The first forum in a three-part series is on October 21

By Bonnie Shea, director of communications, Global Affairs

UC Davis Global Affairs, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Office of Sustainability are partnering to put on UC Davis Forums on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The forums are focused on UC Davis engagement with sustainable development across economic, social, and environmental dimensions, and are intended to stimulate a UC Davis community of practice to work together and help chart a course for intentional and sustained commitment to the SDGs agenda.

“The SDGs connect UC Davis with the world and provide us with a globally-recognized framework for collaborations that find solutions for today’s most critical global challenges,” said Joanna Regulska, vice provost and dean of Global Affairs.

“The SDG Agenda connects the local and global, which is critical especially in the midst of COVID-19, as we mitigate challenges in California and around the world. These forums are an exciting way to bring together UC Davis expertise, experience, and engagement with the SDGs to celebrate and galvanize our contributions towards these goals over the next decade,” Regulska said.

The inaugural forum is set for October 21 3-4 p.m., is open to the UC Davis community, and will be hosted on Zoom. It will showcase UC Davis activities that contribute to the SDGs—featuring faculty and student presentations—and provide specific resources and upcoming opportunities. Registration is free and is open to members of the UC Davis community including faculty, researchers, scholars, staff, students, and alumni.

The SDG Agenda, an ambitious set of 17 global goals, was adopted by all UN member states in 2015 and lays out a framework to end poverty, rescue the planet, and build a peaceful world, with a ‘Decade of Action’ calling for all sectors of society to achieve these goals by 2030.

“The SDGs cover all disciplines: social factors, marine sciences, engineering, health, climate, sustainability, education, growth, and much more,” said Renetta Garrison Tull, vice chancellor of diversity, equity and inclusion, who notes some SDGs are directly related to diversity, while others speak to issues of disproportionate disparities related to equity and access.

“I’d like to encourage scholars to look at their research to see how it can be framed in terms of one or more of the SDGs, and to consider a DEI lens. We need the ideas, expertise, and perspectives from scholars representing all backgrounds to engage in the work,” Tull said.

For Camille Kirk, director of sustainability and campus sustainability planner, the SDGs are important in highlighting the inherent connection between social sustainability and environmental sustainability. “We cannot have a healthy planet without healthy and equitably served people, and we cannot have equity and human health without a healthy planet,” Kirk said.

“Engagement with the SDGs helps advance local and global solutions as we more deeply understand the interconnections between inclusion and environmental protection. When we start asking how can we help people and the planet at the same time, we can maximize our work for greater benefit,” Kirk said.

Attendees are encouraged to engage throughout the forum using the chat feature in Zoom and are encouraged to share their UC Davis projects related to the UN SDGs on Twitter, using #UCDavisSDGs and tagging @UCDavisGlobal and @UCD_Diversity. More information is available on the Global Affairs website. UC Davis Forums on the UN SDGs are also planned for winter and spring quarters, to be announced soon.

About Global Affairs at UC Davis

Global Affairs brings the world to UC Davis, welcoming more than 10,000 international students, scholars and leaders, and hosting programs that inspire global curiosity, understanding and engagement. Compelled by the valuable outcomes of thinking globally, we make transformative opportunities a reality by supporting the thousands of students and faculty learning and researching globally—and by facilitating collaborations that tackle the world’s most pressing challenges through more than 150 global partnerships.

Putting our vision of a UC Davis community that engages, thrives, and leads in this interconnected world into action, Global Affairs is in pursuit of an ambitious goal: Global Education for All.