Bern sdg' (1)

Bern 2/2/17 I think I will reflect in 20 years time, Mr Smith, that this was the dayI discovered how the world will change and how I could make a contribution Student

blue sky thinking

welcome

What’s the most fundamental resource we can give young people to prepare for their future? That would be education, of course.

Burning2Learn aims to support and prepare young people for their future. By allowing them to attend high profile events and take the roll of a media team.

Harnessing their energy, encouraging their curiosity and equipping them with the skills, and insights that are going to be essential in tomorrow’s workplace.

let’s make global goals, local business Global Compact Network

We headed to the local Swiss networkof the UN Global Compact Switzerland, our young reporters having been selected from the Ecolint International School of Geneva. .

7 am on a cold and windy morning we met up with 3 students and their teacher, from the Ecolint International School.

On entering the venue we saw some 200 people. This included CEO’s from businesses, top Academics leaders, not to mention government officals. They were there to learn and take the latest thinking back into their world of work.

As we took our seats it suddenly became apparent that we were surrounded by a Geneva team that had an energy and willingness to support Switzerlands transition into the 21st century.

let’s work together Reporter Martha Woods

I was very excited and honoured to be invited to attend this event in Bern, along with leading businesses and government representatives. It is so encouraging to see that school students are being focused on and involved in this kind of work.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) are about transforming our world, and whilst changes made in this generation are important, I believe it is imperative that to achieve these goals, my generation should be exposed to and influenced by these discussions.

Sometimes, I do feel that young people can be overlooked, but it was great to see the general interest and enthusiasm from the other participants when we talked to them.

I am grateful for this experience and hope that there will be more similar opportunities for others like myself to be involved in.

teamwork is key Reporter Kiara Sarronwala

The Global Compact conference was being held in the Swiss Post Office in Bern, over two hundred businessmen and women attended. The conference was all about implementing SGD’s into businesses, and the speeches ranged from implementing them, to the benefits that they pose for our future. The talks tended to be quite technical, however all were very interesting and fitted well with the theme of “Let’s make Global Goals local business”.

Antonio Hautle Network Representative for Global Compact Network Geneva, opened the conference by explaining the importance of private and public sectors collaborating together, as the responsibility for the sustainable future rests with both aspects. His main message from the speech was that today marked an important day of the dialogue to implement the SDGs by 2030 in the corporate world.

new teachers for the day

Reporter Kiara Sarronwala

Katrin Muff, thought leader at the Business School of Lausanne, stressed that a sustainable economy built on the ideals of the SDG’s is the only option for our future.

The aim of her speech was to convince others of the need to construct a prototype for a tool that would allow integration of the SDGs in businesses, as a means of translating the SDG’s for local businesses relevance.

Ole Lund Hansen, Head of Local Networks at UN Global Compact, stated similar desires in his talk, stating that bringing businesses on board was a key factor in ensuring we achieve the SDGs. Firstly, enterprises would need to cease being part of the problem if they wish to be part of the solution.

Alex Kunze (Senior CSR advisor and State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO) and Remy Friedman (Human Security Division at FDFA) both highlighted that as a factor of the SDG’s, the protection of human rights in an economic context must be improved through a national plan of action.

Victorinox’s Robert Heinzer explained that innovation, motivation and vision are the three components of the company, and CSR as well as the SDGs are factors of the success. The basis of the corporate responsibility of generating and maintaining jobs is absolutely crucial.

These are just some of the impressive talks we heard that morning.

Though they all tackled the SDGs and their relationship to the business world in different ways, they all shared key points. Notably, everyone was in agreement that this conference really was Stage 1, and beginning the discussion was a vital part of developing a course of action.

switzerland a lighthouse for the world The way forward, needs bravery, the austerity plan has not worked and the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will stimulate more unemployment. Governments around the world are searching for the magic bullet. The bad news is there is no magic bullet we need to collaborate to climb this mountain.

The SDG’s can become the framework that we all need.

Due to our 20th century models, which allows silo thinking, it has led to our systemic thinkers slipping through the net. Many schools and businesses overlook those skills. We can tackle the 17 areas/problems the UN have identified as the SDG’s, as long as we don’t deal with them in isolation. Not until true collaboration with systemic thinkers are engaged in all parts of our societies, can the world move forward.

Switzerland is looked upon to be neutral, can this event be the lighting of a lighthouse for the world so that they can recognise the dangers and make other countries aware?

No formal training for this 11 year old that places a cinema and supermarket underground and trains in the air.

Maia Age 11 Ecole de Nyon-Rocher, Nyon, Switzerland

SDG’s helping to join the dots

Student Voice Young reporters under 20 years

of age share their insights with you.

Martha Woods Kiara Sarronwala and Egor Kamenschchik from the Ecolint International School of Geneva formed the Burning2learn media team at this event. for more info contact schools@burning2learn.co.uk www.burning2learn.co.uk

stepping into the unknown Arriving on the platform in Bern, I certainly felt apprehensive about the whole surreal experience.

Perhaps it was the fact that I had woken up at 5:30 that morning, or the idea that instead of being in my English class, I was at a train station in a different part of the country. It might have been the gnawing feeling that my Extended Essay proposal was due the next day, or the growing hunger I felt, but I just did not feel present. It was as if my mind was still 130 kilometres back in Geneva.

“Are you nervous?” asked one of the men we were traveling with to the conference.

‘Should we be?’ was our first instinct. For none of us (Martha, Egor and I) had any idea what to expect. We boarded the train to Bern from Geneva station at 7:30 am, everyone in the group were severely sleep and caffeine deprived. On the way, we had a chance to speak to multiple people traveling with us, all of them able to offer different insights and perspectives on the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the current business landscape. The majority illustrated some key problems in industries, and how corporate greed and money is the driving force behind most businesses- a motive which will hopefully be replaced over time. Aided by the stunning scenery framed by the train windows, the team collectively felt that we were being transported to another world, where leaders and innovators would soon be sharing their views on sustainability and looking forward.

workshops

When invited by Antonio Hautle to attend the workshops we chose to pair up and for that reason alone we have only 2 sessions covered

partnering for success My favourite part of the day was attending the workshop ‘Partnering for success – Private sector & NGO collaborating to promote young women’s economic empowerment’. The speakers talked about the work of Plan International in collaboration with XL Catlin on a mentoring program, and a Global Education Initiative with Credit Suisse. As the two youngest women at the workshop itself, I felt it was important for us to attend and I felt a responsibility to represent the women that these programs are targeted for. The core values they were promoting were our collective responsibility to society and corporate citizenship through international and local engagement, to share values and make a positive impact on other’s lives.

I agree with Matha, this workshop was the best part of the conference. It was highly relevant to me as a young woman, to see 3 incredible business women representing different companies to speak about the logic behind implementing the SDGs in business and furthering gender equality. It was brilliant to learn about the current projects that bring this initiative to different parts of the world, and the impacts that could be had with Goal 5 being reached.

2030 Roadmap In the afternoon, I joined our teacher Mr Smith at the mind-bending presentation 2030 Roadmap by a team led by Professor Peter Head CBE. I learned about the potential of blockchain and how we could radically reinterpret the organisation of the world to host regional and democratic structures to reward social engagement and cohesion for the benefit of shared humanity. I found this to be truly inspiring and genuinely believe it to be both realistic and compelling. www.resilience.io We learnt how municipal and city governments, citizens, civil society, the private sector and faith communities could work in partnership with the support of Nation States, at the required speed and effectiveness, to mobilise trillions of dollars and expertise to deliver sustainable development objectives in urban areas and build the New Urban Agenda.

But large global gaps remain. As the UN report points out, only one-third of the population in developing regions use the internet, compared to 82% in the developed world. Fighting inequality worldwide will require more focus, and needs to be a key element of the school curriculum as the World`s Largest Lesson is showing. “1% og the world’s top people are set to hold more than half of the global wealth by 2016”. When UN member states meet to set those sustainable development goals for the next decades, politics and ideology will need to find consensus on the notion of eliminating poverty, but it is much harder to jointly define inequality and how to reduce it.

Add to that the fact that global employment is not keeping up with demographic trends, that the world economy has entered a period of slower growth, and the situation becomes even more seemingly impossible – everything of course is, until it is done wrote Nelson Mandela.

Our conference shared some of the good news which made me optimistic eg the fact that the proportion of the urban population living in slums in the developing world has fallen from 40% to 29% between 2000 and 2014. Behind the statistics, there are lives changed and hopes created.

