Francis Bomba
Woquan Sama Luma
Bopda Mtopi Orelien
University of Buea
Cameroon

In-Person Presentation

The urgent need to standardise and valorise the usage of African Herbal Medicine for a contribution to alleviation of poverty and to good health and well-being in sub-Saharan countries
Purpose; 
Twenty-five percent of higher plants in the world are found in Africa, with over 5,400 species reported to have about 16,300 medicinal uses. The financial burden of COVID-19 on individuals and indebtedness of governments to financial institutions and the undesirable side effects of orthodox drugs has brought out a need to urgently valorise traditional medicine (TM). Following its resolution WHA62.13 on TM, World Health Organization (WHO) Traditional Medicine Strategies 2014-2023 was launched to support Member States develop proactive policies and implement action plans to strengthen the role of TM in good health and wellbeing of populations. Therefore, there must be quality assurance of plants products; scientifically-proven standards and protocols for cultivation, harvesting, and preparation of plants products; protocols for herbal formulation, clinical trials and production; sensitisation of population and healthcare providers on the importance of TM in healthcare services and mobilisation of financial, material and human resources. This project aims at standardising and valorising African TM and will contribute to improving the health conditions of people through accessibility to treatments at competitive costs. 
Methodology/approach; 
An inventory of medicinal plants proven to be efficacious in the management of diseases will be carried out. Pharmacological and toxicity tests will help valorize perceived efficacies. Formulations of phytomedicines will be done. 
Findings; 
Preliminary research showed plant properties such as foetotoxic or antihypertensive activities. 
Research limitations;
Huge funding and partnering with national and international stakeholders in financing and rendering professional advice on the incorporation of TM into the national healthcare systems are required.

Charlotte Pamboudam Mfondoum
University of Buea
Cameroon

In-Person Presentation

The role of vegetable crops production in livelihood strategies in  the Noun Plateau, west Region of Cameroon
The growing of crops and the tending of livestock whether for subsistence or exchange, has replaced hunting and gathering. Agriculture is economically the most significant of the primary activities in developing countries(Yifu, 2018). In the Noun Plateau in the West Region of Cameroon, there is a variety of agricultural crops mainly vegetable crops which grown in different agro-ecological zones by small farmers with the lowest inputs of capital and technology. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the role of vegetable production in livelihood strategies by which significant attempts to build the capacity for vegetable production research in the region and a greater dependence on market force to allocate resources can be made into the market gardening and serves as driving force of  development, with the social rate of return on these investments being very high, while the benefits of the development is widespread in the economy,  in favor of the small farmers. Furthermore it calls for an orientation of vegetable production strategies for an effective solution for market gardening system sustainability in the Noun. The stratified random sampling technique will be used to collect data with the use of 57 questionnaires (40 farmers and 17 sellers of vegetable crops).  The primary data will be collected from the vegetable farms and the central market of Foumbot, while the secondary will be collected from the Foumbot council and Agricultural Delegation. We will present the finding in order to propose some policy recommendations.

Key words: Vegetable, plateau, livelihood, strategies.

Titus Nwana

Cameroon

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

Unmasking Covid-19 from Green Revolution to New Technological Food Drive and Resilience
What is covid-19 to the implementation of the 2030 decade action plan- ‘why it matters’? Through the lenses of hunger purging and the quest for sustainable development, this paper argues that the arrival of the covid-19 laid the foundation to the birth of a new agricultural ‘tech’ designed to eliminate food crisis and propel sustainable development. The paper sets three new mechanisms designed to curb the problem of hunger in the developing world. The queries for investigation are; has covid-19 any impact on the green revolution? What is the fate of the green revolution in global socio-economic and political settings? With the initiative of the decade action plan, is there a need for a new technological food revolution to rekindle the holocaust of covid-19 and the current food degradation most especially in the developing countries? What hope does the ‘New Technological Food Drive’ holds for the world? A cross disciplinary method has been used to collect data for analysis. The findings show that; the covid-19 ‘days’ came to introduce a new system of agriculture which the paper term “Blue Electronic Food Revolution” (BEFR). The reason behind this development is because, food crisis most especially in the developing world still remain a mountain to the enhancement of sustainable development project(s) and when interpreted through the lenses off the Malthusian theory of population. So a shift or an augmentation in the agricultural scheme or orientation will lay a solid foundation to the implementation of the 2030 plan in order to rekindle the world from the quagmire of covid-19.

Key words: Covid-19, Green Revolution, Food Security, Technology BEFR, Sustainable Development.

Olusegun Oladeinde
Bells University of Technology
Nigeria

In-Person Presentation

In response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic, the first primary and immediate response of countries all over the world, including Nigeria, has been to introduce series of protocol, including lockdown, with its subsequent “relaxation”, and other public heath guidelines on the large section of the population and human activities, as attempts to reduce the spread of the pandemic. However, implicated in the lockdown protocols has also been “irreparable damage” on the people, and their socio-economic activities; unleashing twin problems of deprivation and anxiety, for people in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). The research work takes on a gender lens to analyze and provide a critical understanding of current dimensions and implications of COVID-19 pandemic, now referred to as “shadow pandemic”, as it exacerbates existing poverty and inequalities, on the live experiences and livelihood of a particular category of Nigerian population; women and the vulnerable. It evaluates the current policy response, encapsulated in social protections and other policy intervention programs of public authorities in Nigeria, in mitigating the impact of the pandemic and its “shadow underbelly”. Evidence continue to show the “residualist” dimensions of social protection programs, even in the context of post COVID-19 pandemic, not only as it demonstrates a “gender tip” to  quality of life and livelihood for women, but more significantly, as it once again illustrates the minimalist dimensions of neo-liberal framing of social protection architecture in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Keywords: Coronavirus, Gender, Social Vulnerability, Social Policy, Nigeria

Maren-Machel Ostlund
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Housing Security and Interventions to Homelessness
An exploration and examination of current homelessness challenges and strategies with a systems thinking and equity-centered design focus, as well as recommendations for the future. An accurate view of the current state of homelessness in the United States is difficult due to survey disruptions during COVID-19. Data is showing a record number of deaths of unsheltered people in cities like New York, a decrease in sheltered homelessness, and majorly disproportionate rates of hate crimes. Root causes of homelessness such as generational poverty, systemic disadvantage, substance issues, and mental health continue to impact the unsheltered and the housing insecure. Current economic and market trends are increasingly insecure for many Americans, with Utah as a prime example of an inhabitable housing market. Interventions from Housing First to Rent Relief to anti-homeless laws are in effect throughout the United States and will be analyzed in this report. Housing security strategies are as varied as the states and counties where they are implemented. In this analysis, the balance and relationship between national, state, and community interventions will be explored.

Keypoints include: 
-Limitations in data collection, and gaps in understanding
-Current estimations of unhoused persons, and the unhoused experience
-The importance of consulting the unhoused and formerly unhoused in the development of interventions. 
-The moral imperative of Housing First, and it's limitations on a national scale. 
-The role of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
-The importance and role of community-building in housing interventions 
- Comments on how to integrate federal initiatives and community engagement

Andere Gomez Yabar
Escuela de Ingeniería de Bilbao
Spain

In-Person Presentation (Spanish)

El diseño de una máquina peladora de Aloe Vera
En el presente Trabajo de Fin de Grado se ha realizado el diseño mecánico una maquina peladora de Aloe Vera para aplicarla en Tigray: teniendo en cuenta una planta de esta región, así como los recursos de los que pueden disponer.
Etiopía es uno de los países más pobres de África, ocupando la posición 174 de los 184 países en el ranking del Índice de Desarrollo Humano y la guerra civil que están sufriendo actualmente en Tigray está empeorando su situación de forma alarmante. 
La construcción de la máquina diseñada mejoraría los ODS fin de la pobreza, hambre cero, salud y bienestar, y trabajo decente y crecimiento económico. El uso de la máquina peladora permitirá la obtención de una materia prima para comercializarla (medicina y cosmética) e incluso poder utilizarla para consumo propio, combatiendo la falta de medicamentos.
Respecto al funcionamiento de la maquina, la hoja de Aloe Vera se sustenta gracias a los rodillos de sujeción y empuja la hoja contra el cuchillo. El cuchillo cortará la hoja por la mitad y cada mitad pasará por un par de rodillos de expulsión para exprimir la hoja. Debajo de este mecanismo habrá una lámina perforada que funciona como filtro para separar el gel de y la piel. 
Una vez finalizado el diseño mecánico de la máquina, se han buscado alternativas para poder adaptar éste a los recursos disponibles de Etiopia. En Etiopia más de la mitad de la población no tiene acceso a la electricidad por lo que se han buscado alternativas para alimentar la maquina y piezas recicladas para los demás elementos de la máquina, como elementos de chatarrería o piezas de bicicletas viejas.

Tange Denis Achiri
Christopher Ngosong
Silke Ruppel
University of Buea
Cameroon

In-Person Presentation

Adapting beneficial microbes and plant bio-active materials to control the invasive fall armyworm pest in maize production systems
Maize (Zea mays) is the most important cereal in Sub-Saharan Africa and contributes to food security and a source of income for many smallholder farmers. However, production has been constrained by the maize stem borer pest, and recently by the invasive fall armyworm – FAW (Spodoptera frugiperda) across different agro-ecological zones in Africa, where low-tech practices prevail. Climate change dynamics and extreme temperatures provide a favourable niche for the FAW. Beneficial microorganisms and plant-bioactive materials provide an environmentally friendly and commercially competitive control of FAW relative to incessant insecticide use. A field study was conducted in 2021 at the Research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine of the University of Buea, Cameroon, in collaboration with Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ), Großbeeren, Germany, and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Five treatments including a control–no input, chemical fertilizers and insecticides, organic-poultry manure and piper botanical, commercial microbial inoculants, and indigenous plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPB) were evaluated.
Significant higher maize grain yield was recorded was recorded for the PGPB (4.2 tons/ha), followed by poultry manure/piper and commercial microbe (4.1 tons/ha), and NPK/synthetic insecticide (3.8 tons/ha) and control (3.5ton/ha). Meanwhile, only 3.1% of maize cobs from PGPB was infested by fall armyworm as compared to 21.1% for the control treatment, with 0.5% and 2.3% corresponding maize damage. These findings provide a strong basis for incorporation of indigenous microbes and botanicals in maize production systems as sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to chemical fertilizers and insecticides.

Amber Hendrickson
Nicasio Nango
Kinsey Oldroyd
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Addressing Campus Food Insecurity with CARE
The UVU Food Pantry was started as a service-learning project by students in 2010. Since then we have worked to remove barriers and provide access to students facing food insecurities. This includes in-person visits to the pantry, online ordering, food vouchers, case management, and a delivery system. With plans to continue increasing access, we wish to discuss the importance of mutually beneficial partnerships, removing barriers, and respecting the students’ lived experiences in the decision-making process. We also will dialogue on how our success could translate to other sectors seeking to address food insecurity in their communities.

Christoper Ngosong
Marie Noela Enyoe Olougou
Silke Ruppel
University of Buea
Cameroon

In-Person Presentation

Engineering beneficial microorganisms to rebuild the rhizosphere microbiome interactions and improve the nutritive value of soybean to mitigate hidden hunger
Food and nutrition insecurity in Africa is caused by poor soil fertility that accounts for huge yield gaps of over 30% between the actual production and attainable potential. Achieving food and nutrition security requires sustainable production of nutrient rich foods such as soybean that is an important source of dietary protein (40–42%) and vegetable oil (18–22%). Agro-chemical inputs exert a multitude of deleterious environmental effects, which jeopardize sustainable development. Consequently, there is need for sustainable alternatives such as beneficial microbes that improve crop nutrition and protection, leading to increased productivity. Whereas, the sustainability of microbial biotechnology in Africa is focused on Rhizobium for grain legumes, the effectiveness of synergistic non-symbiotic microorganisms with plant growth promoting and protective traits can be explored to enhance crop nutrition and health. 
A field study was conducted in Yaoundé Cameroon, where plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) and Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF) were inoculated, with the aim of engineering microorganisms to rebuild the rhizosphere-microbiome and improve soybean nutritive value to mitigate hidden hunger. A significant increase was observed for the soybean grain yield and nutritional contents (e.g., zinc, iron, protein, and carbohydrate) following the co-inoculation of PGPB and AMF with or without NPK fertilizer. This demonstrates a sustainable pathway to achieve food security and mitigate hidden hunger, which corresponds to responsible production and consumption that promotes life on land (i.e. SDGs 1, 2, 12 and 15). Overall, this ensures sustainability as a system that is resource conserving, socio-culturally supportive, commercially competitive, and environmentally friendly.

Brooke Blanchard
International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

In-Person Presentation

Vision for Everyone: Accelerating Progress Towards the SDGs through Eye Health
There are 1.1 billion people around the world living with the consequences of preventable sight loss because they do not have access to eye care services. These are some of the poorest and most marginalized in society– including women, people with disabilities, rural populations, ethnic minorities and refugees. Without change, this will rise to 1.8 billion people by 2050. 
The realization of the SDGs and the prevention of avoidable blindness are mutually dependent; eye health is a cross-cutting human development issue that is a major contributor to inequalities as well as an outcome. Unaddressed vision impairment obstructs a state’s ability to eradicate poverty in all its forms, increase economic growth and employment, provide quality education, and end discrimination and exclusion.  However, there remains a lack of understanding of the importance of eye health and its direct impact on sustainable development among those who have the ability and responsibility to make a difference.
Vision must be reframed as a worldwide development issue and one that is integral to achieving the 2030 Agenda. Eye health needs to be given greater prominence, priority and funding across the global development agendas, plans and policies. This includes addressing the needs of marginalized and vulnerable groups through targeted people-centred interventions, and service expansion. Academic institutions must develop new evidence-based research to set and measure targets and ensure new levels of monitoring and accountability. Improving eye health is a practical and cost-effective way of unlocking human potential; the SDGs will not be met without it.

Sarah Blessed
Afuswa Nanyonga
Racheal Rubowa

Uganda

David Ssejinia
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Pennie Sessler Branden
Old Dominion University

Janice Hawkins
Phillips School of Nursing

In-Person Presentation

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as a global roadmap to a healthier world. The “leave no one behind” principle of reducing inequalities worldwide is foundational to both nursing practice and achieving the SDGs. As the largest healthcare workforce intimately involved in healthcare delivery in all settings, nurses have a firsthand view of the interconnections between the SDG targets, the Social Determinants of Health and overall health and well-being. Inclusion of nurses in collaborative multisectoral approaches to SDG attainment is crucial to better health outcomes and quality of life. Conversely, without nurses in key roles, the SDG goals and targets are unattainable.<.span>

In July 2012, the United Nations Economic and Social Council granted consultative status to Sigma, the International Honor Society of Nursing. This UN designation recognizes the expertise of nurses toward solving humanitarian issues and improving world health. As part of this affiliation, Sigma appoints liaisons to provide a strong presence of nurse leaders who contribute to the work of the UN, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The purpose of this presentation is to highlight why nurses are a key factor in achieving the SDGs and to showcase current contributions of the nursing workforce as collaborative partners in meeting the goals. Understanding the SDGs through the lens of a nurse and through the lens of a UN Liaison, will demonstrate why nurses must be included as essential players in multidisciplinary approaches to achieving the SDGs and ensuring better health and well-being for all.

Grace Duke
Samara Everman
Matthew Rivera
Noah Weaver
Lehigh University

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

Reducing the Maternal Mortality Rate in Sierra Leone: A Grassroots Approach
Home to one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, Sierra Leone is desperately in need of effective and sustainable interventions to save the greater than 1300 maternal lives lost per 100,000 live births. Two conditions that contribute to the heightened maternal mortality rate include preeclampsia and urinary tract infections (UTIs), and, generally, both conditions are treatable with a relatively low financial burden when identified early. Unfortunately, the primary urine test strip available in Sierra Leone is a 9-parameter test strip that costs ~$2.00 per strip. Considering that ~43% of Sierra Leoneans are impoverished according to the international poverty line, the urine test strip cost poses a significant barrier to the average mother. However, Ukweli Test Strips provides a practical, low-cost solution to this problem by integrating its use into the existing healthcare infrastructure of Sierra Leone. The test strips are both affordable and accessible, as they are less than $0.10 per strip and utilize the community health worker (CHW) system of Sierra Leone to bring screening access directly to women in both urban and rural areas. In 2020 alone, Ukweli screened nearly 3,500 women across 53 peripheral health units (PHUs) and provided test strip access to greater than 1 million Sierra Leoneans. By working with our non-profit organization partner, World Hope International (WHI), and government partners, including Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Ukweli is well-positioned to transform the maternal mortality rate of Sierra Leone because no woman should die while giving life.

Giavanna Gast
Margaret A. McLaughlin
Jonathan Osika
Evy M. Rahmey
Tram U.H. Vo
Sebastian R. Wick
Lehigh University

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

EcoRealm: Biophilic Solutions to Improve Student Wellbeing
On Lehigh University’s campus, there is a strong seasonal shift in student attitude. During the summer, luscious green trees frame the front lawn that students are continuously studying upon. But during the winter, the trees become barren and two feet of snow blankets the campus; people retreat inside to escape the cold. Students who were studying in fresh air are now confined to studying indoors in dark, boxy, or isolating rooms. Being inside during the shortest days of the year takes a toll on student wellbeing, increasing feelings of being trapped by both location and work load. 
Increasing psychological research shows the importance of having connection to nature in our daily lives. The nature deficit, a psychological theory developed by Richard Louv, details how humans have created environments of concrete boxes that we are not apt to live in, causing physiological & psychological distress. Among the ways to mitigate this problem is the incorporation of biophilic design. 
At EcoRealm, we are creating solutions to easily incorporate biophilic design into existing infrastructure, creating immersive natural environments in the workspace. This design is a freestanding, modular, self-maintaining product best described as a “living wall on wheels.” When you bring several of our products, or ‘modules,’ together, they begin to act as design elements to create an immersive natural space. And through pilot testing our structures at Lehigh University, we have seen that this natural work environment helps boost students to meet their academic and personal goals through increasing productivity and decreasing work-induced stress.

Raiden Gaul
Mykin Higbee
Noelle Taylor
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

International Collaboration in Nursing Education: A Key Strategy to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
This presentation will discuss current research on the important work nurses in academia and clinical practice are performing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Approximately 400 million people worldwide do not have access to basic healthcare. This need has been further amplified by the Covid 19 pandemic. The World Health Organization has stated that the work of nurses and advanced practice nurses, who comprise over half of the global healthcare workforce, is key to addressing health inequalities worldwide (Peng, 2019). Nursing scholars around the world are sharing their expertise, resources, and creating partnerships to develop curricula, policies, practice models, and conduct research on how to strengthen the global nursing workforce and improve health outcomes. The presenters will share current examples in the literature and discuss ideas of how nursing educators can collaborate with national and international academic institutions, health care organizations, policymakers, and professional organizations to develop effective strategies to address the social determinants of health and achieve the SDGs. 

Alain Chichom-Mefire
Gregory Edie Halle-Ekane
Dickson Nsagha
Robert Tchounzou
University of Buea
Cameroon

In-Person Presentation

Transformational Changes in Health Care Services Delivery in sub-Saharan African Countries to Achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3 in the Context of COVID-19.
The global pandemic of Covid-19 has emerged as a major obstacle towards global achievement of targets of SDG3 and other health-related SDGs, threatening to reverse the progress recorded prior to 2020. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are particularly devastating for LMICs and their frailty health systems. If no action is taken, the consequences could be translated in terms of thousands of additional deaths and disabilities. 
In this narrative review, we analyze the progress recorded on achievement of SDG3 prior to 2020 and estimate the damages attributable to the Covid-19 pandemic and their impact on the progress of health-related SDGs. New orientations and sustainable changes likely to contribute towards reversing the adverse effects of the pandemic are then derived.
Though Sub-Saharan African countries seem to have recorded relatively lower numbers of cases, projections on the consequences of Covid-19 could be translated in terms of thousands of additional deaths and disabilities.
The progress recorded towards the achievement of SDG3 is non-homogeneously distributed between countries. Hospital-based interventions have proven to be limited as they cannot ensure the minimum delivery of basic and life-saving interventions. The way forward will likely be a customized, comprehensive, coordinated community-based intervention involving community workers for the delivery of basic services. Also, it is time to envisage capitalizing on the established massive access to modern communication tools such as cellular phone to design digital health strategies. This will be best achieved in the framework of partnership with systems which have successfully used this strategy in curbing similar epidemics.

Elizabeth Zeuko'o Menkem
Seraphine Eko Mojoko
Armel Jackson Seukep
University of Buea
Cameroon

In-Person Presentation

The Urgent need for Multisectoral Action on Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa to Achieve Good Health and Well-being
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat to public health and the economy. Without policies to stop the worrying spread of AMR, the 700,000 deaths every year that is being experienced nowadays could reach an extremely disturbing 10 million deaths each year by 2050. The AMR crisis threatens the progress of Sustainable Development Goals including good health and well-being. Surveillance is the prime strategy for tracking emerging AMR in the population so that early and appropriate action can be taken. Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have not succeeded to keep pace with increased rates of resistant germs owed to the lack of a well establish AMR surveillance system (AMR-SS). Hence the need to identify stakeholders for multisectoral actions to strengthen the achievement of good health and well-being in SSA. Having an effective AMR-SS in place will create awareness of the effective usage of antimicrobial agents. The weak and fragmented public and animal health systems and uncontrolled use of antimicrobials appear as the major determinants of AMR in SSA. Besides, few SSA countries have effective AMR National Action Plans and antimicrobial stewardship. Key stakeholders include governments, universities, research institutes, industries, civil society organizations, and international agencies. The particularly burdensome challenge is the alignment of all parties with the goals of the program. Therefore, a revitalized global and regional partnership is essential and will provide the support and impetus for this societal and global effort to ensure the sustainability of the process until 2030.

Mattie Murphy
Lehigh University

In-Person Presentation

Improving Health and Well-Being: Flaws in COVID-19 RT-PCR Testing Procedural Techniques
Data analysis in R programming software and Microsoft Excel identified potential clinical biases, or correlations, for indeterminate COVID-19 RT-PCR test results in San Sebastián University’s COVID-19 database. The analytical focus was on identifying factors such as RNA extraction methods, PCR kit types, sample types, and other key variables that may lead to inconclusive results to advance testing protocols. Variations of odds ratio analyses found that patients using TAAG Genetics Pure RNA Extraction Kits have greater odds of producing inconclusive COVID-19 RT-PCR test results than both positive and negative results. Real-Time Fluorescent RT-PCR kits and TaqPath\252 COVID_19 CE_IVD RT_PCR also have greater odds of producing inconclusive test results than both positive and negative ones. Furthermore, Citowabs (VTM) sample containers and NobleBio Clinical Virus Transport Mediums (CTM) are more likely to produce inconclusive test results than positive results. Overall, this research correlates to the third and twelfth sustainable development goals written by the United Nations regarding good health and well-being and responsible consumption and production. As the pandemic proceeds worldwide, it is important that universities continue to improve COVID-19 testing measures to prevent the spread of disease. Inconclusive test results make it difficult to detect and control any disease in a timely manner. Identifying, and then eliminating, possible COVID-19 testing measures that lead to inconclusive results also reduces the waste of materials in high demand, therefore increasing resource efficiency.

Isabel Oberbeck
Timon Schorling
WK-MedTec GmbH
Germany

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

A case study of cold plasma based products to support the fulfillment of the SDGs
The oral presentation is about a best practice case study that shows how private cooperation can mitigate the world´s two main challenges: The continuing threat posed by diseases and the climate crisis. A long-term solution of these challenges can only be solved by integrating the economic component of sustainability. The underlying company of the case study WK-MedTec GmbH. This start-up from Germany has invented innovative products like the cold plasma based hand sanitizer to improve the hygiene and sanitation standards of millions of people. Basically, the innovation can be used as an alternative to the routine of hand washing. As a consequence, not only the efficacy of hand hygiene can be enhanced but also the potential of water saving can increase enormous. Furthermore, the innovative re-usable storage tank system lead to plastic waste being avoided. 
The objective of the oral presentation is to motivate companies to invent products that are both: Environmentally-friendly, social and economical.

Jazmin Sanchez

Peru

In-Person Presentation

Gestión de los Centros de Salud Física y Mental: Radiografía de los Desafíos en el Perú
La pandemia ha reflejado las brechas para el acceso a servicios de salud en Perú, en el 2020 solo el COVID-19 causó 200mil muertes. La atención en los centros médicos públicos y privados colapsó por no establecer estrategias sanitarias adecuadas que permitan optimizar este proceso. ¿Cuál es el rol del Estado? El Estado continúa trabajando diversas medidas para descentralizar la gestión, pero ello, no ha sido suficiente. Se suele tener como actor principal a Lima; sin embargo, hay un 70% de personas que no cuenta con un acceso digno a un servicio de salud. Durante todo este período, se ha hablado de la salud física, sin embargo, la salud mental se ha visto impactada negativamente. Para el 2020 se reportaron 700mil casos referentes a la salud mental (mayor porcentaje mujeres). ¿Cómo hacemos frente a esta problemática? Se requiere identificar variables que permitan establecer la relación entre la gestión de los centros de salud (físicos y mentales) y el impacto en la población (cuantificable a través de indicadores de acceso, calidad, eficiencia, mortalidad, etc.). Asimismo, crear un ecosistema de agentes públicos y privados que fortalezcan el desempeño individual y colectivo, donde se involucre a la población a través programas de concientización. Con ello, se identificará buenas prácticas que permitan gestionar los centros de salud de manera óptima y escalable a toda la población con información y acciones de manera oportuna y sostenibles.

Jafari Abuyi

DR Congo

In-Person Presentation

How Christ in Touch Foundation (CTF) is Taking Action On, No Poverty and Why It Should Matter to You and Me.
In short: the world agrees with CTF!
The more comprehensive approach expressed in the SDGs represents a resounding affirmation of CTF’s accompaniment of poor communities in a way that supports their own goals and aspirations in an integrated way.  
Reducing hunger - is squarely in CTF’s “wheelhouse,” focused on sustainable and climate-smart ways of promoting food security and inclusive agricultural growth among small-scale farmers. In addition, practicing healthy diet, donating extra stock of food to the needy, improving   logistics (which includes Food storage, transportation, packaging, international shipment and customs) of food and increasing   production of agriculture resources all support food security. The goals are universal: they apply to you and me.
 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. The targets for this goal frame a good portion of CTF’s work overseas and offer a way to think about CTF’s contribution to such an overarching goal (SDG) by 2030.
 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. For this climate change goal, we see the complementary and interlocking way the SDGs coincide with the food security goal in a way that, again, highlights the clarity of CTF’s focus on resilience, adaptation and the importance of local planning to end poverty through afforestation, clean water and sanitation, clean energy, responsible consumption and production, reducing wastes etc. The impact of “No poverty” by 2030 by CTF has shown partners , community based organizations, NGOs, private companies and the government sector a good example to similarly act upon the goal .

Mary Michelle Arsenault
Immaculate Nabasumba
Moses Ssenjogera
Kiwonnongo Foundation Inc
Uganda

In-Person Presentation

Why Rural Access to Quality Education Matters
Background
Rural Access to Quality Education is a major key ensure that people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Social, cultural barriers and numerous disparities have deeply hindered basic primary, secondary, and adult learning in rural areas. Unevenly distributed access in rural and urban areas has specifically constrained more girls than boys. Additionally, limited grassroots funding, improper dissemination of SDG guidelines, and the COVID-19 Pandemic have prevented proper conceptualization of the SDGs. High rates of school dropouts in rural areas result in higher rates of illiteracy, particularly among girls and women. Today, rural access to quality education critically matters.
Consequences
In Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Uganda, women and teen girls form a big percentage of those in the informal sector due to the inability to seek formal employment as a result of a lack of primary education or skills training. Their representation in decision-making, self-esteem, and further development is minimal, compounded by a lack of education. Lack of education has compromised advancement in health, nutrition, generation wealth, climate changes, networking, inter-collaboration, political representation, and leadership. Major and basic life needs such as clean water, proper sanitation, prevention of basic hygiene-related diseases, access to health care services, basic knowledge
about reproductive health, basic human rights and responsibilities, and lack of participation in advanced learning, deeply increase their vulnerability to poverty. The consequence is a cycle of deeper rural, national and global generation poverty due to illiteracy and lack of skills.

Sandra Maldonado Blaur
Colegio Carol Baur
Mexico

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

The evolution of the human being is part of a permanent process of building cognitive and emotional structures that enable better societies.

The family is a fundamental part of the social structure. From an educational perspective, its relevance lies in the fact that it is the first emotional and cognitive relationship that the human being establishes with the other, this essential relationship, is the platform on which his self-esteem is built, he learns the habits and values with which he coexists in society.

The social function of the school is to teach to think, feel and act. Educate human beings for civil coexistence. It is where citizens are trained, the value of democracy is learned, feelings of solidarity, equity and inclusion are educated, and the commitment to protect the sustainability of the planet is acquired.

He learns that living in community is to form habits of perseverance and order, but it is also to value the rights of others, only in this way the virtuous circle of coexistence can be achieved.

The State, together with the community, have the responsibility to protect the fundamental human right to education.

Education must form useful and productive beings for the new generations.

The risks to which the world's children and youth are exposed are addiction and dependency that motivate the deregulation of the harmful elements to which they have access. 

The experience of education is a natural need that must ensure the integral formation of the human being, focusing all its efforts on respecting the rights of children as a fundamental basis.

Hannah Ells
Nikita Lad
Derek Lough
Ratna Lubis
Illinois State University

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

The Potential of an SDG Rubric in Academic Publishing and Beyond
As SDG Compact Fellows, our team worked diligently over the past few months to create an industry-standard tool in the form of a Sustainable Development Goals Rubric (SDGR) to evaluate submissions to the publishing industry. Why does this matter? We propose enormous value exists towards SDG 4.7 in the inclusion of this tool within academic publishing.Our group created a list of criteria with specific guidance for reviewers to use to evaluate the way a textbook does or does not address ESD. Using the SDGR as intended, we evaluated an already-published textbook as a proof-positive. We then adapted the use of the SDGR to evaluate an already-published academic paper. Next, we address thought experiments and practical solutions that the SDGR could be used for, ranging from ways school leadership incorporates the ESD into their institutions to how companies using artificial intelligence can help track the implementation of the SDGs. The final part of the presentation will show how one of our team members incorporated the SDGR into her work with graduate students to build projects centered around the SDGs.  If widely adopted by 2025, every student and casual reader anywhere in the world ought to be able to pick up a freshly published article or book and find a topic related directly to the SDG of their interest. As we enter the second year of the UN Decade of Action, publishers across the medium--including academic publishers--ought to include a new tool to meet a global need.

Vishvanath Falegaonkar
Sridhar Iyer
Indian Institute of Technology
India

In-Person Presentation

Computational Thinking will be a fundamental skill used by everyone in the world by the middle of the 21st century. The meaning of fundamental skill is just as basic as reading, writing and arithmetic. Computing and computers will help to spread computational thinking and in the age of the pandemic like COVID 19, computational thinking skill will be a path breaking way to spread the knowledge and intellect in the education domain. Computational thinking is extensively used not only in the science and engineering communities in their daily lives but also even in the non-technical communities like historians and artists. Computational thinking will be important at the undergraduate level and PhD level but the dare was to really see how it can be inculcated in the teaching of k-12 students and how teachers in k-12 can teach such students. So, taking this as a motivation and trigger point to consider this CT topic as my PhD topic and the preliminary title of the same will be “Training Students to Applying Computational Thinking (CT) to Solve Locally-Relevant Socio-Scientific Issues (SSI)”.

So far, I can see that students at senior level appreciate working with SSI. Thus, working with SSI could be considered as an appropriate activity for all students. However, the work with SSI might not so much raise students’ interests in science, but it can strengthen generic skills such as team-work, problem-solving and media literacy. We notice that students are ill-prepared to work autonomously. The future work would involve further detailed literature review and exploration of computational thinking in different domains. Various scientific research methods would be implored in conducting interviews and surveys in various government schools. More emphasis will be given to the CT concepts, practices and its implementation in academic curriculum in a staged manner. SSI will be studied in detailed fashion to incorporate 21st century skills along with CT skills. Among the key issues that require further exploration is how to measure students’ CT ability and examine the effects of the teaching of CT, especially in terms of major assessment approaches and research methodologies. There are so many limitations to the success of CT in Indian context and that too in rural education. The major lacunae would be the assumption of established technical resources and experts to teach this advanced usage of computer education. The major hindrance will be the access to technology. If technical infrastructure is made available then CT skills will be successful to implement.

