According to recent reports, Cyprus ranks at the bottom of the European Union states for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is ranked 58th among 167 states worldwide (https://tinyurl.com/yvcbbhek).
One aspect of this poor ranking is due to education and how, in Cyprus, the education system continues to fail to incorporate systemically and appropriately Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in higher education curricula. According to the 2030 Agenda deadline stipulated by the United Nations (UN), higher education (HE) aims to guarantee that all learners will develop the necessary competencies to advocate for sustainability (Education, SDG 4, Target 4.7). This target includes ESD, human rights, gender equality, promotion of peace culture, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity.
At the start of the autumn semester of 2024, a group of final-year design students at Cyprus University of Technology (Georgia Demetriou, Pavlina Eythimiou, Sofia Mina, Socrates Socratous, Styliani Michael, Valeria Loizou, Anna Kotzampasaki and Panagiotis Christou) and as part of module ‘Design for Social Change, Innovation and Entrepreneurship’, decided to address the lack of SDG awareness among young Cypriots.
Firstly, the students circulated a survey among university learners, with a total of 78 participants. Among other issues examined in this survey, it was found that 50% of the participants had never heard of the SDGs, while 79.5% stated that universities in Cyprus do not provide learners with adequate information about the SDGs. Subsequently, the students used design thinking to identify a message for their target audience (the education system) and develop a visual communication campaign that targets educators (linktr.ee/cyprusyouthsdgs). ‘You never told us!’ became the main slogan of their campaign, and for each SDG, they identified facts that the education system failed to inform them about.
As visual communication students, the group had two ways to promote their campaign: social media and print-based material. Despite their efforts to find a sponsor for this worthwhile project, none has been forthcoming to help them with costs and dissemination. Despite this, and anything but discouraged, the students decided to share the costs among themselves and used their own social media accounts to promote their work.
The ‘You never told us!’ campaign runs until the end of November 2024, and you can view it online at Cyprus Youth SDGs | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree
The International Conference on "Climate Crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East" that was held on the 26-28 September, at the Radisson beach resort in Larnaca, concluded successfully, even though it was held in the middle of intensifying hostilities in the region.
To view the full press release with the key findings of the Conference, you may click here.
SDSN Cyprus was one of the key supporters of the Conference.
Below, you may find some highlights of the press release:
The Conference was attended by leading scientists, affiliated with more than 40 educational and research institutions and 12 National and International Academies. In addition to the Cypriot Ministers, there was strong presence from political personalities from the region, Europe and North America.
The extremely critical situation in the region, due to the geopolitical conflicts, was referred to by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Network (UN-SDSN), indicating that these conflicts also make it difficult to implement a regional climate action plan. This is why Cyprus' initiative for regional cooperation to address the climate crisis, he stressed, is extremely important, as it is a bridge that allows scientists and politicians to work together to collectively seek solutions in a region where political-military confrontation prevails. Without a regional approach, Professor Sachs concluded, there is no way the nations of the region can solve their problems.
In addition to the announcement relaunching of the Regional Climate Initiative led by the Cyprus government, most impressive was the unanimity on the need for regional cooperation on climate action, especially those of transboundary nature, by the participants to the Conference from countries including Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, in the background of the intensifying hostilities in the Middle East.
Halting the Extinction of the Emblematic Griffon Vulture in Cyprus
Tuesday, 5 November 2024 | Starts: 16:00
Venue: Join us at the John Ioannides Auditorium, Fresnel Building, The Cyprus Institute
Or alternatively, view a livestream of the event on The Cyprus Institute YouTube channel
Speaker: Mrs Melpo Apostolidou, Director, BirdLife Cyprus
RSVP by Monday, 4 November 2024
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 22 397 595
In memory of Dr Martin Hellicar
More details are available here.
Based on the 4 regional calls of University Presidents that UN SDSN recently hosted and the superb contributions made by university leaders from across the world, the “Statement by University Leaders in Support of The Summit of the Future" is now published.
Attached please find the Summary of the four meetings, a Resources table which includes all links and contact information shared during the meetings, and the Zoom recordings here:
