As all SDGs are covered by the initiative, all areas of the University are involved
At the beginning of 2017, the initiative “SDGs at the Theatre” was planned to take place at the University of Brescia (Italy). Promoted by the UNESCO Chair on “Training and empowering human resources for health development in resource-limited countries”, it aimed to boosting the message/dissemination of the 2030 Agenda that had recently been launched by the United Nations among the academic community and citizens. This approach has been considered particularly suited to the social and productive context of the Province of Brescia, characterised on the one hand by a highly industrialized structure/system focused on innovation and scientific development, and on the other by significant environmental problems and pockets of poverty. The challenge of sustainability, at both universal and local levels, has therefore been adopted by the University of Brescia as an educational strategy involving the entire socially engaged academic community. It is no surprise then that the “SDGs at the Theatre” initiative was inaugurated by one of the greatest contemporary philosophers, Emanuele Severino with a lecture titled “Towards a better world”. It is a journey, guiding each participant to deeply understand each individual Goal with the help of a University professor and a national or international guest expert at the magnificent Teatro Grande, one of the symbols of the city of Brescia, located in the heart of the city centre. Prof. Enrico Giovannini, spokesman of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS) also participated by leading the discussion concerning SDG 8. The cycle of meetings started in May 2017 on a monthly-bimonthly basis, and has ended in May 2019. Within the context of such an initiative, the University of Brescia awarded the Laurea honoris causa in Green Economy to Prof. Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University (https://youtu.be/ppv_bkzMKdI), one of the inspiring thinkers of the 2030 Agenda. The awarding Ceremony also took place at the Teatro Grande
The initiative has been well received by the academic and the social communities and gathered hundreds of participants. At the end of the meetings, the participants who attended the entire cycle have been awarded with a symbolic certificate, testifying their sensitivity towards the environmental, social (equity) and economic pillars of sustainable development. Each meeting has been recorded and is now freely available on the University of Brescia’s website for educational use (https://sostenibile.unibs.it/agenda-2030/). The meetings have appeared in the local press, expanding their popularity among the citizens of Brescia. As a relevant result within the academic community of the growing sensitivity towards the UN 2030 Agenda that has been fostered by the “SDGs at the Theatre” initiative, in February 2019 the University of Brescia created a “University Research and Documentation Centre for the 2030 Agenda”.
The “SDGs at the Theatre” initiative is fully and intrinsically embedded into the SDG framework, as it represents its goal-by-goal scientific and social dissemination among the academic community and citizens. The main objective of our action has been to increase awareness on the 2030 Agenda’s philosophy and goals
No specific obstacles were encountered while planning and implementing the initiative. The follow-up will be carried out by the University of Brescia’s newly founded “University Research and Documentation Centre for the 2030 Agenda”. The Centre will be responsible for fostering and boosting educational and research activities to reach the goals of the 2030 Agenda on a local level while partnering with national and international entities to partake in the global effort to also achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda on a global scale. A second cycle of meetings will start at the end of this pandemic so to present the results of our researches on the 17 SDGs.