Melissa Nelson
Anne Stone

In-Person Presentation

Global Goals and Gateways: Co-curricular Programs and the Liberal Arts
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a useful and compelling framework for educating students about the myriad ways they can put their liberal arts education to work in the world. In this presentation, we will highlight the work of the Social Impact Hub, a creative and collaborative space for changemakers of all levels to be introduced to and take actionable steps towards achieving the SDGs. Our presentation will highlight three of our programs, the Ideas for Good Pitch Competition, Rethinking Fashion, and Designing Your Life - Gateway. These programs allow for engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals at different levels depending on the interest and engagement of the participant. Participants will be encouraged to consider how programming that centers design thinking aligned with the SDGs can help students see how their life experiences and interests position them to make a positive difference in the world. Utilizing the Sustainable Development Goals as a common framework throughout the Social Impact Hub’s programs and giving students a collective changemaking language is important for making the goals more relatable and actionable. Our work demonstrates that exposing students to the Sustainable Development Goals through co-curricular programming supports students in narrativizing why their education and their work matter.

Arthur Niyonkuru
GITEGA Branch
Burundi

In-Person Presentation

Quality Education, The Foundation of Economic and Social Development in Africa
INTRODUCTION: 
Education it’s human right and its goals are to transform lives, build peace, eradicate poverty, and foster sustainable development. 
RESULTS
Of the 77 million out-of-school children worldwide, more than half are in sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, the "required level of quality education" in Africa is insufficient to serve as a foundation for a sustainable development cycle.  It takes a young African between 5-7 years or more to find a job, so measures to expand post-primary education must take into account the particularities of the labor market.
METHODES
Reflecting in terms of educational quality implies the construction of an analytical framework made up of quantitative and qualitative data whose interpretation changes according to the level of analysis, the question that arises are, Can Education be quantified? What is the influence of the context? Is it a matter of demonstrating production control? Is it a matter of describing the use of an object or a service? What are the relevant criteria and indicators? 
CONCLUSION
African policymakers must act now by providing more support for green job creation and leadership development and by closing the gap between planning and implementation.
Without political will, African countries will not succeed in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities. 
Strategic partnership at the local, regional, continental and international levels remains the key to our shared success.
KEY-WORDS: Quality education, Sub-Saharan Africa, Political will.

Martin Olavarrieta
Fundacion Cultural Baur
Mexico

In-Person Presentation

Living knowledge® is to create awareness of multilateralism, global solidarity and without leaving no one behind, as universal pillars that will allow us to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in this decade of action; awareness that represents for humanity the vital struggle for sustainable prosperity, social inclusion, equality and the preservation of our planet.

It is important to promote, the realization of this United Nations Model and  the COP-UNFCCC so that students as member states, actors and stakeholders have a central role in monitoring the follow-up and review processes at the local, national and global level that allows them to know and contribute to the solutions of the sustainable development goals, reproducing , through training, the work of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the General Assembly (GA), including their participation in the workshops, round tables, side events of the HLPF related to the 4 commissions that would integrate the 17 SDGs .

This Formative Model tries to provide favorable results to academics, students and their families, because they will learn about what is really happening in their countries and in the world.

The Educational Model will function as in the United Nations (UN), preserving the diplomatic rules and procedures.

With this UN simulation, we are convinced that a strategic added value of the proposals of the 2030 Agenda will be the result of forming new leaders who are committed to themselves and to others for the survival of mankind and preservation of the environment.

Sangya Pandey
St. Mary's Secondary School
Nepal

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

Despite, the giant leaps that we’ve taken to increase access to schooling and ensure the retention of attendance in schools, educational systems in developing and least developed countries remain enslaved to patterns of inefficacy resulting in learning outcomes far below the benchmark for what is desirable. This presentation highlights this crisis of learning in the developing country of Nepal. It offers possible reasons to explain the aforementioned crisis, present a case study of a solution administered by a chain of schools and highlights the influential role of sustainable development goals in the resolution of the crisis.

Through, an evidence-based analysis of the student achievements throughout the years, the different dimensions of the crisis: access, retention and inequity are studied.

Sean Schrader
University of South Florida

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

Christiana Vegah Abonge
University of Buea
Cameroon

In-Person Presentation

Meeting the Challenges of Gender Inequality and Poverty for Persons with Disabilities: Lessons to be learnt from Best Practices in Cameroon
Just as gender discrimination may pose a critical challenge to achieving development, so too is discrimination on the basis of disability. Thus, persons with disability face double discrimination by virtue of their gender and disability. Gender inequality and discrimination are extensively associated with low economic status and higher poverty levels, with persons with disabilities (PWD), women and the poor facing greater challenges with livelihood options and accessing  financial resources than the less poor. The extent of poverty and inequalities experienced by PWD is by and large the result of limitations and shortcomings in the structural and socio-economic environment in which they live. A combination of lack of structural support and deprivation of capabilities make them a significantly marginalised and vulnerable group. Despite the intersection between disability, poverty and inequality, it is undeniable that actions/strategies to address poverty and inequality have scarcely paid attention to nor addressed the needs and concerns of persons with disability. The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development recommends the centrality of mainstreaming disability and the needs of PWD as a more effective strategy to reduce poverty and inequality. This paper therefore seeks to explore best practices and identifies efforts of NGOs including microfinance programmes in reaching out with microfinance and social services to PWD in Cameroon. The paper also showcases the contributions of microfinance institutions and NGOs in promoting development through enhanced access to social services and financial resources to PWD. Hence, increasing the level of disability targeting is pivotal in addressing inequality and disability-inclusive poverty reduction.

Helen Adams
Merriah Hamaker
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Poverty, Gender Equality, and Birth Control Access
In this presentation, Helen Adams (23 year old UVU political science/film student) and Merriah Hamaker (22 year old UVU political science/gender studies student) will be discussing the relationship between access to birth control and reproductive care to worldwide poverty rates. 

We will begin by discussing the average birth rate in many different countries throughout the world, comparing their socioeconomic statuses, and drawing conclusions about the findings there.  There is a trend that those nations in higher amounts of poverty and in lower stages of development often have much higher birth rates and much higher infant mortality rates than those in developed countries.  

We will then discuss the implications of these findings- those women who are pregnant younger have less ability to attain a higher education for themselves, are less likely to be well employed due to the burdens of motherhood, and are more likely to be reliant on either a male figure or her nuclear family or community for financial support.  Her children, in turn, will be less likely to attain an education themselves.  

We will then, go into the United States a bit deeper and analyze how differences in birth control access and reproductive care state by state influences the poverty, education, and health statuses of the members of each state.  We can not pretend these very issues do not exist within our own country.

We will conclude by describing the potential impacts of prioritizing birth control access and reproductive care to women in both developing and developed countries across the world, resulting in higher education status, higher average income, better health outcomes, more wanted pregnancies, lower infant mortality rate, etc.

Liggera Edmonds-Allen
Eliza Hallinan
Intergalactic Pride Center

In-Person Presentation

Originally written for the performer’s Gender and Sexuality in Performance class at Carnegie Mellon University, Hallinan’s piece performs and perpetuates discomfort. The writer states that “...the act of watching someone vigorously eat is uncomfortable in the first place, but coupling it with a statement that the eater does not want to be eating makes it hard to watch.” A pre-recorded audio plays as they eat, comparing their discontent as a queer person in a heteronormative society with eating peanut butter sandwiches - both ‘tasks’ Hallinan was expected to ‘consume’ ever since they were young.

Hallinan’s performance is in active communication with Judith Butler’s theory of parodic repetition- “...making actions that are usually pleasurable (eating and sex) unpleasurable.” Hallinan states in the performance that they do not like peanut butter sandwiches, “...connecting the expected pleasure of eating with the expected pleasure of sex.” This performance invites the audience to reflect on their own expected performances, and whether or not they enjoy such identities.

Grace Enriquez
Emma Hartmann
Rolake Tomoye
Lehigh University

In-Person Presentation

Women in Government: The Fight for Female Representation in Leadership and Decision-Making in Nigeria
As UN Youth Representatives, we represent the Centre for Women Studies and Intervention (CWSI), a non-governmental organization based in Abuja, Nigeria.  For our presentation we will discuss the lack of female representation in decision making, highlighting the case of Nigeria and CWSI’s work to address this issue.  The Sustainable Development Target 5.5 states that by 2030 countries should  “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.”  This goal matters because bringing more women into politics will diversify the perspectives and experiences of decision makers, allowing women to highlight the issues that uniquely affect them.  Despite the importance of this issue, we are still far from reaching our target.  Of the 188 countries ranked by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Nigeria has the fourth lowest level of female representation in government, with only 3.6 percent of seats in the house of representatives being held by women. Barriers that have limited female participation in governance include gender-based violence, economic barriers, cultural and religious norms, and an overall lack of political will.  CWSI has several projects that work to help women overcome these barriers, train and support women in elected positions, and engage with their community to change perceptions about women in leadership.  The goal of gender parity in decision-making is critical and a true embodiment of the spirit of interconnectedness of the SDG’s.  

Promise Ozuzu
Maries Stopes International Organization
Nigeria

In-Person Presentation

Introduction: Nigeria comprises of 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) grouped into six geo-political zones.  Nigeria is home to over 201 million people, 49% (99.7 million) are females. The total population of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) is about 47.1 million representing 47% of the total female population. 

Statement of Problem: Gender equality challenges faced by women in Nigeria are driven by patriarchy, poverty, illiteracy, religious and cultural norms. Women are still considered subordinate to their male counterparts fueled by social norms. Patriarchal norms negatively impact the participation of the woman in decision-making, including decisions that impact her health such as decisions to use contraception. Girls’ access to education is poor especially in the north and negatively impact on girl’s and women’s economic autonomy. 

Methodology: A mixed method was used, while a descriptive analysis of routine service data was done to identify the number of women empowered by the programme, number of referrals for contraceptives services and frequency of services delivery. In-depth interviews and structured observations were conducted to collect qualitative data to contextualise findings from the quantitative analysis.

Results: A total of 3,990 referrals were made through the programme. Of this, 47% of these women took up family planning service across locations implemented. The women reported feeling empowered via the generation of income through small business activities initiated by the project, this grew confidence and improved women’s role in household decision-making:

Conclusion: Promoting a gender-equal society is a sustainable strategy in achieving economic progress and development.

Sophia Isabel Salvador
Youth Research Vox
Philippines

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

Discovering the Existing Flaws in a Country Labelled Gender Equal Through the Perspective of Women Superlatives
Sustainable Development Goal number 5, gender equality, is a global effort to abolish every form of discrimination against people of all genders. Countries have struggled with gender inequality, as their deep-rooted patriarchal cultures and ideals have ostracized women from the workplace. Women deserve access to employment opportunities, equal rights, fair wages, respect, and security, yet are often denied these basic rights due to society’s views on women as the weaker gender. Predetermined gender roles and the lack of efficient policies both contribute to a gender-unequal society. Women from around the world continue to struggle with this issue; gender inequality appears to be all the more common in workplaces. Thus, this presentation elaborates on case studies done on high-achieving women to discover if they continue to experience such discrimination despite their high standing in their careers. Case studies such as these seek to inspire younger women from around the world and break down the barriers that hinder us from building an authentically gender-equal society. It seems as though the education system is the first that needs to be improved, as views on gender roles start to develop from a young age. Having strong representations of empowered women, such as females in political positions, may also reduce gender stereotyping.

