Photo credit: Hannah Yoon
By Lily Roth, Communications & Social Media Coordinator, Faculty of Environment
She didn't think she'd be selected, but in a sea of 10,000 applicants, Beth Eden stood out. Chosen for her entrepreneurial attitude and business experience, the Environment and Business student will be one of the 360 young adults from around the world working to turn the Sustainable Development Goals into action.
Eden is part of Merit 360, a global youth program organized by World Merit, an international charity dedicated to getting people involved in on a global scale. Merit 360 looks to harness the power and passion of young adults to develop action plans for the SDGs.
As part of the World Merit program, Eden will be working as part of a ten-person team with students from the United States, Pakistan, Australia, Ethiopia, South Africa, the UK, and Morocco. Eden and her teammates are still in the first stages of the timeline set out by World Merit, researching Goal 13: Climate Action and learning about each other’s cultures.
The highlight of the program is a 12-day trip to the UK where Eden and her teammates will meet in person for the first time. They will visit several UK historic sites, have a Harry Potter like dinner, and an outdoor conference and concert. In addition, participants will develop their marketing and public speaking skills, while also networking like crazy, all in preparation to pitch their action plan to senior officials.
Environmentally conscious from a young age, this won't be Eden's first experience working with a team to solve a global problem. Before coming to Waterloo, she entered the Solutions for the Planet competition in the UK, where she and her team tackled the global issue of mental health education for students. They developed a business plan that earned them the Outstanding Social Enterprise award and the chance to present their idea to the House of Parliament. And for her part, Eden was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
That same combination of drive and values inspired her to apply to the Environment and Business program at the University of Waterloo. “I'd always been looking for a faculty that represents my beliefs,” she said, adding that one course in particular, Introduction to International Development, inspired her to get even more involved at an international level. She is now considering ways integrate international development into her degree, either by doing a minor or working abroad. “It enabled me to see the bigger picture and pushed me to pursue the SDGs.”
In the coming weeks, Eden and her global cadre of teammates will be developing an Action Plan to achieve and implement one of the climate action targets. She says she's amazed to be given an opportunity to have such an impact on the SDGs and their implementation. And while the team hasn't yet decided on their target, Eden says she would love to tackle a target that hits close to home: education. Because as her own involvement can testify: “The more people know, the more they act.”