SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DAY 2021

Supported by the "Social Responsibility of Science" programme of the Ministry of Education and Science

The premise of the Sustainable Development Day at the University of Gdansk is to promote, support the idea and realisation of sustainable development goals by initiating projects that promote the application of sustainable development principles in all areas of life and economic activity. The activity has a pan-European scope and its aim is to include the UG in the European network of activities for the promotion of sustainable development within the framework of the European Sustainability Week, which has been organised for 5 years. Over the course of the project, we envisage 2 events to be organised on 15 October 2021 and 2 June 2022. We propose as a theme:

1. A drop of H₂O = life on the Planet?

2. Have we matured into a sustainable consumption model?

In line with the theme, students and study circles under the supervision of a member of staff at the university will design and organise workshops for young people and students and establish cooperation with the economic environment. Examples of initiatives include: workshops on 'How much does water cost? How to price it on the basis of the Big Mac Index? or 'Vanishing species, vanishing skills', which will provide an opportunity for the youngest and oldest to work together on how to sew on a button, how to plan a weekly menu and shopping list, what a healthy lifestyle means, what to take for lunch, the preparation of cosmetics based on natural ingredients, proper waste segregation, etc. The project activities are a way of raising environmental awareness and shaping attitudes among students, staff and the university environment. It is also an action towards the realisation of the university's social responsibility through dialogue with stakeholders and taking joint action focused on promoting the idea of sustainable development, in particular the Sustainable Development Goals.

Sustainable Development Day at the University of Gdansk

The main aim of the event is to include the University of Gdansk in the European network of activities to promote sustainable development, as part of the European Sustainable Development Week (ESDW), which has been organised for five years. This is a Europe-wide initiative to promote and support the idea of sustainable development. The premise of this project is to initiate activities that promote the application of sustainable development principles in all areas of life and economic activity. The initiative is implemented by organising projects/events promoting the principles of sustainable development during the week between 30.05 and 5.06.  A strong link to Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is evident in the proposed initiatives, which have been implemented under ESDW since 2015. The number of registered events is increasing each year.  The largest number of events was registered in 2019, i.e. more than 6,700 initiatives in some 30 European countries. Among these events was also the Sustainable Development Day at the University of Gdansk.  In 2021, due to the pandemic emergency, the events will take place in October.

The main objective of this task in the project 'Science Clubs at the University of Gdansk - Known and unknown faces of science' is to educate, explain and show the benefits of pro-ecological behaviour and an ecological lifestyle. Science Clubs, the student government and student groups will propose initiatives to promote actions for sustainable development, and then, under the supervision of research and teaching staff, proceed to organise and implement them. As part of their discussions on sustainability, the students themselves will decide which tasks, to whom they will be addressed and in what form they will be implemented. One of the objectives here is to enhance the soft skills and scientific development of the participating students. The theme of the two events organised as part of the project in 2021-2022 will be:

1. A drop of H₂O = life on the Planet?
2. The sustainable consumption model

Task objective: To raise environmental awareness and shape pro-environmental attitudes among students, employees and the university's environment, as well as to realise the university's social responsibility through dialogue with stakeholders and undertaking joint activities focused on promoting the idea of sustainable development. Such activities also allow for the creation and development of relations between the university and the environment

The project is aimed at a wide audience: primary and secondary school pupils, students, university staff, businesses and the local community. A number of partners from the university's external environment related to the implementation of sustainable development are invited to join the project.

Find out more about the Sustainable Development Goals: http://www.un.org.pl/

Detailed information on projects organised in Europe can be found at https://www.esdw.eu/