Sustainable development goals and 2030 agenda: Awareness, knowledge and attitudes in nine Italian universities, 2019

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 2030 Agenda represent global development programs. Education can widen the acknowledgement of their relevance and their applications. This survey aims to assess awareness, knowledge and attitudes towards SDGs and sustainability among first-year students in nine Italian Universities. A Likert scale-based online questionnaire of 70 items was compiled by students from March to July 2019. It examined knowledge and expectations referred to sustainable development concepts, indicators and documents/models accounting for sociodemographic variables. Statistical analyses performed were Chi-square test, Fisher\u2019s Exact test, Kendall\u2019s W correlation coefficient, univariate and multivariate analysis. The questionnaire was completed by 1676 students. A low percentage referred a good knowledge of SDGs and 2030 Agenda, most of them had never attended related educational activities previously. Better knowledge of SDGs and 2030 Agenda was observed in case of previous specific educational activities (p < 0.001). The expectation towards university guaranteeing an education on SDGs was high, both for personal wisdom and for usefulness in future professional context. A significant difference (p < 0.001) in such expectations was found, as healthcare students were less interested than colleagues of other areas. The results showed low knowledge but interest towards sustainable development. A scheduled implementation of academic initiatives should be considered

Mobilising urban knowledge in an infodemic: Urban observatories, sustainable development and the COVID-19 crisis

Along with disastrous health and economic implications, COVID-19 has also been an epidemic of misinformation and rumours – an ‘infodemic’. The desire for robust, evidence-based policymaking in this time of disruption has been at the heart of the multilateral response to the crisis, not least in terms of supporting a continuing agenda for global sustainable development. The role of boundary-spanning knowledge institutions in this context could be pivotal, not least in cities, where much of the pandemic has struck. ‘Urban observatories’ have emerged as an example of such institutions; harbouring great potential to produce and share knowledge supporting sustainable and equitable processes of recovery. Building on four ‘live’ case studies during the crisis of institutions based in Johannesburg, Karachi, Freetown and Bangalore, our research note aims to capture the role of these institutions, and what it means to span knowledge boundaries in the current crisis. We do so with an eye towards a better understanding of their knowledge mobilisation practices in contributing towards sustainable urban development. We highlight that the crisis offers a key window for urban observatories to play a progressive and effective role for sustainable and inclusive development. However, we also underline continuing challenges in these boundary knowledge dynamics: including issues of institutional trust, inequality of voices, collective memory, and the balance between normative and advisory roles for observatories

The economization of education and the implications of the quasi-commodification of knowledge on higher education for sustainable development

This paper analyses an ongoing economization trend in the sphere of higher education (HE) and discusses its implications on higher education for sustainable development (HESD). The sources of this trend are connected with neoliberalism understood as a political project that seeks to extend competitive market forces, consolidate a market-friendly constitution, and promote individual freedom. In global HE neoliberalism, decision-makers, be it educational, scientific, or other, are pressured to assess how their activities impact financially on the individual, organizational, and institutional levels and/or the imperatives of an internationally competitive economy. The paper provides a contemporary analysis of the rise of neoliberalism in HE, understood as the specific trend of an academic capitalist knowledge/learning regime explained by Jessop's six analytic distinct and potentially overlapping stages of economization. This analysis is based on a review of European policies from 2006 until 2017 and explains characteristics of current economization strategies. Their core principles relating to higher education are about improving economic performance based on knowledge and innovation. Smart growth is defined politically as the main purpose of HE and positioning students as future workers, with the right higher skills, as the means. The relevance of students' skills higher education institutions (HEI) are urged to develop highly depend on business demands. European policies are driven by a comprehensive entrepreneurial agenda restructuring the organizational mechanisms in HE. Accountability towards the labour market and skills performance of students set this agenda. Funding strategies rest on strong industry ties and diversification of revenue streams depend on HEI capability to establish tech-driven knowledge alliances between research, education and business. These new intermediary and powerful alliances drive economization strategies, influence curriculum development and decide on relevant higher level skills. Respective learning practices are oriented strongly towards developing entrepreneurial and digital skills based on personalized learning environments. Currently HESD adapts towards a neoliberal education agenda rather than preventing further shifts from a capitalist towards a competitive financialized economy. A profound critique would have to question the dominant economization trends in higher education i.e. the very purpose of education and the current raison d'etre of HEI. The core of the critique might build on new institutionalized learning environments allowing deep, social learning and, hence, the potential of HEI to act as social catalysts empowering collective and disruptive agency.Series: SRE - Discussion Paper

