The future is in our hands: the International Scientific Conference on 17 Sustainable Development Goals was held at RUDN University for the first time

Sustainable Development Goals are in the focus of the global information agenda

Science and technology, achieving a sustainable and secure world, diplomacy as an art: the speakers of the plenary and strategic sessions formed the “agenda” for young researchers and students based on the principles of cooperation and partnership, the priority of sustainable development goals.

On the opening day of the conference, the plenary session was attended by:

• Mikhail Kovalchuk — President of the National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute” with the report “Science and Technology in the Modern World”.
• Riccardo Valentini is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change with the report “Smart Technologies for the Sustainable Development of the Urban Environment in the Context of Global Change”.
• Vladimir Kuznetsov — Director of the UN Information Center in Moscow, the topic of the speech is “The Agenda for Sustainable Development: Its Importance for Strengthening Peace and International Security”.
• Alexey Borisov — First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Association for UN Assistance, Vice-President of the World Federation of UN Associations with the report “Diplomacy of the regions of the Russian Federation on the main agenda.”

MORE ABOUT THE FIRST

DAY OF THE CONFERENCE

Janesh Kane, Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), spoke at the strategic session “Geopolitics: a strategy for strong alliances”.

“It is in our hands what kind of future we want to live for our children, grandchildren and beyond. For me geopolitics strategy of strong alliances can only be a strategy of all countries of the world coming together, and to contribute the world’s resolution of global issues and ensuring the better future for all human beings.

Diplomacy is an art that can bring harmony to two competing aspects of human character, that is competition and cooperation. We need to use diplomacy to build more harmony in world. This is truer today than ever before as we face monumental challenges. We ought to our future generation to leave behind a better harmonic and sustainable world,” — Janesh Kane.

From global to local: what do you remember about the thematic sessions?

On November 23-26, 14 thematic sessions and three framework discussions took place. They affected all 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) until 2030, developed in 2015 by the UN General Assembly. Reports were made by experts, young scientists and students — winners of the competition of research papers on topics of host countries.

SDGs 6 “Clean Water and Sanitation”

“The session began with a report by my co-moderator, Professor of the Jordanian University of Science and Technology, Dr. Hani Abu Qdeis. The discussion focused on the lack of water in arid zones, the researcher identified the impact of climate change on Jordan’s water resources. It was possible to consolidate the efforts of scientists from Nigeria, India, Ecuador in solving common issues in the field of integrated water resources management.

Based on the results of the session, leading scientists decided to create an international scientific and educational center for integrated water resources management on the basis of the RUDN Institute of Ecology,” — Anna Kurbatova, moderator of the SDG 6 session “Clean Water and Sanitation”, associate professor of the RUDN Institute of Ecology.

SDGs 5 Gender Equality

The session was opened by Olga Voronina, Director of the Moscow Center for Gender Studies. She was one of the first in Russia to start developing the theory and methodology of gender studies. Her report was devoted to the state policy of the Russian Federation in the field of gender equality.

“We managed to make a truly cross-cultural perspective on gender issues. We looked at modern problems: domestic violence, wage inequality, double workload at work and at home, sexist stereotypes,”- Olga Voronina.

Amina Khalilova, a researcher from the Dagestan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, made a presentation “The gender status of a Muslim woman at the turn of the 20th—21st centuries. in Russia: transformations and the current state”. Sociologist Hani Fusia from Morocco spoke about the oppression of women in the Arab camps of the Maghreb. Postgraduate students Anita Biswas and Deborah Chirinos touched upon the specifics of the situation of women in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Listeners learned that the main political struggle in Bangladesh is now between two women in the election race.

“Our session is popular among young researchers and students. The reports were presented by the winners of the competition of works on the subjects of RUDN University host countries, graduate students and students of other universities and research institutes: Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow State Law Academy named after. Kutafina, Belgorod State National Research University”, — Natalya Erokhova, moderator of the SDGs 5 session “Gender Equality”, Deputy Director for Research at the Institute of Foreign Languages of RUDN University.

SDGs 4 “Quality Education”

The International Conference on Sustainable Development Goals has become a key event for RUDN University students. They talked directly with experts, found like-minded people in other faculties and tested the results of their research.

“Getting feedback from representatives of foreign regions on topical issues of ecology, science, and education is an incredible experience. The main session for me was the ‘Quality Education’ session, which raised the issues of organizing equal access to education for everyone. These problems are currently unresolved in many countries. I hope the session attracted the attention of foreign universities and this will lead to noticeable results in creating a high-quality and affordable educational environment,” — Daniil Dobromirov, Chairman of the Board of the RUDN University Scientific Student Society, winner of the competition for student research papers on the subject of host countries.

“The conference focused on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals — this required the development of a clear structure of thematic sessions, well-coordinated work of moderators and organizers. Problems were analyzed not only at the global, but also at the regional and local levels. The participants were able to discuss the priority issues of our time, problems and challenges, trends and directions of development of the countries of the world, human civilization as a whole. The working platform created on the sidelines of the conference will continue to function in the future,” — Petr Dokukin, Head of the RUDN University Scientific Department.

Based on the results of the conference, in the first quarter of 2023, a collection of scientific papers will be published, indexed in the RSCI database (Russian Science Citation Index).