Transforming Our World: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The ‘SDG Flashcards’ contain 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 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 state of New York.

Learning Outcomes

During the 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

The training will take place on Sunday 17th Sepember 2017, between 2 and 6pm local time, at the Lifebridge Sanctuary, 333 Mountain Road Rosendale, New York 12472.

This is a workshop about how humanity’s Global Goals (SDGs) are relevant to the participants’ community, and to identify local priorities and paths towards implementation. Admissions are by donation, to join please contact this address.