Of course, more must be achieved. Big statements are all well and good. But they must be followed by action.

Egor Kamenschchik, Year 12 student

SDGs in the curiculum

We are looking for a young Burning2Learn media teams to attand this event Contact us at schools@burning2learn.co.uk www.burning2learn.co.uk

looking for solutions Of the many impressive talks we heard that morning, though they all tackled the SDGs and their relationship to the business world in different ways, they all shared key points. Notably, everyone was in agreement that this conference really was Stage 1, and beginning the discussion was a vital part of developing a course of action. Moreover, most speakers believed that ‘outside-in’ perspectives were key, and corporations must find ways to contribute in a beneficiary manner through seeking opportunity instead of just reducing their harmful aspects.

During lunch I was able to have a proper look at the networking world. Over plates of sustainable food provided by the Swiss Post buffet, representatives were able to communicate with each other, either talking about their own work or discussing the talks.

It was a fantastic experience to be admid all the chatter and the exchange of cards, as it gave me my first insight into the business world, and specifically, how contacts are formed and connections are made.

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Students voices we asked our reporters to talk to their peers

The global goals for sustainable development are 17 initiatives that aim to reconstruct the world by 2030.

These are a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals that initiated in 2001 and will conclude at the end of this year. These global goals were carefully crafted by professionals in their fields. Government officials will be consulting these whilst making political decisions during the next 15 years. These initiatives cover and offer goals for problems we, as a society, face today. These points of concern include poverty, the availability of education, gender inequality, climate change and many more. This large spectrum of issues are of monumental importance, and must be resolved in order for humanity to advance.

The importance of this agenda is not recognized, whether it is because of inefficient publicity or simply because of deliberate ignorance.

The publics perspective on this must be transformed and it must be ensured that they are informed about the importance of such a large-scale matter. We must all come to the realization that the issues at question affect every single one of us and that they can only be resolved by cooperation and coordination at local, national and international levels. Currently, the global goals do not form a part of the educational system although these affairs play a significant role in certain subjects such as geography or economics. Students are not taught about the initiative that aims to help them and the people around them. Although not intentionally, they are oblivious and inattentive to these goals. This is indeed problematic, as education in this field will enable a global network of students to discuss these problems and possibly find local solutions to them.

As once said by Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only things that ever has.” The goal that is of particular interest to me is Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. The targets of this goal include the following three and various others: ● By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective

learning outcomes. ● Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all. ● By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.

The primary cause of this lack of education and gender disparity, is poverty and cultural beliefs. Many parents are unable to afford education for their children and in certain cultures men are still more valued than women, which results in priority given to boys.

Anything concerning culture, is a sensitive topic because all cultures must be taken into account and respected equally. Altering people’s mindset and perception on their lifelong traditions and beliefs is delicate and complicated.

The root of this problem is acceptance, people must learn to accept these communities and provide for their needs, as they would do for anyone else.

Until people are able to fully comprehend this and act upon it, this problem will never be resolved. Ensuring that all learners are educated on matters such as SDG’s can only be completed when free education has been offered for everyone in need.

The education system is very structured, with certain things students must know to obtain their high school diploma. However, knowledge on matters such as sustainable development do not form part of the knowledge required by students and this is why (in my opinion) the education system is somewhat flawed. It is absolutely vital for this to change because as once said by Albert Einstein, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in schools.”

Teaching students about sustainable development, gender inequality, poverty and other global issues is crucial because although they might not be suffering from these, others are. We must open the minds of children to the situations happening in the world they live in, and urge them to make a change.

Megan Foo Year 12 Economics

Are we listening to our young people?

Students voices How are the global goals relevant to education?

Global goals are a very effective method of connecting different cultures and worlds, for example, young people in schools, adults in jobs, and elderly people. In our globalised world, we have already proved that working together and trading has resulted in the growth of many countries and because of the economic problem; our resources becoming scarcer, it is important that we work together and use our resources as effectively as possible. Therefore, we have to teach younger people that we have to focus not on private benefit but on the social benefit. However, doing this is difficult because we have to make this accessible to students and our personal benefit will always be more tempting so we have to find a way to merge the two; making sure we contribute to society but at the same time benefit ourselves.