Brian Barthel
Alexis Geist
Kevin Larsen
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Empowering Cambodian Lives, A Collaborative Effort to Improve Sanitation and Well-Being
During a ten day period in May, 2019, Utah Valley University (UVU) Public Health majors from the Department of Public Health assisted in the installation of eight home latrines, provided eight home water purification systems, and 250 Days for Girls organization hygiene kits with education to young girls in rural Cambodian communities.  Sustainable Development Agenda theme number six is clean water and sanitation. The purpose of this presentation proposal is to demonstrate how our university engaged learning program, carried out in rural Cambodia in 2019, contributed to the fulfillment of this initiative advanced by the United Nations Department of Global Communications.

Rukmagat Kafle
Nepal Red Cross Society
Nepal

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

WASTE MANAGEMENT: A mutual activity to achieve multiple SDGs
The agenda for sustainable development is a milestone agreement of member states of the United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to address the economic, social, cultural, environmental and political dimensions of sustainable development in a comprehensive and integrated way. 17 SDGs, 169 targets and 332 indicators are key guidelines. The aim of this oral presentation is to advocate prioritizing waste management for achieving sustainable future.
The presentation is based on three methodologies: Sharing field-level experience, Delineate on linkage of waste management and SDGs, and Photo / Video presentation. 
The initial methodology focuses on whatever the discussion topics are selected on community (such as hunger, good health and well beings, pandemic and emergencies, water, sanitation and hygiene, livelihood and economic growth, sustainable development, climate action, life on land and life on water etc.), challenges on waste management remained as a common visible issue. The delineation part includes how indicators of different SDGs are hindered by unmanaged wastes, and how waste management can support on achieving these SDGs. And, the photos/videos presentation part throws lenses on existing situation, community voices, local authorities, waste management actors, and individuals' notion related with challenges, coping strategy, budget, technology adaptation, community engagement, and local practices in waste management.
The presentation illustrates to tie up with the need of prioritizing waste management to achieve multiple SDGs. It is also intended to promote waste management as an important issue on Why it Matters as part of the Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Renata Konadu
University of Southampton
United Kingdom

Michael Yeboah
Kumasi Technical University 
Ghana

In-Person Presentation

The nexus among sanitation and access to clean water on girls education: Mapping out intervention policies and practices
Despite the global efforts to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs), majority of African governments including Ghana have failed to meet half of their targets for SDG6 (SDG Indicator, 2020). Yet, clean water and sanitation facilities are essential for girls in managing their menstruations hygienically, especially in educational setting. As such, the lack of access to these facilities have resulted in about 9 out of 10 girls missing schools regularly during their menstrual periods (IRC, 2021). Thus, this paper explores the sanitation systems that are likely to help manage menstruation among adolescent girls in educational setting. The findings are shared with the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and the Ministry of Education to help design and implement intervention policies to improve menstrual sanitation among adolescent girls in educational setting. This study is first in its kind to seek to map out policy interventions through the perceptions and expectation of girls to enhance sanitation for all adolescent girls, leading to higher punctuality and regularity rate among school-going girls.

Robert B. Sowby
Bigham Young University

In-Person Presentation

Sustainable Irrigation: Balancing Return Flows with Efficiency
Irrigation is the largest use of water worldwide. We need water to grow the crops we eat, the grass for the parks we play in, and the landscapes that beautify our homes and workplaces. Yet water is a finite resource that must be carefully managed—now more than ever in the context of growing populations, political conflict, and climate change. 
Agricultural irrigation deserves particular emphasis. Much attention has focused on increasing irrigation efficiency—more “crop per drop”—by converting flood irrigation to sprinkler and drip systems. This is to be commended, as such technologies allow water to be focused near the plants where it is most beneficial. But the same advances have also reduced return flows—the portions of water that infiltrate into the soil or run off to adjacent streams without reaching the crops. Return flows are an important part of the water balance that support many needs for downstream ecosystems and other water users. In many parts of the world, return flows are dwindling as a direct un unintended consequence of increased irrigation efficiency.
This presentation will review regional irrigation water balances in selected parts of the world, establish the importance of both irrigation efficiency and return flows, and recommend actions to balance both. The presentation will be framed in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (especially 2, 6, 11, 12, and 14) and draw from recent research and case studies, with emphasis on applications in industry and government.

Layne Bruton
Lakshmi Viswanath
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Development of Efficient Organic Solar Cells
One of the greatest challenges for our modern society with burgeoning energy demand and inadequate reserves of traditional fossil fuel sources is to find clean and renewable energy sources. Modern technology has taken its stand to solve this energy challenge to harvest clean, renewable and abundant solar power by many attractive methods. The most important of all those techniques is the development of photovoltaic cells, also called as solar cells.  Undoubtedly, the past two decades procured many growth spurts leading to an explosion in the photovoltaics, however not all the sectors of photovoltaics were given equal attention. Organic photovoltaics (OPV) which has now been identified to be the robustly growing area was still in its infancy until the past few years.  An important factor that plays a significant role in the efficiency of OPVs is the stability of the individual materials or interfaces used in its fabrication. To circumvent the stability issues in the design and development of OPVs, a multimodular approach has been proposed. The proposed research seeks to build a multimodular donor-acceptor conjugated system involving supramolecules such as subphthalocyanines, porphyrins, perylenes and fullerenes. The different entities of the proposed multimodular system will be coupled together utilizing both covalent bonding and non-covalent interactions. The dual-type interaction allows for a suitable blend of structural flexibility and rigidity in donor-acceptor systems for increased electronic communication between the subunits thereby providing better control over monitoring the different photochemical events occurring in the systems.

Christelle Flora Majoh Kuetche
Armand Fopah Lele
Emmanuel Tanyi
Faculty of Engineering and Technology
Cameroon

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

Reversible hydrogen-to-electricity technology as a Renewable Energy option
The urgent need to increase access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa has motivated researchers to explore various power generation technologies. Some researchers argue that a one-size-fits-all approach to climate change ignores the rights of countries like Cameroon to make the most of their low-carbon gas resources to eradicate energy poverty. Other researchers reject strategies, which are based on the combustion of carbon gases due to negative environmental impact and concerns about long-term sustainability. Hydrogen technologies are sustainable and renewable since hydrogen is produced from water. However, several factors (supply chain for large-scale hydrogen production and transportation; technical issues such as stability and reliability of fuel cells; economic concerns on the cost of system integration and required infrastructure; capacity for financial mobilization; policy and regulatory frameworks to provide an enabling environment) currently inhibit the uptake of hydrogen technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa. This presentation aims at identifying all of the challenges, which must be overcome to provide an enabling environment for the uptake of the hydrogen economy and propose a scalable and reversible hydrogen-to-electricity technology. A three-step methodology is adopted in the present study: Analyse the factors inhibiting the uptake of hydrogen technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa, Explore the efforts already made by some Sub-Saharan African countries to realize hydrogen economies, Design a scalable and reversible hydrogen-to-electricity prototype. The originality of this presentation lies in defining all the pre-conditions for the development of a hydrogen value chain in Sub-Sahara African countries, and the reversible hydrogen-to-electricity design concept.

Ana Diaz Alvarez
Daniel Gomez Serrano
Fundación Novia Salcedo
Spain

In-Person Presentation

Diseño y evaluación de políticas sostenibles: un modelo para la empleabilidad juvenil en el marco del ODS 8
El objetivo de esta propuesta es presentar un modelo teórico que guíe el diseño y la evaluación de políticas para la empleabilidad juvenil, a través de la generación de empleo de calidad, la transición del sistema educativo al mundo laboral y el impulso a la competitividad sostenible de las organizaciones. 
El modelo se fundamenta en la idea de que el contexto modula la empleabilidad de una persona, al poner en valor ciertas competencias y cualificaciones frente a otras. 
Esto lleva a plantear un enfoque multinivel considerando el nivel social, organizativo e individual. 
A nivel social, la investigación afirma que la distancia entre el mundo educativo y el laboral y la falta de políticas activas de empleo son dos de los principales obstáculos para reducir el desempleo juvenil en nuestro mercado de trabajo. Por ello, el modelo ha sido puesto a prueba a través del diseño y evaluación de una herramienta de inserción como es la práctica no laboral en empresa, encontrando las siguientes conclusiones:
-Para que las organizaciones sean capaces de desarrollar el talento joven, es necesario un marco de calidad de la práctica, del que destacamos la presencia de una persona tutora, que planifique y evalúe el aprendizaje; ofrezca transparencia organizativa a la persona joven y diseñe un plan de tareas motivantes.
-Para lograr la evidencia de un buen desarrollo competencial en las personas jóvenes, son necesarias la evaluación y presentación de evidencias a través de las tareas y actividades enmarcadas en el contexto en que han sido practicadas.

Emarie Majors
Brigham Young University-Hawaii

In-Person Presentation

Sustainable Economic Growth for Pacific Small Island Developing States Through the Cultural Industry
Tuvalu is a Pacific small island developing state (SIDS) that is likely to become uninhabitable within the next 100 years due to projected sea level rise. The geographic isolation and lack of resources have proven a difficult development challenge to overcome. It is in countries like Tuvalu where integrating into the digital visual art industry (an area where they could prove to have a comparative advantage) could provide a path to sustainable development in the short term, and become a means of financing the oncoming difficulties that climate change is sure to bring the people of Tuvalu and other SIDS. 

This case study looks at Tuvalu’s potential to flourish in the production of the digital visual arts. I assess the potential markets and discover the best process for implementing technological and training resources required for digital visual arts. I conduct a budget analysis and explore the implications of the country’s trade policy. Finally, I  analyze economic data to determine the viability and long-term stability of Tuvalu’s future growth through involvement with digital visual art production and dissemination. 

My findings offer a viable plan to establish a sustainable digital visual art industry based out of Tuvalu. This could lead to an eventual demand for more local jobs in managerial and marketing capacities. A need for strong state support, facilitation, and leadership for the country’s industrial sector would also rise. My research has implications beyond Tuvalu, as my findings offer some general patterns that other SIDS could emulate.

