Overview

Making universities work for the UN Sustainable Development Goals

WASD 19th International Annual Conference and 5th Diaspora International Conference
co-organized and hosted by Queen Mary University of London, UK
London, Online, 3-5 December 2021

WASD is very pleased to invite you to its 19th International Annual Conference and 10th Diaspora Annual Conference aiming to bring together academics, universities and research institutions from across the world to collaborate and reconnect with the discourse of Sustainable Development (SD). We were hoping the conference will take place in London Face to Face at Queen Mary University of London following all the health and legal guidelines by the UK government but WASD is making all necessary preparations for running the conference online as the global pandemic lockdown continues across the world. As a result of the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, for the first time since its inception WASD Conference were organised successfully in 2020 remotely via video conference technologies. In doing so, WASD will use the latest technology in video conferencing from London with participants from all-over the world connecting from homes.

Diaspora

The collaboration between the Diaspora and those working within the country of origin offers several opportunities and contributes to increase productivity towards sustainable and inclusive knowledge-based growth. Building constructive relationships between the Diasporas and countries of origin require that Diasporas be treated not as a mere resource, but as partners and investors with mutual benefits.

It has long been argued that Diasporas will be most interested in contributing to SD efforts when they have a sense of belonging in relation to their country of origin. Therefore, it is very important to establish trust between Diasporas and governments in the country of origin. In doing so, governments need to invest in identifying their Diasporas abroad and in understanding their skills and interests.

Many sustainability problems can only be tackled by connecting the diaspora with those working within the country of origin, for example combating the results of climate change, diseases such as malaria, reservation of natural resources, fighting land degradation or limiting the loss of biodiversity and many other problems. Moreover, knowledge or evidence-based policymaking is indispensable if gaps in living standards are to be narrowed. Therefore, building capacity in country of origin is necessary for competing in the global arena and there it is critical to turn the diaspora into a positive tool for SD as well as serving as role models for the youth in the country of origin.

Sustainable Development Goals

Location

London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom

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Country/Regions

Team

The conference is organised by several committees from WASD and under close supervision of WASD Advisory Board.

WASD Team

Prof. Allam Ahmed: Co-Chair and President WASD
Janet Snow: International Coordinator and Editor
N. Joseph Navinraj: Publishing
Mervyn Clingan: Video Production

Participants

WASD conferences bring together researchers, policy makers, educators, consultants and employers from around the world to exchange knowledge and experience and discuss recent developments and current challenges in both theory and practice. Here is a list of distinguished speakers and panellists who have participated at WASD conferences in the past.

Languges

English

Related Conferences

Past
Annual

Social Networks

Contact Us

To register/enquire about this conference and all our other conferences and events, please contact us (admin@wasd.org.uk) and if you have any question and/or if you would like to submit any proposal for a conference/event not listed in our portfolio please contact our International Coordinator - Janet Snow at: janet.snow@wasd.org.uk.

Objectives

The conference objective is to introduce a variety of fundamental perspectives on the role of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) (universities, colleges and research institutes) to help re-building the global economy and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SD).

Participants are invited to address the following key issues in their contribution:

how do you see the role of HEI in service of the 2030 Agenda and supporting and enhancing the process of economic and social development in their countries;
do you believe that the HEI are properly using scientific research in finding solutions to global problems such as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic?
identify all major obstacles that HEI face in their countries including any governments components and most
importantly how can these obstacles best be overcome;
what is the new role(s) of HEI in the post Covid-19 era; and
how do you reflect the SDGs in your own research activities?.

Women

Women across the world have an untapped potential as a primary mover of greater development within their countries and regions. Their role is very crucial for increased development, but challenges remain. And so, significant reforms in economic, social, and political institutions must be made to create an enabling environment for women participation and empowerment. However, it appears that investments in human development are not readily translated to better economic and political outcomes for women. Unfortunately, women’s potential and crucial role in development across the world is still impeded by these economic and social factors. Women’s participation is also very important in advancing peace, unity and combating terrorism, which is a most serious threat to SD across all regions of the world. It has also been recognized that women have been largely excluded from the processes of conflict management and prevention and that their role is important in the achievement of lasting peace and security (UN, 2015).

Theme

The conference will critically address the question of how HEI can help countries achieve the 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda and to provoke forward thinking on developing new methods and approaches to suit the challenges and opportunities of this new era of digital revolution. These new approaches call for actions to create different appropriate ways of doing things and of doing new things that will be essential to solve our future problems and help in the implementation of the 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda. Systematic search for opportunities is important for helping to ameliorate the many problems facing countries. We must therefore produce, consume and organise ourselves differently.

It is now clearly recognised that innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as being a central driver of economic growth, are also recognised as very important tools to help achieve SD. The conference is therefore aims to discuss and explore various approaches and different ways by HEI which can contribute to enhance and support entrepreneurship eco-system across the world and more specifically in the Developing Countries (DCs). Moreover, the conference aims to explore and critically analyse the current debates around the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in achieving SD. Explore more details about the conference theme here.

Youth

WASD is very keen to encourage the engagement of children and youth from across the world in the conference. We are keen to make the voice of all our children and youth heard and consequently enabling the decision makers to consider those views and ideas in their big decisions. The entire concept of SD is about the future and the future is all about the children and youth! Youth population is growing rapidly in all regions of the world and we are very keen to understand the children and youth perspectives and expectations for their future to help them be ready to grasp the various opportunities generated in the digital economy. We strongly believe our children and youth should be the cornerstone of any strategy by all governments and policy makers. We must listen to our children and youth and more importantly how we can help our youth with their future employment plans and aspirations. Youth from all-over the world are encouraged to participate in the conference and present their research, perspectives and initiatives.

Publications

The theme of the Outlook 2021 is to strengthening the role of science, innovation and research uptake in service of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SD).

The volume will therefore critically examine the important role of science, innovation and research for the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda and to provoke forward thinking on the role of science, innovation and research in solving global problems related to sustainability.

Editor: Professor Allam Ahmed
ISBN:
Year: 2021
Pages: