Tyler McKay | Assistant News Editor
Featured Image: Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Studies, Alice Hovorka, gives her opening remarks. | Courtesy of Tyler McKay/Excalibur
On Saturday, November 2, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Training was held in Vari Hall. It was not only York students who were present; some high school students were also in attendance.
This event allowed for participants to gain a better understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through interactions with UN policymakers and civil society activists.
There are 17 SDGs in total. Each of these goals are designed to interconnect to address pressing global challenges from poverty to inequality to climate change. The event focused on promoting advocacy and local implementation of these goals.
“I’m really inspired by what we can do together here today and moving forward and this is really an aspirational and inspirational event,” said Faculty of Environmental Studies Dean, Alice Hovorka in her opening remarks.
“Knowledge is power and so is action. This is a day to roll up our sleeves, get thinking, and continue to do what we want to achieve in terms of a sustainable and just future.”
Many environmental studies students were in attendance.
“I decided to attend the training to give myself a competitive edge in the work field and in the environmental studies program. With the sustainable development goals certificate, I can enhance my resume with additional training,” says fourth-year environmental studies student Michael Haslam.
“I also wanted to network and connect with people who could potentially help me with my environmental business in the future.”
The main talk, where each of the SDGs were described in detail, was led by Steven Lee from the Foundation of Environmental Stewardship and the 3% Project. Lee is also a policy advocate for the UN. Haslam spoke fondly of his presentations and the event as a whole.
“It was definitely a worthwhile experience,” says Haslam.
“I was able to network with people who were not a part of York, as well as connect with Steven Lee. He gave me valuable information that I will use to create success for myself and for the environment in the near future.”
The Keynote speaker was Migration Policy Officer at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Amira Nassim. Nassim currently works out of New York, but has also worked at the IOM headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and as a Research Officer at the Geneva International Centre for Justice. Nassim spoke about migrants and global migration policy.
The IOM was created in 1951 and works “to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need.”
The event ran behind schedule and the participants were not able to break off into groups to discuss the various topics as planned. However, a fruitful question-and-answer period took place instead.
This training resulted in the participants becoming SDG Advocates. They will receive a UN Certificate of Training Completion in the near future that can be included on a resume.
