Summer Program for
Eco Ambassadors
Welcome to My Age for Sustainable Development for COP28!
Summer Program Syllabus
Welcome to My Age for Sustainable Development online course!
We are thrilled you are here because your access to this course signals your interest in furthering your knowledge, commitment and connection to sustainability and the broader education for sustainable development (ESD) as well as global citizenship.
Course Description
This summer course is a journey that will help you to reflect internally on your Sustainable Development path. You will be able to learn about various aspects of Sustainable Development and will become a critical consumer of facts related to sustainability. You will be empowered to use the knowledge and the skills that you gain through this program to observe your community through a Sustainable Development lens. You will be able to situate the Sustainable Development Goals to your context to narrate your Sustainable Development story. So, are you ready to be a Change Agent?
Required Resources
This summer program will be held virtually. Access to a device and internet connectivity will be required. Google Classroom and ArcGIS license (issued by the program) will be used.
Course Objectives
Through this course, you’ll be able to build content knowledge, technical skills as well as broader soft skills. We have built the course so that you can have exposure to a more holistic take on learning about sustainable development:
Technical Skills: geospatial data and tools
Content knowledge: sustainable development framework and global issues
Soft Skills: communication, self awareness, empowerment for community building, leadership and global citizenship
Course Duration & Structure
Week of 19th June 2023 – week of 21st August. Every Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:00am - 12:00pm EST.
10 week program
8 weeks of workshops (twice a week)
2 weeks of project completion
Coursework
Week 1: Welcome to My Age of Sustainable Development (June 20/22)
SDG theme(s)
Course Overview
Global citizenship, & awareness-building of self and others
Data/Tech Theme(s)
Data for Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) and Introduction to Story Maps
Food for thought questions:
What is your operational definition of “Global Citizenship”? Would you consider yourself a Global Citizen? What qualities does a Global Citizen have? What does one aspire to? Are there qualities you want to strengthen?
Guest Lecture(s)
Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs opening remarks on youth leadership, climate action, ethics, moral, human rights, and the kindness perspective
Philipp Harnik, Executive Assistant and Organizational Associate, Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens
Kinvara Jardine Paterson, Director, World's Largest Lesson at Project Everyone
Esri StoryMap Team
SDGs Today: need for data-driven narratives
Week 2: Overview of Age of Sustainable Development & Global Citizenship(June 27/29)
SDG theme(s)
Overview of Sustainable Development (SD) & Global Citizenship
Storytelling for Climate Education
Data and Tech Theme(s)
Data Visualization: maps and dashboards
Food-for-thought questions:
Why is climate storytelling important to you? What skills do you already have and what would you like to develop further this summer?
Guest Lecture(s)
Nick Kleese, Director of Community Engagement, Center for Climate Literacy University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Dina Buchbinder, Founder and President, Education 4 Sharing
SDGs Today: ArcGIS Online
CIESIN
Week 3: Community Mapping, Promoting Equity & Social Inclusion (July 6)
SDG Theme(s)
Community Mapping
Promoting Equity & Social Inclusion
Data/Tech Theme(s)
What is the OpenStreetMap?
Food-for-thought questions:
Human rights philosophy insists every human has Political, Civil, Economic, Social, Cultural rights - which right is a weakness you see in your most immediate community? Are there efforts to improve the current situation? (modification of Age of SD)
Guest Lecturer(s)
H.O.T
SDGs Today: demo of My School Today as use case
Week 4: Planetary Boundaries (July 11/13)
SDG Theme(s)
Planetary Boundaries
Climate Change
Data/Tech Theme(s)
Climate action with facts
Food for thought questions:
Of the 9 planetary boundaries, which are the top concerns in your community/neighborhood/district/country?
Guest Lecturer(s):
Dorothy Marie Peteet, Senior Research Scientist at NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies & Adjunct Professor, Columbia University
Global Fishing Watch
Week 5: Biodiversity, Sustainable Agriculture & Food Security (July 18/20)
SDG Theme(s)
Biodiversity
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security
Data/Tech Theme(s)
Biodiversity initiatives and applications for SDG 2
Food for Thought Question(s)
What are the problems with the current agricultural practices around the world? How and why do we need to take responsibility for our personal health and the way we approach food as individuals?
Guest Lecturer(s)
Joaquim Goes, Lamont Research Professor at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University
Youth Leadership Council at EarthEcho International
SDGs Today: overview of relevant datasets Deforestation, Conservation, Tropics Imagery
Week 6: Sustainable Infrastructure & Resilient Cities (July 25/27)
SDG Theme(s)
Sustainable Infrastructure & Sustainable and Resilient Cities (SDG 11)
Data/Tech Theme(s)
Earth Observation for the SDGs: How satellite imagery can be used to monitor progress
Food for Thought Question(s)
What criteria can we use to say whether a city is sustainable? What kinds of ecological shocks must cities prepare for? How can cities prepare for ecological shocks?
Guest Lecturer(s)
Jacqueline Klopp, Co-Director Center for Sustainable Urban Development, Earth Institute, Columbia University
Week 7: Climate Mitigation & Adaptation (August 1st/3rd)
SDG Theme(s)
Climate Mitigation & Adaptation
Data/Tech Theme(s)
AI for Disaster prevention and management
Food for Thought Question(s)
Why is it necessary to pursue both mitigation and adaptation?
Guest Lecturer(s)
Jeff Schegelmilch, Director, National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School
Virginia Pittaro, Director or Global Partnerships, SIMA Academy
SDGs Today, Factivism, Data-driven narratives
Claudia Akel, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, SDG Investors / SDGtalks.ai
Week 8: World Happiness, Conscious Consumerism & Waste Management(August 8/10)
SDG Theme(s)
World Happiness Report
Conscious Consumerism and Waste Management (SDG 12)
Data/Tech Theme(s)
Measuring “Happiness” and dimensions of Happiness in the World Happiness Report
Food for Thought Question(s)
What motivates your climate consciousness? Have you been affected/influenced by someone/something/community, etc? What and how has it affected/influenced your belief and perspective?
Guest Lecturer(s)
Kinvara Jardine Paterson, Director, World's Largest Lesson at Project Everyone
Jesse Thorson, Sustainability and ESG Strategist, Third Partners, LLC & Ethics in Action editor
World Happiness Report data team representative
SDGs Today: overview of the dashboard and how data can be used
Week 9: Office Hours (August 15/17)
Gratitude Moment
“Roses, Thorns & Buds” of my summer during this program
Week 10: Project finalization: Global Citizenship & Happiness (August 22/24)
Final Project Presentations!
Outcome
Certificate of course completion.
Selected students to present their research at various online international forums.
StoryMaps will be shared on SDSN's SDGs Today public facing website.
Also look at our past Summer Program with SDSN's SDGs Today.
This year's syllabus is shown below.
The 2023 summer program registration is closed. We will make all recordings of the session available on www.youtube.com/edforsd
We hope to meet you in the next round!