Atlas of the Human Planet 2019

The Atlas of the Human Planet 2019 presents key human settlements and urbanisation statistics for 239 countries based on the progress made towards the development of a people-based global harmonised definition of cities and rural areas. Figures and statistics presented in the Atlas 2019 are the result of massive automatic big data processing carried out at the European Commission Directorate General Joint Research Centre in the framework of the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) combining satellite imagery and census information to map settlements, understand their characteristics, and report about their changes over 40 years’ time (1975 – 2015). The Atlas explains the fundamentals of the GHSL, and the service it provides to upscale to the globe the Degree of Urbanisation method (currently adopted as European Union Regulation). Based on the global application of the method the Atlas presents a global urbanisation brief, a commented series of highlights on global human settlement development trajectories, supported by 239 urbanisation briefs, which form the knowledge base for the next generation of urban and territorial policy, development and cooperation action, and global reporting on progress made towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Development Agenda as a whole.JRC.E.1-Disaster Risk Managemen

Stuttgart – a Livable City: The global Agenda 2030 at a local level Baseline study depicting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The United Nations adopted the Agenda 2030 in 2015. This was a basis for the transition to a world in which economic efficiency, ecological compatibility and social justice can be in accord with one another. The Agenda 2030 addresses all states (“every country is a developing country”) at an international, national and, just as much, at a regional and local level. An essential component of Agenda 2030 are the 17 goals for a sustainable development (Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs). To achieve the goals of Agenda 2030 the focus is on partnerships between various actors from administration, politics, business and civil society. In the further development of the Sustainable Development Strategy for Germany in 2017 the Federal Government oriented itself systematically towards the Agenda 2030 with the 17 SDGs. Many other German states also developed strategies geared towards the SDGs. In Baden-Württemberg the Advisory Council of the State Government prepared a proposal as to how the SDGs could be integrated into the state-specific guidelines for sustainable development. The municipalities, having a close relationship with the residents, play a particular role when it comes to implementing Agenda 2030. To map out the status of sustainable development on a quantitative basis of SDGs and at a local level, seven organisations started a nationwide project in 2017 “SDG indicators for municipalities” – proposals for SDGs at a local level: Association of German Cities, German County Association, German Association of Towns and Municipalities, German Institute for Urban Studies (Difu), Federal Institute for Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Research, Service Agency Communities in One World of Engagement Global and the Bertelsmann Foundation. As one of the first municipalities in Germany the State Capital Stuttgart took on the challenging task of pilot-testing the “SDG indicators for municipalities” from June to October 2018. A second phase between July and September 2019 saw the update of the data. The baseline study was carried out in cooperation with the Bertelsmann Foundation and Difu. The SDG baseline study for the State Capital Stuttgart has two main objectives: first, to analyse the current status of the city on the basis of data in place as regards social, ecological and economic sustainability and to improve the possibilities of a target-oriented, strategic development of the city’s measures; second, with this SDG baseline study to make a methodological contribution to a target-oriented strategic, further development of SDG indicators for an appropriate and effective design for the SDG baseline-studies in municipalities. The different starting conditions make a comparison of cities neither possible nor envisaged – however, the municipalities will receive a toolbox so they can gauge their own development. A qualitative depiction of selected programmes and measures of the State Capital Stuttgart complements the quantitative baseline study. These descriptions give an impression of the spectrum of the measures which can be taken with a view to sustainability. This should also address the issue in other cities and communities. Stuttgart sees itself here as an impulse-giver, but also as a learner, in a national and international network of local actors. The SDGs offer a comprehensive target system for sustainability and, at the same time, they point out possible conflicts of interests. The implementation of strategic objectives requires continuous monitoring. The participative, cross-divisional process of the baseline study shows that the tried and tested SDG indicators for municipalities are a suitable instrument to be quantitatively supportive in realising the existing objectives and approaches of the State Capital Stuttgart for social, ecological and economic sustainability. It was constructive to discuss the SDG indicators methodologically on a cross-sectoral basis, and to select and expand on issues to do justice to the distinctiveness of a municipality. This way, the cross-divisional knowledge management and the understanding of the correlations between the individual sustainability measures could be strengthened. All divisions and departments of the City of Stuttgart worked with enormous commitment on this report. Based on SDG indicators, this baseline study has for the first time developed a cross-sectoral instrument for a regular, all-embracing monitoring of correlations of social, economic and ecological sustainability. This forms an important basis for future recommendations and an effective action on the part of politics, administration and urban society which will help to serve the further development of municipal objectives and measures of implementing the SDGs in the State Capital Stuttgart. The present executive summary provides an overview of the methodological approach, a compilation of the selected indicators as well as the main results with regards to the process and further development of SDG- indicators

