Systems Change not Climate Change

Supporting and amplifying UTS partnerships to address the climate emergency.

Are you keen to strengthen climate resiliency through your work at UTS?

Does the topic of internal and/or external partnerships to address the climate emergency speak to your interests for 2021?

Would you like to develop meaningful relationships across the university to contribute to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

If any of these questions resonate for you, then please join us for this workshop organised around the ethos of the SDGs of Climate Action (SDG 13), Partnerships for the Goals (SDG17), and Quality Education and Lifelong Learning (SDG4).

Our intention for this workshop is to provide a space for people across all areas of research, teaching, and operations who share similar passions to: connect; enable exploration of ideas and current projects; and develop tangible plans for making a difference in 2021.*

These tangible plans that you will collaboratively develop may include strengthening external partnerships, grant applications, connections on existing projects, ideas for shared writing, living labs combining teaching, research and operations, or, other forms of working together we have seen emerge from previous SDG workshops.

Specifically, in this workshop, we will create the space for you to share and co-create projects which help:

• Take urgent and inclusive action to address the climate emergency and its impacts
• Recognise the interconnectedness of combating climate change with achieving other SDGs, for example:
  • Affordable, reliable, sustainable energy
  • Decent work and economic growth
  • Sustainable cities, consumption and production
  • Good health and wellbeing
  • Preservation of life on land and below water
• Protect and restore the integrity of Earth’s ecological systems with respect to climate change
• Recognize and preserve the traditional knowledge and spiritual wisdom in all cultures that contribute to environmental protection and human well-being

We recognise that the university has an incredible opportunity and responsibility to be a beacon of transformative change towards equitable and regenerative communities. And we believe that a step towards unlocking that potential is in finding others, from many diverse corners of the university and community, who share your vision. We also recognise this requires finding the time and resources to enable such collaboration. As such, impact grants will be available through this workshop to nourish your collaborative ideas. We’ll also gather and act on your ideas for how university systems could better support these kinds of improved collaborations and partnerships for impact.

All of the SDGs are inextricably interwoven. Each of the goals interacts with the climate emergency, and the climate emergency influences all of the others. So please come along if you are more interested in other areas, such as gender, sustainable cities, or economic growth, because regardless of your perspective or experience, it is a valuable contribution.

*please note, parts of this session will be recorded