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2024 SDSN University Presidents Meetings: A Commitment to Sustainable Development

By SDSN Networks

SDSN University Presidents Meetings Highlight the Collective Commitment of Universities to Advancing Sustainable Development Through Education, Research, and Global Cooperation

Throughout May 2024, SDSN hosted the University Presidents Meetings (UPM), a series of online meetings that convened university leadership to brainstorm, compare experiences, and present their SDG-related accomplishments to their peer institutions. This unique gathering brought together academic executive leadership, UN and government representatives, SDSN Network Chairs, Managers, and members of the SDSN Leadership Council. Together they discussed how universities can contribute to the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement and can engage with local governments and communities through their key functions. In total, SDSN convened over 300 University Presidents and other executive leadership representatives from more than 100 countries.

In his opening remarks, SDSN President Prof. Jeffrey Sachs emphasized that: "Universities have a unique central role in societies and can be key actors at times of change, especially now." The universities are advancing the SDGs by introducing new teaching and research programs; instituting new university-wide SDG initiatives; re-engineering campuses to decrease greenhouse gas emissions; and collaborating with governments, businesses, and civil society.

Similarly, Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, stressed that “Education is a fundamental right and a public good, not a privilege. We must make it accessible and affordable, particularly in the Global South.”

SDSN Resources and University Initiatives for Sustainable Development

Simultaneously, SDSN provides resources and support to universities, helping them connect globally, enhance curricula, and engage in sustainable development projects. Some of these include:

Universities act as laboratories and catalysts for change, providing skills and knowledge to create a better world and directly contributing to the SDGs. The initiatives shared by University Presidents spanned from an SDG Study Scheme that enables students to integrate their academic learning with life experiences and community engagement, to the Teacher Training Program for Ethnic Diversity, which enables quilombolas and indigenous peoples to work at schools in their territories.

Pledge to Support the Summit of the Future

Based on the UPM meetings, SDSN and its university members have developed a statement in support of the Summit of the Future. In this statement, university leaders pledge to do their part in the following areas:

Specifically, on the occasion of the Summit of the Future, we pledge to do our part in the following areas:

  • Develop new education programs, including degree programs and professional certification programs, to train our students in the central challenges of sustainable development, including effective climate action;
  • Promote interdisciplinary education and research to identify solutions to the central challenges of sustainable development;
  • Work closely with governments at all levels – local, sub-national, national, and regional - to devise new, bold, and science-based strategies to achieve the SDGs in all of their dimensions: economic well-being, social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and global peace and cooperation;
  • Work closely with the business community and entrepreneurs to incubate new start-ups that can advance technological solutions for the national economy and the SDGs;
  • Work with indigenous peoples to mobilize their knowledge systems, expertise, and world views in fashioning approaches to education, research, and policy-making;
  • Strive to make our own campuses fully sustainable, shifting to renewable energy, circular economy, resource efficiency, and the protection of biodiversity;
  • Utilize the new online technologies to expand our delivery of quality education and to enable greater access in the population, while also enhancing on-site education on our campuses;
  • Partner with universities across the world, through the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and via other collaborations and networks, promoting exchanges of faculty and students, joint programs, innovative curricula, open science, and practical support as helpful for universities in resource-scarce settings.
  • Promote innovation and technology transfer, including green technologies to enhance the prospects of a successful transition to net-zero energy systems;
  • Work closely with governments and SDSN to boost research outputs in emerging and developing economies.
  • Work closely with SDSN to develop student programs to foster peace and appreciation of cultural diversity, and enhance conflict prevention and resolution at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions.
  • You can read the full Statement by University Leaders in Support of The Summit of the Future.

This was the second edition of the University Presidents Meeting. If you’re interested in the inaugural edition of the UPM, please see the 2022 University Presidents Meeting Report.