In September 2020, SDSN Youth Canada onboarded 13 new SDG Coordinators across the country to establish and run SDG Hubs on their campuses. These hubs act as central points to ensure students are aware of the SDGs, understand their importance to the wider community, and have opportunities to take action towards their implementation during their studies and after graduation.
Despite the difficult year, the University of Toronto SDG Hub was able to empower youth to act on the SDGs virtually!
With more than 400 student hub members across the country and a total reach of 3,600+ youth in the Canadian network, the hubs organized more than 50 events to explore different dimensions of the SDGs.
Here is a small selection of the initiatives that made this year SDSN Youth Canada's best year yet!
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The McGill University SDG Hub created the institution's first ever SDG Week, to galvanize students to act on the SDGs. The week featured student panels, film screenings, and discussions on clean energy, Indigenous issues, water scarcity, education, and sustainable cities.
- Acadia University's SDG Hub hosted the Careers in Sustainability Conference to expose students to career opportunities in the SDGs. Students were inspired by speakers like Green Party of Canada leader Annamie Paul, and workshops like ECO Canada's on breaking into sustainability with a non-environmental degree.
- The University of Toronto SDG Hub hosted the Connector Conference, featuring a diverse set of speakers focused on gender equity, economic development, sustainable cities, and research.
- Seneca College’s SDG Hub has hosted a number of prominent events for their 170 members such as the Reading Week Webinar, which taught the importance of the SDGs through design jams and seminars.
- The University of Waterloo SDG Hub partnered with student organization Global Spark to host the SDG Impact Challenge, a global designathon galvanizing students to tackle SDG-related issues in partnership with local sustainability-oriented organizations.
- The University of British Columbia SDG Hub collaborated with the McGill, Waterloo, and Manitoba hubs to run the 2030: Dream or Reality? networking event, to discuss the feasibility of the SDGs in a post-Covid world.
- The York University SDG Hub, with the support of the University’s Sustainability Office, hosted the SDG Design Jam to engage students on their perspectives of SDG progress on campus.
In addition to their on-campus action, the SDG Coordinators are currently collaborating with each other on a national youth climate action campaign calling on provincial governments across Canada to declare states of climate emergency. Stay tuned for an official announcement of the new initiative as it is preparing for a soft launch.
If you are interested in taking SDG action on your campus, connect with your SDG Hub or email canada@sdsnyouth.org to start one. Additional resources like ReImagine 17’s SDG Alliance Toolkit are available with step-by-step insight to getting started.