Aotearoa Sustainable Development Goals Summit Series Hui #1: See the Change

Welcome to the #DecadeOfAction! 2020 marks the 5th anniversary of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the world’s best plan to achieve a better future for all. We can be the first generation to end extreme poverty, the decisive generation in the battle against climate change & the most determined generation to fight injustice & inequality. But there is much work to do, and every year counts.

So, join us and get involved in the first of the 2020-2021 Aotearoa/New Zealand Sustainable Development Goals Summit Series events, and #SeeTheChange!

WHEN: Thursday 19 November, 6:30pm - 8:30pm

WHERE: Zoom

Building on two previous SDG Summits, the 2020-2021 series of events are here to take you on a journey from an individual understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals to collective action. Starting with the first of three online Hui, we want to ask: how are you seeing change in your communities for sustainable development in Aotearoa?

What should I expect?

This first online Hui is jam packed with speakers, music, local champions and two practical workshop streams, aimed to inspire and help all of us understand how to take the SDGs to the next level.

Participating in this first online Hui will help you shape an answer for the following questions:

What are the UN Sustainable Development Goals? Why do they matter?
How am I already contributing to achieving these goals? In my own life, and through my work? Who is contributing in my community?
How can we take action to achieve these Global Goals?

Line-up of panelists:

Lucy Gray, school student, climate activist, songwriter and organiser of Christchurch's School Strike for Climate
Tamāti Cunningham, Ngāi Tahu, student at Cashmere High School; high school student leader, passionate about normalising Ao Māori and the Māori language, and one of Environment Canterbury’s Youth Rōpu's two manawhenua representatives
Dr Pedram Pirnia, Special Advisor for Sustainable Development Goals United Nations Association of New Zealand. Advisor Hapai Hapori (Government of New Zealand), Department of Internal Affairs.
Raewyn Jones, Chief Executive, WEL Energy Trust; Co-Chair, Waikato Wellbeing Project; National Advisory Board, Impact Investment.

Parallel Workshop Streams:

Stream A: The Power of Visual Storytelling (Interactive Workshop) - James Bishop, in-person & virtual facilitator/weaver, Koru Consulting Limited with guest facilitator, Tim Hamons, Art of Awakening.

Stream B: SDG101 Introduction to UN Sustainable Development Goals - Dr Allen Hill, Principal Lecturer in Sustainability and Outdoor Education, Programme Leader – Master of Sustainable Practice, Ara Institute of Canterbury

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The Agenda 2030 - ratified in 2015 at the United Nations (UN) - is an agenda designed to transform our world. It is based on 17 Sustainable Development Goals which, as former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon explained, are a “roadmap to ending global poverty, building a life of dignity for all and leaving no one behind. It is also a clarion call to work in partnership and intensify efforts to share prosperity, empower people’s livelihoods, ensure peace and heal our planet for the benefit of this and future generations.” Aotearoa/New Zealand has signed onto these goals, understanding the significance of leaving no one behind and creating a sustainable present and future. In order to understand how these global goals have been, and could be, worked towards in the local context, a summit series has been designed and implemented.

With two successful summits held in 2018 and 2019, the next instalment of the series will be held in 2020-2021. This instalment, proudly co-hosted by the University of Canterbury and Lincoln University, with strong support from the Christchurch City Council and Ara Institute of Canterbury, takes the overall theme of ‘Pathways to (Urgent) Action’. Participants in the Summit Series will be taken on a journey through three online and one face to face events. Starting with an exploration of how we as individuals and/or organisations understand the global goals, it continues on to building an understanding of how we can enable these goals, before delving into how we can collaborate in order to achieve these goals. The final in-person Summit event, planned for September 2021 at the University of Canterbury, will explore how such collaborations for and understanding of the goals can enable transformational change.

We hope following Hui #1, you'll feel inspired to join us in March 2021 for online Hui #2: 'Be the Change'!

2020-2021 Summit Series is Hosted by: Supported by:

Thanks to our Partners: