SDGs Training for Multipliers

Hosted by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and Gaia Education. 26th September 2017, Hayweight House, Edinburgh. Register now.

The Gaia Education Team |

This is to invite you to join the vitally important conversation about how to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local and regional scale in ways that are carefully adapted to the bio-cultural uniqueness of your community.

The training is based on a set of ‘SDGs Flashcards’, containing more than 200 questions structured into the four dimensions of Gaia Education’s whole systems approach to sustainability (social, ecological, economic and worldview).

Participants will explore these four dimensions of each of the 17 SDGs in question-focused small group conversations aimed at collaboratively identifying actions and strategies that will support the implementation of the Global Goals. Your contributions will help to create local community ownership of the SDGs and ensure that implementation is done in ways that are sensitive to your local culture and ecosystems.

The purpose of the training is twofold

• To initiate community focused conversations on local SDGs implementation;
• to train people to become multipliers of such conversations.

Methodology

The highly interactive and participatory training engages participants in progressive conversations about the local relevance of the SDGs – based on a set of SDGs Flashcards designed to help structure small group dialogues.

By exploring the four dimensions of sustainability (social, ecological, economic and worldview) of each of the 17 SDGs in question-focused small group conversations, participants will collaborate in developing ideas and strategies for local and regional SDGs implementation through a series of demonstration projects.

The flashcard based facilitation process will enable participants to replicate these community conversations about the SDGs in their government department, at the university, in schools, businesses, and community groups around the Edinburgh area.

Learning Outcomes

During the day-long course participants will be able to

• acquire a multi-dimensional perspective on all 17 SDGs and their 169 targets;
• prioritise a number of goals that are particularly important for their community; participate in a series of small group conversations to identify policies, projects and resources that could support SDGs implementation;
• explain the wider context of the UN sustainable development process and its history leading up to the creation of the SDGs;
• work with like-minded people in your community who are also willing to collaborate on local SDGs implementation projects;
• sketch out strategies of how to mobilise local stakeholders around feasible projects;
• practice to become an active multiplier of conversations that matter to your community.

Sustainability is not an end point in a journey. It is a community centred process of learning how to live sustainably and regeneratively in a particular locality with its ecological and cultural uniqueness.

Everyone in that place can take the leadership to start or participate in culturally creative conversations about how to collaboratively create specific projects aimed at implementing priority SDGs in their community.

If you want to take part in or facilitate such conversations where you live or work, this course is for you.

Times, Location & Food

The day-long training will take place between 9am and 1pm on the 26th September 2017, at Floor 3, Hayweight House, 23 Lauriston St, Edinburgh EH3, located an 18-minute walk away from Edinburgh Waverley Station. See map for more details.

The building is fully accessible with 2 passenger lifts.

There is no parking other than on the street with pay-and-display.

Tea/coffee will be provided during the event. However, participants are invited to bring their own lunch (kitchen available for use) or use the Sainsbury’s directly below the office.

This is a workshop about how humanity’s Global Goals are relevant to Edinburgh and Scotland, and to identify local priorities and paths towards implementation. Click here to register!