Mobilising the Sustainable Development Goals …
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paper acts as a medium of localisation of SDGs, and an impactful, local outcome.
For example, the UNMC Bicycle Project relates to SDG11, sustainable cities and
communities, K2K relates to SDG4, quality education and SYSD relates to SDG17,
partnership for the goals.
Leaders in local communities have the responsibility to align SDG framework
and national policies together, making localisation of SDGs a priority. En route to
achieving the 2030 Agenda, implementation of the SDGs at a local scale is critical.
Among the main points moving forward from the VNR include localising SDGs at
sub-national levels via adopting the national multi-stakeholder governance at state
levels, mobilisation of resources through partnerships and knowledge sharing to
strengthen data readiness for a more comprehensive dataset for implementation of
SDGs (Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, n/a).
5.2 Factors Affecting Positive Change
There were several questions that spurred up from analysing the projects from the
case studies:
1. What drives the motivation for students and staff to carry out their sustainable
projects?
2. Does the awareness of students and campus community on sustainability reflects
the overall campus sustainability? Or does the readily available sustainable campus facilities enhance awareness of students and campus community?
3. How does one ensure continuity of the project, and influence others in respective
circles to adopt the same practices?
Pro-environmental behaviours are evident in the co-founders and project leaders,
despite the project being a grassroots movement or a product of an institutional set
up. They recognised that there are several environmental problems that encroach the
world and pose a threat to sustainability, that include climate change, anthropogenic
pollution and biodiversity loss (Steg and Vlek 2009). The direction of environmental education is currently shifting, through reorienting higher education process
(Akiyama et al. 2013). The process shifts the traditional knowledge on environmental education and sustainability towards integrating that curricula to establish a role
that higher institutions can play.
The emergence of not only environmental leadership, but also youth leadership
was observed in all three case studies. The UNMC Bicycle Project was independently
co-founded by students, the K2K USM project hones undergraduate and graduate
students to volunteer and take up research in field, and the SYSD SU team of organisational members fully comprised of university students. This reveals that modern
day sustainability extends beyond sharing existing scientific knowledge, but walking the talk from what was learned within the four walls of a classroom. Akiyama
et al. (2013) argues that Asian universities is relatively slow and distant from global
movements of networking in environmental education and leadership development,
129
paper acts as a medium of localisation of SDGs, and an impactful, local outcome.
For example, the UNMC Bicycle Project relates to SDG11, sustainable cities and
communities, K2K relates to SDG4, quality education and SYSD relates to SDG17,
partnership for the goals.
Leaders in local communities have the responsibility to align SDG framework
and national policies together, making localisation of SDGs a priority. En route to
achieving the 2030 Agenda, implementation of the SDGs at a local scale is critical.
Among the main points moving forward from the VNR include localising SDGs at
sub-national levels via adopting the national multi-stakeholder governance at state
levels, mobilisation of resources through partnerships and knowledge sharing to
strengthen data readiness for a more comprehensive dataset for implementation of
SDGs (Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, n/a).
5.2 Factors Affecting Positive Change
There were several questions that spurred up from analysing the projects from the
case studies:
1. What drives the motivation for students and staff to carry out their sustainable
projects?
2. Does the awareness of students and campus community on sustainability reflects
the overall campus sustainability? Or does the readily available sustainable campus facilities enhance awareness of students and campus community?
3. How does one ensure continuity of the project, and influence others in respective
circles to adopt the same practices?
Pro-environmental behaviours are evident in the co-founders and project leaders,
despite the project being a grassroots movement or a product of an institutional set
up. They recognised that there are several environmental problems that encroach the
world and pose a threat to sustainability, that include climate change, anthropogenic
pollution and biodiversity loss (Steg and Vlek 2009). The direction of environmental education is currently shifting, through reorienting higher education process
(Akiyama et al. 2013). The process shifts the traditional knowledge on environmental education and sustainability towards integrating that curricula to establish a role
that higher institutions can play.
The emergence of not only environmental leadership, but also youth leadership
was observed in all three case studies. The UNMC Bicycle Project was independently
co-founded by students, the K2K USM project hones undergraduate and graduate
students to volunteer and take up research in field, and the SYSD SU team of organisational members fully comprised of university students. This reveals that modern
day sustainability extends beyond sharing existing scientific knowledge, but walking the talk from what was learned within the four walls of a classroom. Akiyama
et al. (2013) argues that Asian universities is relatively slow and distant from global
movements of networking in environmental education and leadership development,