bite at a time (Podcast)
  • Podcast detailing the work of Carnegie Mellon university on the SDGs.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

• Education for Sustainable Development
  • UNESCO’s introduction to ESD including links to ESD resources. There is growing international recognition of ESD as an integral element of quality education and a key enabler for sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the global community for the next 15 years include ESD. Target 4.7 of SDG 4 on education addresses ESD and related approaches such as Global Citizenship Education. UNESCO is responsible for the coordination of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD.
• Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development
  • The Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD, the follow- up programme to the Decade of ESD (2005-2014), seeks to generate and scale-up ESD and to accelerate progress towards sustainable development. This website outlines the main objectives of the GAP and its implementation strategies including information on priority action areas, GAP partner networks and the GAP Roadmap, as well as news and resources from UNESCO and its GAP key partners.
• Education 2030 Learning Objectives
  • For The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
    [In the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development]...Education is explicitly formulated as a stand-alone goal – Sustainable Development Goal 4. Numerous education related targets and indicators are also contained within other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Education is both a goal in itself and a means for attaining all the other SDGs. It is not only an integral part of sustainable development, but also a key enabler for it. That is why education represents an essential strategy in the pursuit of the SDGs. This publication is designed as a guide for education professionals on the use of ESD in learning for the SDGs, and consequently to contribute to achieving the SDGs. The guide identifies indicative learning objectives and suggests topics and learning activities for each SDG. It also presents implementation methods at different levels, from course design to national strategies.
• Academia and Communities: Engaging for Change
  • ESD entails including key sustainable development issues into teaching and learning and requires innovative, participatory teaching and learning methods that empower and motivate learners to take action for sustainable development. ESD promotes skills like critical thinking, understanding complex systems, imagining future scenarios, and making decisions in a participatory and collaborative way. (from the GAP)
• Atlanta Global Studies Symposium at Georgia Tech - RCE Greater Atlanta Track, Session 1: Advancing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through RCEs
  • Through multi-sector collaboration and innovative problem-solving, United Nations University has invited regions around the world to form collaborations called Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development – “RCEs.” RCEs harness the power of education to advance the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Guest speaker Kim Smith, co-founder of RCE Greater Portland, will present foundations in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), illustrate priorities to achieve UNESCO’s Global Action Programme on ESD, and highlight ways that RCEs around the world are advancing ESD in their regions. This session will open with a brief introduction to RCE Greater Atlanta, one of seven RCEs in the U.S. and 171 in the world.
• AASHE Webinar Recording - 'ESD for 2030: The Future Depends on Us!'
  • Kim Smith, Portland Community College Sociology Instructor and co-founder of RCE Greater Portland, offered a webinar on the framework and upcoming launch of the decade, for the Association of the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) on the 22nd of January in 2020. The webinar highlighted sustainability projects around the world, UNESCO's ESD vision, and how we can all help create a sustainable future.
• World's Largest Lesson
  • The World's Largest Lesson is hosted by The Global Goals to introduce the SDGs to children and young people everywhere and unite them in action. The goal is to use the 17 SDGs to fight extreme poverty, fight inequality and justice, and tackle climate change by 2030.