Maxima Mancilla
Casto Willy Mendoza
Choice Humanitarian
Bolivia

In-Person Presentation (Spanish)

Fortalecer el emprendidurismo productivo de jóvenes, con enfoque micro empresarial e inclusión de género. 
Fortalecer el emprendidurismo productivo de jóvenes (mujeres y hombres) con enfoque micro empresarial mediante la producción ganadera y agrícola con inclusión género-generacional, resiliencia y diálogo productivo en el altiplano boliviano. El crecimiento económico sostenido e inclusivo puede impulsar el progreso, crear trabajos decentes y mejorar los niveles de vida.
Porque es importante.
Con el cambio climático, la producción ha disminuido en un 50%. La producción de sus alimentos para consumo humano y  vender en ferias ha bajado (papa, haba, quinua, forraje, etc.) los jefes de familia y jóvenes (mujeres y hombres) emigran a buscar otras fuentes de ingreso económico, sin embargo, no tienen formación técnica, tienen pocas oportunidades. Los habitantes de comunidades sufren un impacto social negativo debido a la emigración, familias disgregadas, abandono y maltrato de niños y mujeres, debido al consumo de alcohol con desenfreno, violaciones, madres adolescentes y enfermedades transmisibles.
El COVID-19 a golpeado duramente a las comunidades empobrecidas, por lo que se requiere una formación financiera de jóvenes, diálogo intercomunal y Estado para iniciar procesos de recuperación sociocultural, productiva y ecológica y pasar al siguiente eslabón de la cadena productiva (valor agregado) con inclusión de género-generacional generando autoempleo y empleo digno promovido por jóvenes (mujeres, hombres jóvenes, madres y/o embarazadas).
Los aspectos centrales son el fortalecimiento de capacidades a través de planes de negocio para emprendimientos micro empresariales, escalamiento empresarial familiar, incrementar sus ingresos económicos, generación de valor agregado a sus productos, autoempleo y empleo, producción ecológica (orgánica) y diálogo con el Estado y privados.

Thaksheel Alleck
Bezawit Mulatu
Cedrique Wekesa
Logicae Science
Mauritius

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

Creating an Ecosystem of Entrepreneurial Scientists to foster Innovation on the African continent
We at Logicae Science chose to contribute to improving Africa’ capacity through scientific research education skewed towards Africa’s youngest and brightest minds. For the past two years, we have been laying down the foundations for a fully-fledged STEM research high school. Therefore, we will present the results and analysis on our past summer camps with high school youths in Egypt and Morocco. This oral presentation will showcase the key learnings made by the team and our strategy plan to work towards our vision for a more prosperous African continent. Moreover, we hope that the Logicae Science becomes an ecosystem of young scientists and entrepreneurs who will drive the disruptive innovation their communities and the African continent needs to grow. Additionally, we will circle back to our alignment with SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. More specifically, we align with target five that advocates for enhanced scientific research, encouraging innovation, and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per million people. Lastly, we will attempt to link our belief that a focus on high school youth and scientific education to the long-term economic improvements and prosperity of the African continent.

João Pedro Lopes
Tathiana Moreira
Hebert Rossetto
Federal University of Pelotas 
Brazil

In-Person Presentation

Circular Economy from Rice Husk Biomass: New Perspectives
Agricultural byproducts are a current global concern, which is not different in Brazil: its Southern states concentrate more than 80% of the country's rice crop, estimated at around 11 Mt this year, although their land areas account only for less than 5% of the total country area. Then, rice farmers have to deal with an ever-increasing bulky byproduct – the rice husk – although it represents only 20% of the plant dry weight. With technology under development by the authors, financed by the government's national agriculture authority, the extraction of silica contained in rice husks, whose content can exceed 20% in dry weight of the husk, in addition to other two byproducts with added values: pyroligneous acid and vegetable tar. Through this technology, each ton of dry rice husk will allow the farmer to nearly double the income achieved with rice sale itself, becoming more competitive and resilient to market and rice crop variations. The material resulting from the technology proposed herein is a white powdered, amorphous silica, with tailorable particle size range and specific surface area over 70 m2/g, in addition to a high purity above 96%, with many applications in industries. Therefore, in addition to favoring the circular economy for rice cultivation in Brazil, the technology under development creates reasonable conditions to secure the family farmers in rural areas, especially those linked to cooperatives, yet competitive enough to refrain the increasing concentration of what is the basis of the meal of an entire country on few economic groups.

Nur Bella Octoria
Ayomi Dita Rarasati
Universitas Indonesia
Indonesia

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

Assessing Transport Sustainability of Railway Existing Network and Services in DKI Jakarta
DKI Jakarta is the Indonesia's capital city with the 10th highest congestion rate in the world based on the 2019 traffic index. Other than that based on World Air Quality Report in 2019 showed DKI Jakarta's air pollutant concentrate 49.4 µg and the 5th highest of air pollutant in the world. In the urban city nowadays the mobility rate is high enough and the efficiency for sustainability assessment in transport infrastructure development is needed. Very detailed literature review of papers published on scientific journal in period 2011 until 2021 that have focused on railway sustainability factors and their improvements of railway sustainability, The evaluation will be using likert rate questionnaire to the transportation railway practitioner and the passenger. Furthermore, the mapping will be calculated with Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and evaluation rate with scoring method based on the sustainability factors. This research result offers the networks performance and service rate impact to the sustainability aspect and the passenger importance rate for using the rail public transportation in DKI Jakarta and the alternative way to improve signalling system for increase the capacity and developing transit oriented area for the station to increase the integration of mode.

Liggera Edmonds-Allen
Intergalactic Pride Center

In-Person Presentation

Emily Hall
Gabby Jensen
Sarah Keeley
Jake Reed
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Math Mentors: A Successful Solution for Helping Students Overcome Roadblocks
Completion of the mathematics requirement can be an immense roadblock on the way to earning a college degree. Adding to that roadblock, 38% of Utah Valley University's (UVU) students are first generation and 19% are students of color. In 2018, The Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics conducted a longitudinal study which concluded that 33% of first-generation students drop out of college without receiving a degree. The Math Mentor program at UVU is actively trying to reduce the inequality that is associated with being a first-generation student and/or a student of color. Math Mentors go beyond being just a math tutor. The Math Mentors are able to provide support and encouragement to these students that they are unable to find elsewhere. Math mentors have helped these students discover and apply for scholarship opportunities as well as the FAFSA program to help with the financial burden that many of them struggle with. Math mentors ensure that these students get acquainted with campus resources that they would not know otherwise existed. By helping reduce the inequality associated with being a first generation and/or student of color, we hope to help these students break out of a cycle of poverty.

Lukas Parrish
The University of Missouri 

In-Person Presentation

Income Inequality and What Defines a Wealthy Country
Income inequality is one of the greatest issues facing the world today. Most developed countries experience varying levels of it due to the nature of a free market system. The system allows for the creation of wealth, but at the expense of poverty. Though the system inherently brings bad with the good, no other attempt at distributing wealth has improved conditions for a greater number of people. Even though some level of poverty is inevitable, there are ways to limit the gap between the richest and the poorest citizens. This presentation will determine what factors best contribute to a more equal distribution of wealth within a country. I will first define what wealth is to better determine what defines a wealthy country. From there, I will examine individual countries with varying histories and levels of wealth and inequality. My deep dive will provide examples of countries who experience comparatively little income inequality, along with those who deal with a more stark difference. In conclusion, I will present best practices collected by each country examined to determine how to best curb wealth inequality in a free market system.

Oumarou Toumba
Mojoko Mbella
Eyole Monono
University of Buea
Cameroon

In-Person Presentation

Managing Urban Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Neglected Dimension of Urban Poverty
The world’s population is increasingly urbanizing, with 46.2% for Sub-Saharan Africa in the very near future (UNFPA, 2011). The 2007/2008 food related riots that rocked Africa in particular demonstrated the vulnerability of the urban dwellers to poverty (Berazneva et al. 2013). The main urban issue that sub-Saharan Africa is facing is poverty growth without the urban structures in place that can meet the well-being (Erbach and Gaudet 1998).This has created large deficits in service provision which exposes urban population to poverty. Despite the fact that the international community has come with the United Nation SDGs set to halt the number of people living in poverty but 75% of the urban areas are unplanned and characterized by sprawl and chaotic development (U.S. GAO, 2000). This paper examines thescale of urban poverty facing sub-Saharan Africa, measures taken and the prospects of international commitments in solving raising urban poverty. Thus, it considers what we know about poverty in these urban centres and the implications for development.

Melissa Nelson
Robert Sanders
Bruce Stephenson
Anne Stone

In-Person Presentation

Supporting Professional Development around the Global Goals through Internationalization
The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals serve as an excellent curricular framework that supports inter- and transdisciplinary academic work and helps faculty and staff make the case that liberal arts education matters. In this presentation, we will describe a strategy for using the Sustainable Development Goals as the foundation for a professional development program for Rollins College faculty and staff wanting to think more deeply about these goals in the context of their own disciplines and how they might rethink or redesign their own courses or programs to better engage their adult undergraduate and graduate students in work around sustainability from a global perspective that plays out at the community level. This professional development program leverages the work of the Social Impact Hub, a collaborative campus space that creates programming dedicated to learning about the Sustainable Development Goals and value of design thinking for actionable problem-solving. It also builds on a series of projects designed to advance the Orlando Greenworks Plan, the guiding document of the Orlando Sustainability Office that is centered on the Sustainable Development Goals. This program meets several goals: Develop globally competent knowledge among faculty who teach in and direct Holt programs; Cultivate intercultural competencies related to sustainability; Foster globally competent citizenship among our Holt faculty and directors. 

Kim Nielson
Kevin Shurtleff
Weihong Wang
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Accommodations for the rapidly increasing world population and associated energy consumption is a global problem that requires immediate attention. To combat this issue, the United Nations adopted in 2015 an agenda containing 17 global objectives to accomplish a more sustainable future by 2030.

On a local scale, the Wasatch front in Utah is one of the fastest growing communities in the nation and combined with an explosive increase in housing cost has led to an accelerated housing crisis and high energy demand.

One possible solution is constructing communities of tiny homes that can alleviate the housing pressure, energy cost, and provide home for low-income residents. Often accompanying tiny homes are decreased environmental footprints, since they require less energy to heat/cool and less space for waste accumulation. Despite these facts, there exists very little research regarding energy efficiency and energy efficient designs of tiny homes. This is even more perplexing considering a tiny home has the potential to be a zero-energy building.

The UVU initiative is based on using shipping containers as a tiny homes with the implementation of smart-energy designs and quantifying energy efficiency through a suite of sensors. The project forms a laboratory for not only faculty research, but also student research and integration into courses at UVU involving energy, sustainability, and construction. On a broader scale, the project objectives are to serve the local and global communities through knowledge transfer to optimize designs for tiny homes.

The presentation introduce the project concept and preliminary designs and model results.

Hannah Reynolds
Princeton University

In-Person Presentation

The Tongass Under Threat: Opportunities for Environmental Justice and Resilience Under Well-Managed Forest Systems
If selected, I will present on the importance of protecting our forests and the opportunities within forests in the achievement of UN SDGs. I have spent the past nearly 3 years working on a research project and senior thesis based in Southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest, a forest threatened especially under the Trump administration, which sought to open over 9 million acres of the forest to logging, roadbuilding and development. I will detail my ethnographic research and experience working with local nonprofit organizations which fought to protect the forest from clearcutting. My research considers opportunities for clean energy security, particularly sustainable hydropower and heat pumps, a tourism, recreation and subsistence-based economy, the sale of carbon offsets as a means of protecting the forest, the Indigenous, spiritual, and community values tied to the forest, the forest as a means of food security, and more.

