22 October 2024
Bilbao Campus
The University of Deusto is hosting on October 22 and 23 the “Forum on Sustainable Development Goals”, a meeting organized jointly with the United Nations Local2030 Coalition for the localization of the SDGs and with the support of the Basque Government. The objective is to connect scientific and social research with the design of public policies to effectively implement the 2030 Agenda. This forum seeks to reinforce everyone's commitment to the SDGs, assuming that “the global has an impact on the local, and the local determines the global”.
Official opening
The congress was inaugurated on October 22 with a ceremony attended by the Director of Social Innovation of the Basque Government, Asier Aranbarri, for whom the 2030 Agenda is a distant dream that marks a path that “we would like to travel in the best possible way”. The director of the Secretariat of the United Nations Local2030 Coalition, Sébastien Vauzelle, expressed himself along the same lines, considering “the SDGs as a compass and a common language to materialize solutions that help transform the world”.
For his part, the Director General of Sustainable Development Policies of the Government of Spain, Sergio Colina, referred to the opening of the Secretariat of the Local Coalition 2030 in Bilbao, which will make the city the capital of the localization ecosystem of the SDGs. This fact, Rector Juan José Etxeberria pointed out, is a symbol of the connection between the local and the global. In his opinion, the proverb “Pedes in terra, adsidera visus” (With our feet on the ground and our eyes on the stars) reflects the need to balance the immediate reality with our highest aspirations. In this sense, the sessions of this forum represent an opportunity to act locally, with concrete policies that improve living conditions, combat poverty and promote sustainability, without losing sight of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to foster a more just and equitable future. Full text.
Under the title “Connecting academic research and public policies for SDG localization”, the forum brings together representatives of the United Nations, administrations, non-governmental associations and universities of international prestige, together with renowned researchers and academics. These experts include Yuma Inzolia, director of Capacity Development at UNESCO IESALC; Laura Muro, from Saint Louis University; Marco Zupi, scientific coordinator of the Local 2030 Knowledge and Science network, and Felipe Queipo, from the United Nations Global Communications department.
Forum themes
The presentations and roundtables focus on four key areas to achieve the SDGs, based on the strategic transitions identified by the United Nations: Quality Education, Reducing Inequalities, Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Climate Action and Energy Transition.
The first session, “Quality education for all”, includes a keynote speech and a round table on the challenges of collaboration between universities and educational policies, highlighting equity, inclusion and lifelong learning, as well as the implementation of new technologies.
On the other hand, the session dedicated to “Reducing inequalities” will include a presentation and a round table entitled “Towards social justice: how to reconcile the global perspective with local agendas”. Topics such as the fight against hate speech, the dignity of employment, the mobility of migrants and refugees, and equality and citizen participation policies will be addressed.
Wednesday's session will address the “Challenges and opportunities of AI” and “The impact of climate change”. In the first case, after a plenary conference, a round table on scientific challenges and social responsibility in the adoption of new technologies has been organized. In the second, the local impacts of action against climate change will be presented and discussed, focusing on the “Tune-ups between research and public policies”.
This forum is proposed as a space for interdisciplinary dialogue and the generation of solutions to global and local challenges, betting on cooperation and knowledge for a real and consolidable implementation of the SDGs.
More information and full program.
