Making planet Earth more sustainable is possible, as an interactive community event at Southern Illinois University Carbondale demonstrated. The 28 February event, Exploring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, was a chance for people to learn more about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals through fun, hands-on activities. The activities covered the importance of SDGs such as eliminating poverty and hunger, achieving global gender equality, improving access to quality education and assuring affordable clean energy for all.
Participants visited various stations, each hosted by students, faculty, staff and community members, which focused on one of the UN goals. The activities illustrated the connection between global and local issues and included spinning a wheel to answer energy-related trivia questions, testing student´s climate action awareness with SIU faculty members, learning about best practices for planting trees to help combat pollution or discovering the region's support systems people can tap into for improved physical and mental health.
The goal is to help our community understand that sustainable development transforms lives, economies and our planet, said Geory Kurtzhals, SIU sustainability coordinator.
The event was collaboratively sponsored by the SIU Sustainability Office, the SIU United Nations Association, and the Southern Illinois Chapter of the United Nations Association. For more information about Exploring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with Southern Illinois University Carbondale, click here.