Experts Discuss Role of Academia and Partnerships on Water Action
On Thursday, 23 March 2023, the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) co-hosted at UN Headquarters in New York the event ‘Our water world: on the frontlines of water access and governance,’ aimed at addressing key areas through ongoing research projects, presenting policymakers with scientific knowledge to achieve .
The highlighted frontlines were coastal and riverine communities, rivers and delta systems, small island developing states, and clean and accessible water as common good or commodity. In addition, the event raised a discussion on the vital relevance of academia in achieving Goal 6 and the .
Taking Student Action: Promoting Gender Equality on Campus and Beyond
Since 2018, the?United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI)?and the??have partnered on the?, designed to convene, challenge and celebrate student leadership advancing United Nations goals and principles. The Millennium Fellowship is a semester-long leadership development program to help students curate and implement community-level initiatives to promote sustainability and public service.
Brazilian 'Girls in Computer Science': Students Mentoring Students
The state of Paraíba is located in the Northeast of Brazil, a region where investments in science and technology are scarce, and the infrastructure in education is somehow precarious. Among the five regions of the country, the Northeast has the lowest Human Development Index (HDI): 0.608. Thus, regional inequalities regarding development are enormous. These inequalities, however, are even more significant when considering gender.
In a predominantly male universe, female undergraduate students at the , a member institution of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) initiative in Brazil, decided to form the “Girls in Computer Science” group, uniting around two areas of action that actively promote the insertion of women in science and technology, aiming at reducing gender inequalities while generating decent jobs, and fighting poverty.
Turkish Universities React to Recent Earthquakes
In the early morning of 6 February 2023, two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.8 and 7.6 occurred in southern Türkiye. According to a??issued on 19 February by the?, citing official data, the seismic events had a significant impact, including the collapse or heavy damage of 345,000 individual units in 90,609 buildings, as well as the death of over 40,000 people. At the same time, more than 108,000 were injured, and 430,000 had to be relocated.
University Actions for Protecting and Preserving the Iraqi Heritage
Heritage and high-profile historical sites worldwide are considered essential values of human civilization. Safeguarding and preserving heritage, in all its manifestations, is not anymore only about bridging the present with the legacies of the past. It is also about building a sustainable and peaceful future for the next generations. Actually,??includes a call to “strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.”
Global Lens on Gender Equality in Universities: Reviewing their Performance
Gender equality has come a long way in the past few years and decades. There are more women with access to education at the tertiary level, more women in senior leadership positions, and women’s rights have developed significantly. But much more is still to be achieved since women continue to face violence and discrimination. On average, women earn lower salaries and have lower levels of access to education compared to men.
In this context, institutions of higher education can be critical actors for change. They can make certain that their female students have equal chances regarding applications, admissions, and completion rates. They can teach curricula that promote gender equality and gender equity, as well as equal representation. Through their research, they can expose inequalities, such as how women are discriminated against, and ensure that datasets include women's perspectives.
Taking Law to Society: University in India Goes Forward
Within?, a target calls explicitly for protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. A key element for this is the creation of awareness concerning legislation tied to adequate protection. Indeed, a??of the United Nations Human Rights Council considered human rights education and training as “essential to the effective realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
UK University Develops New Sources of Emission-Free Energy
The fifth recommendation -Phasing Out of Fossil Fuels and Scaling Up Renewable Energy- within the report launched in November 2022 by the High-Level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities reads: “Instead of slowing down the decarbonization of the global economy, now is the time to accelerate the energy transition to a renewable energy future.” And universities are stepping in for that.
Financing and Funding the SDGs: Challenges vs. Solutions
The United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) is producing a series of articles related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from various angles. In this first article, we aim for more people to get a deeper insight into the financing?and funding for sustainable development, mainly what is being done at the multilateral level, especially in the context of the United Nations system.
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In a complex context, more actors
University Team Creates ‘Green’ Concrete for Sustainable Construction
About 35% of landfill waste is generated by the construction industry, with millions of tons of debris and rubble disposed of each year around the globe. Similarly, around one billion automobile tires go to waste every year. Most of such tires end up in landfills causing a wide range of issues. On that note, an??published by the United Nations Environment Programme explains that “when significant quantities of municipal or industrial solid waste are dumped or burned in the open, the adverse impacts on air, surface and groundwater, soil and the coastal and marine environment, and thus indirectly on public health, can be severe.”
Creating a Smart Campus: A British University Develops a ‘Living Lab’
Universities and colleges worldwide are leading the way through various means in demonstrating the benefits of a collaborative approach of academic research and industry expertise in creating sustainable solutions that benefit everyone. They also often function as ‘small cities,’ with their energy plants, sports facilities, and civic attractions, as well as the communal study, office, and research spaces that allow their daily function. This makes them without any doubt, an ideal test bed for innovation.?
German Academic-Scientific Initiative Focused on Plants for Tomorrow's Needs
“The intensification of the major drivers behind recent food insecurity and malnutrition trends (i.e., conflict, climate extremes, and economic shocks) combined with the high cost of nutritious foods and growing inequalities will continue to challenge food security and nutrition,” says one of the many conclusions of??published this year by the?. The role of academia in countering these difficulties cannot be underestimated.?
Looking for an Alternative: Spanish University Actions on Fair Trade
“International trade is an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction, and contributes to the promotion of sustainable development,” reads paragraph 68 of the?. In parallel, the document?, published by the?, states that fair trade initiatives “often aim to a fairer distribution of gains along international value chains.” This is one of the reasons why fair trade has become a popular topic in institutions of higher education.?
UNAI Marks UN Day Discussing Role of Higher Education in Multilateralism
On Monday, 24 October 2022, the?United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI)?hosted at UN Headquarters in New York an event to mark?United Nations Day, a commemoration that remembers the entry into force of the?Charter of the United Nations. It aimed to highlight what universities and colleges worldwide are doing concerning global challenges, what multilateralism means for institutions of higher education, and what these institutions mean to the United Nations.?
Enhancing Understanding of the Tropics: Australian University Paves the Way
The Tropics is a place of extraordinary diversity, culturally and ecologically. Most of the world’s languages are spoken in the Tropics, and it is home to 80% of terrestrial biodiversity as well as 95% of the world’s coral and mangrove ecosystems. An area that also holds over half of the world’s renewable water resources. The Tropics are also where the most significant impacts from climate change are likely to be felt, with cascading effects on the rest of the world.?