SDGs ‘not attainable without contribution of HE’, UN told

None of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs – the internationally agreed framework for tackling poverty, inequality, disease and climate change – can be achieved without the contribution of higher education through research, teaching and community engagement.

That was the key message of a statement launched by the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie and the International Association of Universities at the UN High-level Political Forum on sustainable development held in New York last week.

During a global event at the High-level Political Forum organised by the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative, the three university organisations – which represent more than 2,000 different universities globally – used their collective voice to champion the importance of higher education for the SDGs and call for partnerships within and beyond the sector to achieve the goals.

Written by Gabriella Gombár