Technology Education Is Important for Achieving Sustainable Development

In 2015 all 193 United Nations Member States agreed on 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the purpose to end poverty, ensure prosperity, and protect the planet. Technology and sustainable development are intertwined. The term "double-edged sword" has often been used to describe technology, as it can be both helpful and harmful. But to what extent is technology significant for sustainable development and what content can technology education have in relation to sustainable development? This study examines what technology content can be discerned in the sustainable development goals, SDGs, in order to detect possible content for technology education. The 17 SDGs include 169 targets since every SDG are defined with "Outcome targets" and "means of implementation targets". All 169 SDGs targets were analyzed through content analysis. A category system was developed from the definition of technology by Rossouw et.al (2010) and DiGironimos’s (2011)&nbsp; to discern technology content in the SDGs. The results show that the achievement of each and every 17 Sustainable Development Goals in one way or another relies on our use of technology and our development of technology. Teaching with a sustainability perspective creates meaningful content for technology education, where current news and topics can be a starting point. Such teaching can provide students with necessary knowledge towards making well-grounded decisions based on facts, as both consumers and global citizens

The Preservation of Memory and the Management of Information as a Step towards Sustainable Development

Sustainable development comprehends the balance between human activities and the environment. Today, more than ever, the need to act with respect for the environment and the urgency in recognizing that we belong to the planet, and not the other way around, have accelerated and generalized the demand for information about environmental sustainability, economic and social concerns, and the discussion about which Humanity should adopt paths to save the species. The United Nations 2030 Agenda recognizes access to information as a critical goal in the Sustainable Development Goal of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. In a global and inclusive society, people's access to information and the need to protect fundamental freedoms is necessarily the founding principle of the path to achieving global sustainability. The understanding of the world and society has always been founded on the study of the past, the knowledge of history, traditions, and memory. Only knowledge of memory allows us to know where we come from and to determine where we are going. Memory, which is nothing more than informational heritage, a generator agent of value and distinctive identity, is essential to create, distinguishing, and enriching socioeconomic activities based on the realities of the environment and local cultures towards socioeconomic and environmental sustainability and inclusion. In this paper, we intend to highlight the crucial role of information professionals in sustainable development, as they play unique and privileged roles in the preservation of people's identity and culture, as well as in the collection, research, processing, protection, promotion, enhancement, and transmission of information, which guarantee the viability of Humanity's cultural heritage and access to information as one of the goals of sustainable development.N/

'Transformations towards sustainability':Emerging approaches, critical reflections, and a research agenda

Over the last two decades researchers have come to understand much about the global challenges confronting human society (e.g. climate change; biodiversity loss; water, energy and food insecurity; poverty and widening social inequality). However, the extent to which research and policy efforts are succeeding in steering human societies towards more sustainable and just futures is unclear. Attention is increasingly turning towards better understanding how to navigate processes of social and institutional transformation to bring about more desirable trajectories of change in various sectors of human society. A major knowledge gap concerns understanding how transformations towards sustainability are conceptualised, understood and analysed. Limited existing scholarship on this topic is fragmented, sometimes overly deterministic, and weak in its capacity to critically analyse transformation processes which are inherently political and contested. This paper aims to advance understanding of transformations towards sustainability, recognising it as both a normative and an analytical concept. We firstly review existing concepts of transformation in global environmental change literature, and the role of governance in relation to it. We then propose a framework for understanding and critically analysing transformations towards sustainability based on the existing ‘Earth System Governance’ framework (Biermann et al., 2009). We then outline a research agenda, and argue that transdisciplinary research approaches and a key role for early career researchers are vital for pursuing this agenda. Finally, we argue that critical reflexivity among global environmental change scholars, both individually and collectively, will be important for developing innovative research on transformations towards sustainability to meaningfully contribute to policy and action over time

The Internationalisation of UK Higher Education: From ‘technical observance’ to ‘relational participation’, the road to CAPRI…

This article reflects on a review of the literature on the internationalisation of UK higher education (HE) commissioned by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in 2006. Recent progress on some of the key themes is considered and likely issues and possibilities for the future explored. Methodology is grounded in the author’s own experience in the context of research in the field and recent developments in assessment, learning and teaching policy and practice as they affect the internationalisation agenda. Emerging themes include global citizenship and graduate attributes at the institutional level and notions of critical thinking and phronesis as they relate to the internationalised curriculum. A key consideration is how academics may be supported in developing the internationalised curriculum. The author argues that a focus on generic graduate attributes for employability could unintentionally detract institutions from a much-needed reassessment of purposes, principles and practices required by diversity. Such reassessment implies the deconstruction of our understanding of concepts like critical thinking and critical literacy in pursuit of a curriculum that embraces multiple perspectives and provides the space to cross cultural boundaries through the deployment of threshold concepts in teaching and learning strategies. While acknowledging that facilitating border-crossing may seem quite alien to some teachers in HE, it is argued that the most effective way forward is via a research-informed and evidence-based approach to curriculum design rather than a ‘best-practice checklist’ approach