Another way to integrate the global goals would be to create exams for this (integrate into GCSE course, for example) and make sure that this is a core aspect of the course like TOK in the International Baccalaureate. This will provide a large incentive to teachers and students as well to educate themselves about this crucial topic.

Furthermore, in economics, it would be particularly effective to tie in the global goals with a course, especially about sustainability, because a lot of the goals have to do with the economic problem. We cannot simply just keep using up resources which are finite. A lot of subjects, like the experimental sciences, could link through experiments and innovation and the need for help in the world.

It is important that we address the younger population in schools because these children are ready to accept new ideas whereas the adults might not necessarily appreciate the need to change our consumption and behaviour in the world. Especially with the constant rise of knowledge and technology, the future generations will be able to do much more than perhaps we can.

Florian Goette Year 12 Economics IB

For the goals to be reached everyone needs to do their part: governments, the private sector, civil society and people like you.”

These goals are the most ambitious goals I’ve ever seen. Ending extreme poverty? Fighting inequality and justice? Fix climate change? Eradicating hunger? It’s a tall order. But as Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, Mr. Michael Møller, has declared, we have the means, the capability, the human capital, and the money to do it.

I strongly believe in every single one of these goals. If we are to continue to live on this earth, we need to step up and shape up, for the world is slipping from us. People tell me that change starts with yourself. It seems impossible for the average person to be able to make an impact to the vast sphere that is Earth, but we can try right? As a student, my life revolves around school, and it is reasonable that change should start there. How can we implement the UN goals, which concern everybody no matter their age, religion, background or culture, in the classroom?

I would start small, by making sure that all school supplies are coming from sustainable, local businesses/ companies, supporting goal 12. Textbooks should not be bought, they should be reused each year, and have periodic updates as textbooks are refined, or there are new findings or theories. By buying textbooks, we create waste that is unnecessary, as we only use a 600 page math textbook for a maximum of two years. Using paper is traditional in schools, as the most effective means of studying and testing.

Article 7 states affordable and clean energy for all, and to apply that in schools, I would advocate for more solar panels on the roofs of buildings. What I’d really like to see is the combining of Physical Education and clean energy. What I envision is riding stationary bikes in school gyms, that actually power light bulbs or small electrical outputs. That way, students are exercising while simultaneously benefiting the school at no cost.

For sustainable goal 15, protecting, restoring, and promoting life on land, to help sustainably manage forests, students can be directed to use the search engine “Ecoasia,” a engine which plants trees as you search the web. By using Ecoasia at no cost, students are positively impacting the environment with something as simple as a click. Learn more at: https://info.ecosia.org/what Isabella Montecalvo Year 12 Economics student

For the SDG’s to be reached, everyone needs to do For

Since we live in a world of technology and omnipresent change it is important to include SDG’s and raise awareness of how these will be achieved. One way would be by taking advantage of the media, perhaps through celebrities that are considered idols to a younger audience. The british actress Emma Watson is featured in a video relating to the issue of gender equality. Indeed it is astounding that in 2017 women and men still do not have equal rights in some parts of the world. On the other hand the twenty-first century has provided valuable communication means that are vital to today’s society. Iphones, computers, tablets and even interactive watches offer the opportunity to connect with more or less any part of the world thereby giving even young adults and children the chance to have their voices heard.

Additionally anyone can inform themselves on wishful goals and contribute one person at a time to create an overall impact. These goals also reflect imminent problems such as global warming, it is therefore crucial that the younger generation gets involved consequently because the children of today will be the leaders of tomorrow. Naturally there are always more or different methods that can be adopted in order to make the objectives clear to everyone. ie. such publicity through TV, youtube, physical billboards and signs or have speakers that perhaps work in the concerned sector come speak to educational establishments. Nevertheless, these means should be updated continuously in order to make sure that everyone is aware of them at all times.

Aurelia Alder Year 12 Economics student Education is one of the most effective ways for changing the world. Implementing the SDG’s into the education programmes around the world would be a big step towards the success of the new Sustainable Development Goals. Different SDG’s ideas could be implemented into different subject curriculum but in the case of our school, it would require the IB board to take action as they create the course syllabuses.

The global goal I care about the most is “quality education” and I think that many school children in developed countries don’t realize how lucky they are. I think that it would be very effective to implement this global goal, as well as others goals, in school programmes to show more fortunate children the importance and the lack of quality equitable education around the world. Promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all is part of the global goal description and one of the best places to do this would be in our schools.