Mariana Bittermann

Germany

In-Person Presentation

How am I responsible for the working conditions of people mining for raw materials that I am consuming and how can I take up this responsibility? In light of the United Nation’s Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the question of who carries how much political responsibility for unjust structures of production is a pressing issue. A normative philosophical discussion on these questions offers an important perspective for “SDG 12: Responsible production and consumption” in relation to the core question of the conference as it allows the methodical exploration of why our individual responsibilities and contributions matter. In this presentation, the author will use Iris Marion Young’s Social Connection Model of political responsibility and illustrate with the example of the global movement against the mining of so-called “blood diamonds” in how far, why and how consumers, organizations, institutions, and corporations carry a political responsibility to dismantle unjust social structures. It will be argued that political responsibility is generated by social connection and that the aforementioned global movement against “blood diamonds” is a positive example of how this responsibility can be taken up to work towards the dismantlement of unjust social structures. However, opposing Young’s position, it will be argued that political responsibility is not shared equally among everyone participating in the social processes reproducing structural injustice. Therefore, the Social Connection Model will be expanded by identifying factors which determine degrees of political responsibility.

Cayla Brint
Emma Burke
Marissa Hastings
Will Huckins
David Krawczyk
Erika Ramirez
Kirsten Sjoberg
Lehigh University

In-Person Presentation

Combatting the Plastic Waste Crisis through Micro-Recycling Facilities across the Philippines
Our project, PlasTech Ventures, aims to combat the plastic waste crisis through implementing low-cost micro-recycling facilities, starting in the Philippines. To achieve our goal, we plan to implement a business in a box strategy that will be sold to entrepreneurs in the Philippines. Our business in a box provides entrepreneurs with the technology, the training, and the network to successfully invest in and run a facility that turns post-consumer plastic waste into value-added products. By utilizing post-consumer plastic waste and repurposing it into high-value products, PlasTech Ventures works towards achieving SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, and 13: Climate Action. Our project specifically aims to lock up the plastic waste that would otherwise be used in single-use consumption and then, most likely, thrown into landfills or local waste streams. At 2.7 metric million tons of waste per year, the Philippines is one of the biggest contributors to the plastic crisis and has a lack of waste management facilities and recycling infrastructure. Through our established partnerships with the University of the Philippines Diliman, the Philippine Plastics Industry Association, and NGOs in Manila, we plan on identifying local entrepreneurs and working with the entrepreneur and our partners to establish micro-recycling facilities within specific communities and cities. In doing so, we will be rerouting the waste plastic and creating a more sustainable lifestyle, thus closing an open-loop waste cycle and lessening the impact of plastic on climate change while providing income opportunities to local entrepreneurs.

Martina Magni

Italy

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

An Exploratory Research on Circular Ecosystems Scalability - An Identification of Six Directions and Determining Circular Practices
The circular economy is a key opportunity to address numerous current challenges, such as waste management, biodiversity loss and resource scarcity. For this reason, it has been placed as a priority on the agenda of several governments and businesses. This economic model requires changes in terms of flows of resources, energy and value which in most cases cannot be managed by a single company. For this reason, an ecosystem perspective is both useful and needed, which involves several autonomous and interdependent actors who jointly create and deliver a coherent circular value proposition within a circular ecosystem. To make a significant contribution to sustainable development, however, an important issue concerns the ability of such ecosystems to scale to gain significant market share from the current dominant linear models of production and consumption. This research aims to suggest a solution to this question, starting from the limits linked to the geographical scalability of the circular economy that is found in industrial symbiosis. Next, drawing inspiration from the computer science literature, six significant scaling dimensions for circular ecosystems are identified. Finally, combining literature with exploratory case studies, five circular principles that support the ecosystem's ability to scale are suggested.

Casey Su-Morrill
Lehigh University

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

Environmental Factors that Drive Oxygen Minimum Zone Formation, Duration and Overturn with Consequences for Life Under Water
Climate change and eutrophication cause ocean deoxygenation by reducing the oxygen content of the oceans, especially in coastal regions. Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) occur when the quantity of dissolved O2 exceeds its availability. One model coastal ecosystem is Devil’s Hole; a submerged sinkhole that undergoes seasonal stratification resulting in a predictable OMZ. Since 2016, monthly sampling has been carried out covering a suite of physicochemical and biological parameters. This study uses climate and time-series data to determine what factors impact the formation, duration, and overturn of the Devil’s Hole OMZ.
Stratification occurs when the surface seawater temperatures are >24.5°C, temperature difference between surface and 24m depth are >3°C, and wind speed 20-day moving average is <40 knots. Stratification coupled with nitrate concentrations <2.1µM in the spring contribute to the formation of the OMZ. Duration is longer when the temperature difference and surface nitrate concentrations are higher while wind speeds are lower resulting in a stronger stratification. Rising sea surface temperatures increase atmospheric water vapor that in turn increases the risk of heavy precipitation and Tropical Cyclone Activity. Overturn occurs when hurricanes and tropical storms disrupt stratification, sea surface temperatures drop below 24.5°C, and average wind speeds exceed 20 knots.  
Since the Devil’s Hole OMZ undergoes reliable transitions, this natural laboratory is used to study the environmental factors and climate drivers that promote the spread of OMZs gaining insights into the impact of eutrophication, ocean deoxygenation and ocean acidification on life under the water.

Kalani Egginton
Utah Valley University

Jaimi Butler
Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster College

In-Person Presentation

Great Salt Lake Matters: Robust Outreach Informs Local Communities
Great Salt Lake and the immense landscapes that feed it form one of the most unique ecosystems in the world. In close proximity to the lake is a major metropolitan area that receives both health and economic benefits from a sustainable lake ecosystem. Informing the community about “why our lake matters” has been the goal of Great Salt Lake Institute (GSLI) at Westminster College for the past 13 years. GSLI has successfully generated excitement among diverse audiences about the lake to create support for and a need to maintain this ecosystem for wildlife and people. This presentation will explore outreach methods used by GSLI that have helped countless individuals deeply connect to the lake and its surrounding landscapes. Such outreach methods include publishing an illustrated children’s book about the lake; working closely with local science and art museums to enrich exhibits about the lake; supporting science education in local schools by offering hands-on learning experiences for teachers and K-12 students; co-hosting and participating in many live events; hosting on-site training for politicians, informal educators, and managers; utilizing the media by writing newspaper articles, as well as conducting radio and tv interviews; and participating on many boards and committees that study, inform, and help to manage and conserve the lake.  Through these robust outreach efforts, GSLI has connected the lake to millions of people.  We invite participants to learn from GSLI’s successes and failures so they can better understand how to inform their local communities about “why it matters”.

Stefanos Alevizos

Greece

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

Cases of Child Abuse and Neglect in Greece during COVID-19 era
During the pandemic and lockdown period, Greece's National Children's Hotline S.O.S. 1056 received a total of 204,791 calls about violations of children's rights. The goal of this study is to provide a statistical breakdown of the calls made and how they were related to the COVID-19 and Lockdown phenomena. The following were significant findings:
• 45.57 percent of calls for psychological support came from children;
• 28.81 percent used the CHAT 1056 app;
• 2 calls per day for psychological support in cases of bullying;
• High percentage of calls for Fear / Stress Management (9.72 percent);
• and more than one case of suicidal ideation per day.
The image above depicts the life of children in Greece during the COVID-19 period, the gaps that emerged in the child protection system, the new challenges that we were called to face, and the good practises that were implemented to protect children. In general, the National Telephone Line SOS 1056 rang every two minutes in 2021 for a case involving a child in danger.
The presentation focuses on the qualitative analysis of the following aspects:
• Statistical data of the “SOS 1056” Hotline and the “CHAT 1056”, concerning the complaints and/or reports of abuse 
• Profile of the perpetrator abusing children
• Profile of the child victim of abuse
• Evaluation of the collaborations and the tools that “The Smile of the Child” initiated and further developed for the prevention, intervention and treatment of violence and abuse phenomena 

Daniel Barragán
Universidad Hemisferios
Ecuador

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION (Spanish)

La adopción del Acuerdo de Escazú da respuesta a las necesidades de la región de contar con un instrumento jurídicamente vinculante que garantice el ejercicio de los derechos procedimentales ambientales y que reconozca la importancia de proteger a las personas defensoras de derechos humanos ambientales. 

Para una región, como América Latina y el Caribe, megadiversa, rica en recursos naturales, dependiente del extractivismo y con una alta conflictividad socioambiental, el Acuerdo de Escazú se plantea como una ‘ventana de oportunidad’ para transformar las dinámicas de relacionamiento y garantizar un escenario de democracia ambiental que contribuya al logro del desarrollo sostenible. Un escenario fundamentado en el ejercicio de los derechos derechos procedimentales ambientales y en el respeto a la vida y a la seguridad de las personas defensoras de derechos humanos ambientales. 

En este contexto, el trabajo aborda dos casos de estudio que dan cuenta cómo el Acuerdo es viable de implementación (caso de buenas prácticas) y cómo el Acuerdo tiene el potencial de prevenir malas prácticas de participación en la gestión ambiental. En ambos casos, se incluirá un enfoque de análisis en torno a la contribución al desarrollo sostenible, a la reducción de desigualdades y a la inclusión de grupos tradicionalmente marginados en los procesos de toma de decisiones ambientales que permitan aproximar una respuesta a la interrogante central de la conferencia: WHY IT MATTERS.

Tiffany Chan
University of Utah, Bennion Center, and the Utah ERA Coalition

In-Person Presentation

Educating and Engaging Youth Through Legislative Advocacy for the Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. It seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, and other matters. The ERA would provide a clearer judicial standard for deciding cases of sex discrimination and would provide a strong legal defense against a rollback of the significant advances in women's rights that have been achieved since the mid–20th century. Without the ERA women regularly — and occasionally men — have to fight long, expensive, and difficult legal battles in an effort to prove that their rights are equal to those of the other sex. The longer the ERA is not ratified, the longer that many live without equal rights indefinitely, which is why this is pertinent to the youth as they are changemakers and help change the future of the country. The basis of this project is to educate and engage youth through legislative advocacy on the ERA by utilizing social justice education and political activism tools. More social changes over time have helped lean away from patriarchal culture as young Americans become more conscious of social justice. As solidarity becomes more championed, it gradually becomes an inherent characteristic through collective organizing, effectively building power and influence of youth activists. Thus, the youth are needed because they can help drive another shift towards an equitable future and could prove to be a powerful and collective force for ERA ratification.

Katherine Chipman
University of Utah

In-Person Presentation

In order to counter political conflict, we first need to understand the factors that increase these incidents. The United Nations reported that the number of people fleeing war, persecution, and conflict exceeded 70 million in 2018, the highest level recorded by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in almost 70 years. Although much work has been done to halt current conflicts, stopping these incidents before they start is much more challenging. 

