Act further: Sustainable development for civic activists

This course is a part of the educational product developed by the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine with financial support from the German Government through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The educational product also includes courses for civil servants and business representatives.

On 25 September 2015, a historic UN Summit took place in New York. As a result, the "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" resolution was adopted by world leaders. The document identified new landmarks for the development of the world that will contribute the economic growth, environmental management, and response to various social needs. These benchmarks are reflected in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Ukraine has also joined the global process. In September 2017, the national baseline report "Sustainable Development Goals: Ukraine" was presented. On 30 September 2019, given the issued Decree "On Sustainable Development Goals of Ukraine for the period until 2030" by the President of Ukraine, sustainable development was defined as the only possible means for the development of the national economy and public institutions that would ensure an increase in the level and quality of life of the population, and respect for constitutional and human rights.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a pivotal role in transforming global programmes into national priorities. These priorities are based on local necessities derived from people's needs.

The course is a chance to get to know the role of everyone in the mentioned process, despite age, occupation, professional area, or activities.

Today, we should build a fair world without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is a difficult task. Thereby, the one will need knowledge and understanding of processes on how to act #further.

What will you gain?

Ability to think in terms of sustainable development.
Awareness of the responsibility in the face of personal impact on sustainable development.
Understanding the causal links between economic, environmental, and social components of social life.
Understanding how to set goals and objectives for sustainable development for your community or civic organization and how to involve stakeholders in the partnership.
Readiness to play a changing role and act as an integrator to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Ukraine.

Who is the target audience?
The course is aimed at representatives of non-governmental organizations, territorial communities, civic leaders, and activists concerned about the country's environmental, social, and economic issues and those who are ready to support changes and build functional partnerships with stakeholders.

Course structure

The course structure is based on the approach of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, which foresee the economy and society as integral parts of the biosphere.
The course is presented in 19 modules, which are combined into four blocks:

Biosphere. Man as part of the biosphere. Climate change. The state of the biosphere within Ukraine. Environmental partnership strategy. Legislation, interaction with territorial communities, and civic monitoring as a tool for standing up to challenges.
Society. No Poverty and Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions… What brings together all Sustainable Development Goals?
Economics. Sustainable cities and communities. How to build partnerships with donors and implement “big projects” in cities and communities? Social entrepreneurship and examples of social inclusion. Clean energy and industry innovation. Catchy facts about cities’ zero waste, responsible consumption and production, as well as the connection between income and the amount of waste.
Partnership. Current tasks of the civic sector to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Practical pillars of community set-up, analysis of common values and interests, search for partners (including at the international level), and communication to effectively promote change.

The modules also provide best practices, experts’ comments, practical advice. To check your knowledge, tests are provided at the end of each block. Successful passing of tests allows receiving a certificate. The study load on the course corresponds to 0.9 ECTS credits.

Working group

Experts and analysts, representatives of civic associations, research and educational institutions, worked on the development of training modules. During the preparation process, special attention was paid to the modern challenges brought up by the civic community, namely irresponsible production and unconscious consumption, low public awareness of the nature and importance of sustainable development, low awareness of personal responsibility and human rights.

Official Identity of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals became the basis for the visual and stylistic design of the course.