In local communities across the world, governments, the private sector, and civil society have started to mobilize efforts to take action on the UN SDGs.
Our SDG Forums are hosted in collaboration with community partners as we work to advance and localize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nogojiwanong | Peterborough.
At the SDG Community Forums, we explore diverse local actions and initiatives that connect to the Goals through facilitated Open Space discussions and activities.
Leaving No One Behind: Centering Indigenous Leadership and Diverse Perspectives to Advance the Sustainable Development Goals in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough
Wednesday, February 24 and Thursday, February 25th, 2021
On February 24th and 25th, 2021, KWIC and GreenUP hosted a two-day, virtual community forum on Zoom entitled, “Centering Indigenous Leadership and Diverse Perspectives to Advance the Sustainable Development Goals in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough and the Kawartha Area”.
The 2021 SDG Community Forum highlighted four (of the 17) United Nations Sustainable Development Goals* locally through the lens of centering Indigenous leadership and leaving no one behind:
- SDG 1: No Poverty
- SDG 4: Quality Education
- SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitization
- SDG 13: Climate Action
- Prioritizing Indigenous Leadership
Community members assembled to deepen their understanding of how to advance the SDGs in a way that leaves no one behind and prioritizes Indigenous leadership. Collectively, Indigenous leadership was identified as critical to our local efforts to advance sustainable development.
We welcomed a diverse group of over two hundred participants from near and far in three interconnected workshops. Interconnectedness is a recurring theme in this project. The action teams are aware of how our local priorities and the SDGs are interrelated; one cannot be achieved without the others. Locally, we believe that the steps we take in our community will ripple out into the world in a good way.
By the end of the forum, the urgent need to reach our goals was evident. We have nine years remaining to achieve the SDGs 2030 Agenda; there is much important work to be done.
The project team would like to offer our sincerest thank you to the organizers, partners, team members, volunteers, speakers, funders, leaders, and event participants who helped bring this memorable event together. We look forward to seeing what comes next!
Read about the 2021 Community Forum in the Peterborough Examiner:
Community forum localizes sustainable development goals
Understanding the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Canada’s Commitment and the Local Connection
Friday March 1st, 2019
In 2019, KWIC, GreenUP, and Fleming Office of Sustainability hosted Peterborough's first multi-sector forum on the SDGs called "Understanding the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Canada’s Commitment and the Local Connection". The forum opened with an understanding of Indigenous Knowledge as the original teachings of sustainability and concluded with 120 participants identifying five local key priority action areas for Nogojiwanong/Peterborough:
- Prioritizing Indigenous Leadership
- SDG #1 No Poverty
- SDG # 4 Quality Education
- SDG #6 Clean Water and Sanitization
- SDG #13 Climate Action
Read a summary of our community's priorities identified at the 2019 SDG Community Forum Here:
Read about the 2019 SDG Community Forum in the Peterborough Examiner here:
SDGs Background Information
On September 25, 2015, 193 countries unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over the next 15 years, agendas and policies will be framed to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. The SDGs follow and expand on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were agreed upon by governments in 2001.
The SDGs launch is a project of the Foundation for Environmental Stewardship (FES), a youth-led, youth-serving sustainable development organization. FES is a UN-accredited organization and has special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. Since 2017 FES has mobilized over 8000 students from 82 post-secondary institutions at 50 pieces of training: https://www.sdgslaunch.com/program
*To learn more about the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals towards Agenda 2030 established by the Paris Agreement in 2016, visit sdgs.un.org/goals