In the modern age of technology, the amount of data intelligence communities and policymakers must sort and evaluate is overwhelming. The sheer volume of information slows down the process of providing accurate and timely intelligence to help stop conflict before it escalates. Finding models to help predict hot spots or areas at greater risk for conflict will significantly aid the intelligence community, and policymakers focus limited resources on the most relevant data. This study seeks to combine machine learning with previous research to create a model to predict potential future patterns of conflict due to political, economic, social, and demographic factors.

Utilizing the Random Forest machine learning algorithm, this presentation will adapt previous research that has successfully provided long-term crime predictions and explore a machine-learning model that predicts conflict. The research questions I seek to answer are, “How do political, economic, social, and demographic factors affect the potential for a crisis between independent nation-states?” and “How do political, economic, social, and demographic factors affect the use of violence in a crisis?”

Marian Edmonds-Allen
Parity

In-Person Presentation

This presentation will share the true story of how an LGBT activist and a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mom partnered together to help LGBT youth experiencing homelessness - and forged a lasting friendship in the process.

The youth was slight.  Most people wouldn’t have guessed he was homeless, but I could tell from his worn-out shoes and because his backpack that was two sizes too large for his small frame.  I watched him edge by while I tried - unsuccessfully so far - to convince a powerful legislative aide that yes, there actually were youth experiencing homelessness in Utah.  I had invited her to our LGBTQ+ youth center to see for herself, but she still was unconvinced. 

The youth caught Laura's eye - she asked him a question.  He had begun putting canned goods in the oddly oversized backpack, slowly, and then more quickly when he noticed her attention.  He stuffed in some new socks and then answered her question, finally - how old was he?  He mumbled something - then louder: 18!  We all knew that wasn’t true.  Laura’s face finally softened - Really?  No, I’m 12, the youth said.

We will share the entire story (with a very happy ending!) and share how Utah’s unique “better way” has implications for the entire world, and also share concrete, simple steps that anyone can do in their own community, large or small, to bridge even seemingly intractable divides - and even create surprising friendships in the process.

Dallas Karren
Alitha Thompson
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Establishing Rule of Law for Equal Justice in Rural and Mountainous Colombia:  A Case Study of the Post-Conflict Era
This presentation will emphasize the rural mountainous regions of Colombia as centers of conflict and demonstrate disproportionate levels of violence, violations of fundamental rights, and unequal justice comparatively with national statistics or urban populations through comparative situational evaluations on aspects of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 and in particular Targets 16.1, reduction of violence; 16.3, rule of law and equal Justice; and 16.10, the protection of fundamental freedoms.

Rahel Meyer
BYU-Hawaii

In-Person Presentation

Refugee policies and public perception
By the end of 2020, 82.4 million refugees had been forcibly displaced from their homes. While many of these displaced people were seeking shelter in other regions of the world, data suggest that public opinion in many "welcoming" countries shifted towards negative perceptions of refugees, despite policies intended to foster inclusion. The next wave of refugees, catalyzed by the situation in Afghanistan, has already shown that the general population and political leaders among several countries tend to be less willing to admit refugees due to their experiences with the Syrian refugee crisis. To understand this issue better and find possible solutions for creating sustainable prosperity for refugees, as well as reducing miscommunication and discrepancy between the two communities, this presentation looks at the different policies implemented in welcoming countries and see how countries' policies were either successful or unsuccessful in improving the terms of inclusion and participation in society for refugees. Being able to draw from a specific list of successful policies can therefore be a practical help for welcoming countries to determine the best outcome possible. The Afghan refugee crisis may be the most recent, but it will not be the last. Experts say climate change will push out 216 million refugees by 2050 if immediate actions aren't taken. Learning from past mistakes as well as successes in policy can only benefit the global society and increase peace and justice while strengthening institutions.  

Ellie Anders Thompson
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Untapped Power of Worldview Motivation: How Interfaith Engagement Might Grow Your Work
The work of many nonprofit organizations and NGOs could benefit from the bridged social capital and the pluralism work of interfaith leaders in higher education. The untapped power of worldview based motivation is a resource in plentiful supply in younger generations of folks who fundamentally want to make a difference in their world. In the interfaith movement I am a part of, we follow the pluralism definition of Dr. Diana Eck of the Havard divinity school, a world where we can maintain the truths that make us distinct while working for the common good. This movement is growing through the work of Interfaith Youth Core and Havard’s Pluralism Project in Higher Education. Those common goods are pursued by NGOs around the world. This oral presentation will utilize a dialogue with the participants of the workshop. We will seek to begin with a common foundation of terms for worldview, interfaith, social capital, and pluralism. Then we will  turn to ways in which the growing interfaith movement can be harnessed to build the work and volunteer base of a variety of NGOs. It will offer practical suggestions on how NGOs might go about hosting interfaith workshops to recruit organizational support and resources. We will also offer resources for folks in higher education to begin to build interfaith engagement work on their home campuses.

Oihane Aldayturriaga
Nora Sarasola
Eider Inunciaga Serna
BBK Foundation
Spain

In-Person Presentation

BBK Kuna: social innovation and sustainable development, from local to global
BBK Kuna, House of SDGs, is a space for social innovation in which different agents linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) participate in order to offer the society of Bizkaia and the Basque Country numerous solutions to respond to the challenges of the future. BBK banking foundation is shareholder of 57% of Kutxabank and it also collaborates in promoting the territory’s economy through the investment activity it undertakes with the companies of the surrounding area. By implementing the efficiency of these two sources of income, it performs the leading Social Work in the State per capita and the second in size. A Social Work generating sustainable social and economic value benefiting all the people of Bizkaia. BBK’s mission is to help build a prosperous, cohesive and sustainable Bizkaia. Striving to contribute to the welfare and achieve equal opportunities in Bizkaia with differentiated and driving actions and preserving its heritage with responsible and committed investments through four fields of action aimed at achieving the SDGs in different ways. - Inclusion, equality and participation. Favouring the integration and welfare of the non-working or disadvantaged population through their social and labour participation. - Culture. Favouring access to citizens’ access to culture and strengthen its social value supporting cultural expressions in Bizkaia. - Education, talent and entrepreneurship. Contributing to strengthen values and generating cohesive wealth by providing complementary support to the education and science system and social impact projects in employment and entrepreneurship. - The environment and sustainable development As part of BBK´s commitment to sustainability, Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals are integrated within our strategy. All our projects are linked to the SDGs and efforts in this direction have specifically been channelled through the creation of BBK Kuna: the House of SDGs. The House of SDGs promotes innovative projects, from the heart of Bilbao La Vieja (Old Town of Bilbao), providing solutions to challenges such as the ageing population, unemployment and the loneliness of elderly persons; climate change, the technological revolution, the transformation of cities or migration. Challenges linked to 2030 Agenda that have be addressed in order to continue to grow as a society without leaving anyone behind. Different methodologies are used to this end and three main lines of work are established as main structure: 1- Kuna Lab: constitutes an umbrella for the work that BBK Kuna does with organizations (creation of a network of entities that have embraced 2030 Agenda or funding and call for applications) 2- Citizenship participation: it is ensured through projects such as the Neighbourhood Advisory Council, the Learning Communities or The Future Game (an online gamified experience addressed to Young people who have to provide solutions to challenges linked to the SDGs) 3- Education/Training: with a clear focus on courses that ensure employability, such as bootcamps on digital employments that are highly demanded by companies. The House of the SDGs constitutes a unique initiative.

Cassie Bingham
Agustin Diaz
Summer Valente
Jonathan Westover
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Designed to Fail: A Critique of the Implementation of the SDGs
How we design, implement, and talk about the Sustainable Development Goals critically matters to their ultimate success. In this presentation we will use social impact strategies—systems thinking and equity-centered design—to critique the current implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and propose a way to get out of perpetual failure to accomplish the goals, resulting in delayed SDG deadlines (2020, 2030, etc.) and diminished collective belief in truly achieving sustainable development. Our purpose of this critique aligns precisely with SDG 17: we seek to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development with this nuanced perspective. The current model as it stands is designed to fail. We believe we need a shift in process and language to get out of this perpetual failure, and instead embrace carefully designed interventions and iterative progress. In this session we will discuss social impact strategies, how they apply to the implementation of the SDGs, and better ways of storytelling around the SDGs. We will end with an illustration of our proposed approach using SDG 1: “End poverty in all its forms everywhere.”

Maria Blevins
Leandra Hernandez
Meaghan McKasy
Michael Stevens
Utah Valley University

In-Person Presentation

Bea”Utah”ful Collaboration: A Case Study of a Collaborative Research Project
Geologically and historically unique, a visit to Capitol Reef National Park (CRNP) is a national park experience unlike any in the world. Nestled in the middle of the four other national parks in Utah, it is a destination for hikers, history lovers, and those with the goal of visiting every national park. Utah Valley University (UVU) and CRNP share a special partnership due to the University having Capitol Reef Field Station. In 2012, Utah launched the Mighty Five tourism campaign in which the state of Utah advertised the wonders of its five national parks. It was a success, park visits increased from 6.3 million visitors in 2014 to 10 million in 2016. Capitol Reef has not been immune to this growth. Capitol Reef is now dealing with issues related to exponential growth in tourist numbers. The increase in visitor numbers affects how personnel manage every part of the visitor experience. We present this project as a model of how multiple public organizations can share the work of collecting data to make management decisions in the face of growth and change. This collaboration not only helps create policy and practice that helps sustain the unique characteristic of the park, sharing the work is more sustainable for organizational members. This presentation is an exploration of the collaborative efforts necessary to prepare for a future in which more visitors are coming to the park while keeping in mind climate change, encouraging more diverse visitors to the park, resource protection, and capacity.

Suman S. Shanker
Indian Institute of Technology
India

PRERECORDED PRESENTATION

Women, when treated as worthwhile contenders and not mere stakeholders in the design and implementation of governance commitments of nation states, leads to successful achievement of the sustainable goals to development. This presentation explores the construction of safe public spaces for young girls and women in India, emerging from their vulnerability to, and negotiation of violence in particular urban spaces. I specifically engage with two initiatives from my doctoral field research conducted between May 2019-January 2020, with a New Delhi based NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) that works with women and children from low socio-economic income groups vulnerable to abuse and violence. The paper makes key observations in the implementation of the Crisis Intervention Cell (CIC), a kind of Victim Assistance Program (VAP) instituted by the state, and the community based gender sensitization/ sexual abuse awareness workshops in partnership with private companies under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. First, I provide critical sociological insights into the state-sponsored medical, legal, financial and psychological assistance embarked through the ‘small spaces of interactions’ between frontline based workers such as counsellors, police, doctors and lawyers, and the victims of violence. Second, I explore the linkages between  capacity building of young girls and women from age 12-21 years in schools and colleges educating them about Violence against Women (VAW). This academic exploration points towards the enduring transformation brought into the lives of young girls and women, enabled by partnerships between state and non-states actors through knowledge transfer and training with both preventative and remedial approaches to VAW.

Keywords: Capacity Building, Partnerships for goals, Sexual Abuse Awareness, Victim Assistance Program, Violence Against Women