By Chessa Pae Faustino, Correspondent 

Shaping global youth leaders, the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) held an international webinar on leadership for sustainable development on July 11-15. 

The Young Leaders in Sustainability International Short Course Program virtually gathered tertiary students from Asian universities to enhance their understanding on the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and improve their decision-making abilities as emerging leaders. 

The five-day program involved lecture sessions and interactive exercises participated in by 150 young leaders from Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. 

Dr. Arlene Gonzales, chief for MMSU international programs, said the SDG short course program aimed to build the students’ holistic sustainability thinking and evidence-based approaches for effective action, and motivate them to create innovative solutions that would address the achievement of the SDGs. 

“It also serves as a stepping stone in building a global network of university students that are progressively learning and working towards a better world by implementing various projects and activities in line with different SDGs,” Gonzales added. 

As part of the program, a competition on ‘SDG Stories’ will be conducted. Here, young leaders will document the milestones of their future projects and present these through video narrations. 

Dr. Carlos M. Pascual, former MMSU professor who is now with the Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Philippines, keynoted the program by tackling leadership for the 2030 SD agenda. Eleven reputable experts from various universities and organizations across the world also served as lecturers: Ms. Aashiyana Adhikari, research associate of the Center for South Asian Studies and creator of Women Policy in Nepal; Mr. Burra Yashuayatin Padma Raj of the Oakridge International School and creator of the Project Care in India; Mr. Ranadheer Mandadi, program officer of the Student Innovation Camp Asian Institute of Technology; Dr. Oleg Shipin, director of the World Health Organization - Collaborating for Water Supply, Waste Disposal, and Air Quality; Dr. Marlowe Aquino, MMSU director for planning; Ms. Melissa Pradhan, climate change policy manager of the Oxford Policy Management in Nepal; Prof. Deepak Sharma, director of the Center for Global Challenges of the Asian Institute of Technology; Mr. Pawan Kumar Srikanth of the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester; Dr. Hamid Arshad of the University of Management and Technology in Pakistan; Ms. Analiza Diaz, science and research specialist of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources; and Dr. Faiz Shah, director of the Yunus Center, Asian Institute of Technology.

Dr. Mee Jay Domingo, MMSU director for internationalization, linkages and partnerships (ILP), believes the young leaders’ exposure to SDG topics enabled them “to develop empathy and compassion that will motivate them to start community initiatives which can create change or unite our world.”

MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis congratulated the ILP for organizing the first-ever SDG international webinar of MMSU, saying it reflects the university’s strong commitment to the SDG goals. She believes that through the program, “young participants from Asian universities, including MMSU, will become empowered to work together to address complex sustainable development challenges in their respective communities.”

The short course program is in-line with the UN’s Young Leaders for the SDGs, its flagship initiative that aims to develop among youth the “agency, courage and ingenuity in finding lasting solutions to the world’s greatest challenges.”  

Earlier this year, MMSU emerged as the country’s top state university, and ranked 401st-600th worldwide, in the 2020 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, the only global ranking based on the SDGs. (HLY/JVBT/DPTJ, StratCom)