The Foundation for Environmental Stewardship, in conjunction with Northwood University, is hosting a series of events on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in April as part of an effort to educate and empower youth to create a more inclusive, fair, prosperous and sustainable future.
These events are open to Northwood University students, faculty, staff, and administration, as well as high school students and members of the Midland community.
This program is an online extension of the popular in-person SDGs Youth Training Program, which has visited campuses around the world to educate students about the SDGs and give them the skills and training to mobilize around them. Since 2017, the program has mobilized more than 8,000+ students from 83 post-secondary institutions at 51 trainings across North America.
The events kick off on April 14 from 6-8:30 p.m. with “SDGs Launch Advocacy and Local Implementation,” which introduces the SDGs – their history, targets, indicators and more. This event also includes hearing from a UN official, who will share how their agency or department underwent a transformation to implement the holistic SDGs in partnership with its communities.
Then, attendees will have the opportunity to engage with the UN official in a Q&A session. Before this event, attendees can also familiarize themselves with the program in advance by viewing five modules outlining the 5Ps of the SDGS: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnerships.
On April 16 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., attendees also have the opportunity participate in a workshop looking at the intersection between social entrepreneurship and the SDGs, looking into how sustainable development principles can advance profitability and prosperity in the private sector. To wrap up, the focus will be on going on Action Plan Development and Case Mentorship.
In addition to these events, Northwood will also host the “Sustainapreneur Award” competition specifically for Northwood students. In this competition, students will submit a 300-500 word essay or a 3-5 minute pre-recorded presentation that addresses how to increase awareness, incorporate sustainable yet profitable practice(s), promote positive change and inspire action(s) around one or more of the 17 SDGs.
There is a $500 cash prize for the winner, $250 for second and $125 for third. Sustainapreneur Award submissions will be judged by Northwood faculty, with winners announced on April 22, Earth Day. All Northwood University students enrolled in any program are eligible.
“This is a great opportunity to explore sustainability challenges in a real-world application,” said Dr. Chelsea Butcher, Assistant Professor of Natural Sciences at Northwood. “Regardless of what field or industry students are interested in, it is important to recognize how sustainability influences business.”
For more information about the SDGs events and Sustainapreneur Award and to register for these events, please visit https://www.sdgslaunch.com/northwood. Any questions should be directed to Dr. Chelsea Butcher or Dr. Christin Greiman.
