Over two days in New York City on April 16 and 17, the Sustainability Initiative connected with partners working on the Sustainable Development Goals across local government, the United Nations, and education sectors. The team met with staff from the NYC Mayor’s Office of Operations, presented at the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) workshop, and spoke at the Pratt Institute’s Research Open House at its Research Yard in Brooklyn.
Designed and led by Sustainability Initiative Director Alexandra Hiniker to foster student-led connections between institutions working on the Global Goals, the second annual UNAI workshop brought a wider circle to the table, with representatives from Columbia University, Hunter College, Lehigh University, The New School, New York University, Northeastern University, Pratt Institute, and UC Davis. Also joining for the first time was staff from the NYC Mayor’s Offices of Operations and International Affairs, whose firsthand experience applying the Global Goals framework at a city scale offered a perspective that extended well beyond the university context.