Oliver Beck Year 12 Economics student

Integrating the SDG’s into education is a task that will take great effort on a global scale. I feel that teaching children about gender equality, reduced inequalities and good health at an early age will drill it into their minds.

A child’s upbringing can cause them to think in different ways and can lead to “unequal” thoughts which is not what we want for a global society. As children get into later years of education, I feel they should be taught about more complicated issues such as sustainability. At a younger age as I said before I feel that they should be educated about equality as if these values are taught to them early on the whole generation will feel this way.

Teaching children about different views when they are older can be difficult, bringing them up with these values surrounding them is easier. This way the generation will pass on the message to their children and so on so on.

In terms of higher education, when students are over the age of 16, I feel that the curriculum should force every student to organize an event/fundraiser which corresponds to one of the 17 global goals. For example for “clean water and sanitation” they could organize presentations to classes in younger years stating the importance that everyone in the world has access to clean water. They could raise funds and these funds could be used to build a well in a LEDC community which would benefit hundreds of people. Every relatively small contribution of time makes a global difference.

Rohan Jain Year 12 Economics Student Global Goals are the 17 objectives agreed upon by 193 countries. These goals aim to provide development whilst making it sustainable for the future generations. The goals can be incorporated to school syllabuses in subjects, such as History or Geography, or general learning in lower education levels.

Children in elementary school can be educated on the importance of clean water, equality of genders, value of food, and the less privileged (poverty). Kids who learn from a young age about the importance of things which they have and may take for granted.

Children in middle school can be educated healthy lifestyles, education quality, gender equality, clean energy, responsible consumption, and climate action. These are all capable of being incorporated into various subject.

For example, healthy habits can be covered in science classes and language courses.

I grew up moving around a lot, going to different schools, different countries. All the schools usually taught kids to not waste food, water, electricity, to be nice to everyone, help those who are less privileged than us.

Mikhail Durrani Year 12 Economics student

a big thank you to all of you from our media team

how can we bridge the gap between us all ? schools@burning2learn.co.uk

The remainder of the conference consisted of a panel of many different corporate leaders and closing remarks.

The day of idea sharing and innovation had come to an end, and it was time for us to transport back to Geneva.

We left Bern at around 18:45, when we boarded a train that would take us back to Coppet station, miles away from the SDGs, the prototypes and the partnerships. It was a whirl-wind of a day, and one that feels so vivid yet so foggy in my memory. The experience of forgoing school for one day to travel to a different part of the country where my classmates were replaced with adults in suits, and my curriculum consisted of the pressing nature of the Sustainable Development Goals was surreal to say the least. I am so grateful to have had that opportunity (and to Mr. Smith for presenting it to me), and I feel honoured to have been present when the dialogue started.

Kiara Sarronwala Year 12 attendee The panels allowed for questions from the audience, and I was pleased that one of my fellow students was able to ask theirs. Since this event was a ‘dialogue’ I feel that it was really important to include this time where there could be some discussion between the presenting businesses and others to address issues they had, and share solutions. Collaboration is an essential element to making the Sustainable Development Goals a reality.

Martha Woods Year 12 attendee

Over the last year, I have been given opportunities with my peers at The International School of Geneva to lead social enterprise initiatives such as MicroTyco with the UK based socent Wildhearts. The desire to do this was born out of a Year 11 project called Classroom to Boardroom which we did with Global Fund on the worldwide RED initiative – we had to work on a challenge for three days before presenting to their executive board on the applications of social media for marketing. This reciprocal win-win experience opened my mind to the importance of the SDGs and the power of our peers entrepreneurial spirit to make a difference and solve problems collaboratively.

This seemed to be very aligned to the talk given by Professor Katrin Muff from the Business School Lausanne. I would love to visit the BSL and share thinking on leadership, responsibility and sustainability.

As a group of students we enjoyed networking – a very difficult art, that began when we were faced with twenty total strangers from the UN Compact on our train journey to Geneva. I was inspired to meet incredible engineers, thinkers and social scientists all willing to listen to us and share ideas…mainly to change, or certainly re-calibrate, the world.

The lunchtime networking was brilliant and I secured contacts and cards.

Egor Kamenschchik, Year 12 attendee

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