Eradicate poverty and inequality, and preserve the planet for generations to come.

Those are the goals at the heart of International Development Week, a weeklong series of Brock events running virtually from Monday, Feb. 7 to Friday, 11 that aims to draw attention to the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the steps needed to build a more peaceful, inclusive and prosperous world.

In 2015, all UN Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda as a roadmap for eradicating poverty and inequality and to urgently shift the world onto a more sustainable and resilient path. At the core of the 2030 Agenda are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 17 indivisible goals with 169 targets and more than 230 indicators, providing a shared framework to work towards a more just, sustainable and inclusive world.

Brock International Services organized International Development Week raises awareness of the SDGs while also support the University’s strategic priority of offering transformational and globally-oriented learning experiences.

“The 2030 Agenda gives our global learning community an inspirational, tangible target to work towards,” said Kyla Pennie, Brock’s Associate Director, Internationalization and Support Services. “The global goals embody key economic, social and environmental challenges faced by our world and demand a transformation of the financial, economic and political systems that govern our societies today to guarantee the human rights of all.”

Opportunities such as International Development Week support students’ growth as global citizens, enhance their knowledge and understanding of the SDGs and create a positive impact on their career development.

“Each student’s career path may contribute to one or more of the universal goals,” said Pennie. “The global skills they develop now will contribute to the global good in the future.”

Throughout the week, the Brock community will explore the UN SDGs and different ways to become more involved in transforming the world.

An online roundtable discussion will be held with Brock’s Model UN Club on Tuesday, Feb. 8 and Thursday, Feb. 10 from noon to 1 p.m.

On Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 11 a.m., the Brock community is invited to a virtual panel discussion on International Environmental Agreements and the SDGs. Liette Vasseur, Professor of Biology, Brock University and UNESCO Chair on Community Sustainability, will serve as a panelist for the event alongside Jocelyn Baker, Research Assistant to Vasseur and Canadian Co-Chair of the Niagara River Binational Ramsar Designation Steering Committee.

Creating a sustainable campus involves the commitment and co-operation of everyone at the University, in the Niagara community and beyond. To learn more about this, a presentation, Sustainability at Brock, will be held Wednesday, Feb. 9 at noon. The online event will look at the University’s Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings submission for 2021, how the Brock is addressing the United Nation’s 17 SDGs and the World Wildlife Fund-Canada Living Leader Certification.

There will also be a Jeopardy-style trivia event on Wednesday at 6 p.m. that will allow Brock community members to test their knowledge of the UN SDGs for the chance to win prizes.

Throughout the week, Brock International Services is also facilitating a used goods drive event. In line with the UN SDG No. 12, “ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns,” the drive encourages an environment where the Brock community reuses and recycles as much as possible. Students can come to retrieve items of interest on Friday, Feb. 11 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. in the International Centre Global Commons (GLB-104). RSVP is mandatory to ensure capacity limits and can be done online through ExperienceBU.

For a full listing of events, including information on how to register and where online events will take place, visit the ExperienceBU page.