New University Group Ambassadors Present Their Event Ideas Around SDGs
Left to right: Sean Ruffell, Emily White (University Groups Lead) and the GfGD ambassadors
As we enter a new academic year, we welcome new University Group Ambassadors and welcome back those who are continuing to represent Geology for Global Development in their universities.
To get Ambassadors started, we provide training and a space for them to meet each other and share ideas for the year ahead. However, being the exceptional year that this is, we turned to Zoom rather than meeting in person.
Ambassadors from eight universities attended: Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Imperial College London, Liverpool, Oxford, Southampton and University College London.
Despite being online, the training (that took place over two evening sessions) still managed to create an exciting and inspiring atmosphere (we were certainly inspired by the creativity of the Ambassadors who attended!).
In the first session we introduced the aims and values of GfGD and discussed the role of geology in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We then set Ambassadors the challenge to go away and design an event around one of the SDGs before the next session. A representative from each university presented their idea. The imagination on display from all groups was impressive:
Cambridge had SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, and designed an online event incorporating a short talk from industry about the environmental and humanitarian costs of fast fashion with a tutorial on how to make your own face mask.
Durham had SDG 7, Affordable and Clean Energy, and suggested holding an online careers talk about renewable energy options in North East England to raise awareness of the businesses and opportunities for graduates in the local area.
Imperial College London had SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation, and came up with the idea to develop a hackathon project called 'Hack for Water in Tanzania', building on existing connections with water professionals in Tanzania and the content of their lectures at Imperial.
Liverpool had SDG 3, Good Health and Wellbeing, and decided to use their event to improve the mental health and wellbeing of geology students by developing a podcast that students can use to go on a guided tour of the geology on campus.
Oxford had SDG 2, Zero Hunger, and proposed creating a cookery tutorial video interspersed with a talk about a specific case study highlighting the links between agrogeology and the SDGs.
Southampton had SDG 14, Life Below Water, and developed an idea to design a reusable bag to raise awareness of marine pollution, the bags could then be sold to raise money for GfGD.
University College London had SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and devised a plan to create a virtual building tour of some of London's sustainable buildings, using Google Earth, and launch it on UN World Cities Day on 31st October.
Now, the Ambassadors have the tools they need to carry out the vital work of raising awareness of the aims of GfGD in their universities. We're looking forward to seeing how they develop the ideas generated during the training sessions into events for their fellow students.
You can find out more about the University Group Network here.