Dynamic Approaches
The Need to Apply a Contemporary Version of Indigenous Thinking to Realizing Sustainability View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Stephen Sachs
To realize sustainability, it is necessary to incorporate a contemporary version of Indigenous thinking about problems and solutions. Western science has made numerous advances by reducing its scope to narrow concerns, assuming general approaches apply everywhere. Failure to analyze holistically and long term has caused a complex environmental crisis, along with social, economic, and political imbalance. That situation has been improving but needs to advance further. It is necessary to undertake holistic systems thinking, noting how everything is interconnected with varying degrees of independence in an interlinking whole of numerous, often overlapping, systems and subsystems. While everything is related, each place is different. Valid general approaches often require significant adaptation to be applied in specific places. Policies need to be long term, with short and medium term considerations. Since knowledge is always limited, risks must be carefully weighed before acting, and actions regularly reviewed and adjusted for changing circumstances and new learnings. This is most obvious concerning the physical environment, but is equally so in social, economic and political matters. Indeed, the environmental and socio-political-economic need to be seen as a whole. Since knowledge is limited, good policy can only be made with the participatory input of all concerned, with political and economic power relatively equal to ensure balanced outcomes. If policy of all kinds is made from this perspective, so far as possible, with ongoing learning and redirecting thought and efforts as events and policies unfold, reasonable sustainability is possible in all spheres.
The Transversalization of Sustainable Development at the Institución Universitaria Colombo Americana – UNICA through the “ÚNICA al Servicio de los ODS” (“UNICA at the Service of the SDGs”) Program: Learnings, Priorities and Solutions
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Constanza Amezquita Quintana
This paper systematizes the experience of the transversalization of the sustainable development approach at the Institución Universitaria Colombo Americana – ÚNICA, a Higher Education Institution in Bogotá-Colombia which aims to the training of bilingual teachers whose higher purpose is the transformation of society through education. This transversalization takes place by means of the “ÚNICA al servicio de los ODS” (“UNICA at the service of the SDGs”) program, which was created in 2022 and has five components which correspond to the strategic areas of the institution, namely: (1) training and teaching, (2) institutional policies, (3) research, (4) extension and social impact, and (5) campus management and organization. To carry out this systematization, the UNESCO methodology for the systematization of innovative educational experiences was addressed, which includes three major phases: (1) reconstruction of the experience process, (2) analysis and interpretation, and (3) dissemination. The emphases and priorities given in the different components are highlighted, mainly in the components of institutional policies, training and teaching and research. The above through the adoption of sustainability policy, the UNESCO Sustainability Education Approach and the promotion of teaching initiatives in the subjects, as well as by the colaborative work of ÚNICA with two Mexican universities in the research seedbed in education for sustainability, which promotes sustainability through interdisciplinarity and international cooperation.
Reconsidering Benefit-Sharing Approach for Addressing Hydro-Political Stalemate in the Nile Basin View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Asabu Alamineh
The Nile River has been both an engine of development and a cause of controversy among its riparian states for millennia. This paradox took on an international dimension with the inception of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Using a qualitative research method, this paper investigates the GERD controversy and the role of a benefit-sharing approach in the Nile basin. The dam negotiations have been hampered by unjust colonial treaties, the hardline interests of Egypt and Ethiopia, politicisation, uncertainty about the consequences of the dam’s use and lopsided third-party intervention. The paper argues that the adoption of a benefit-sharing approach in the basin can sustain the Nile ecosystem, promote regional peace, increase water flow and decrease unnecessary expenses through modest intraregional cooperation. The resolution of the Nile basin conflict thus relies on identifying the potential of the basin and on integrated cooperative frameworks adopted by the technocrats of its riparian states and international experts.
Building a Sustainability Action Plan in Higher Education
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Candace Miller
Fanshawe College's commitment to sustainability is reflected in its 2020-2025 strategic plan, which aligns with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The College has developed a comprehensive 2023-2030 Sustainability Action Plan that emphasizes a cross-institutional approach to enhance environmental and social sustainability. This plan was informed by extensive research, including environmental scans of Canadian institutions and participation in the AASHE conference, alongside an evaluation of SDG goals within the UN framework. The initial assessment of Fanshawe's activities, using the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS), highlighted the College's strengths and identified areas for growth, particularly in advancing SDGs 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, and 16. Following this evaluation, Fanshawe focused on seven priority SDGs, adding goals 13 and 17, and established 21 specific targets critical to its strategic direction. The College aims to solidify its leadership in sustainability by fostering a culture of sustainability across all institutional domains. The Action Plan is anchored in four interdependent cornerstones: leadership and culture, operations, learning, research and innovation, and community engagement. These cornerstones provide a cohesive framework for action, integrating the College’s strategic plan with STARS evaluation outcomes. Fanshawe's journey towards sustainability is essential to fostering an integrated sustainability culture within the academic community and broader society.
