Do the 17 Sustainable Development Goals mean anything to you? To 13,248 inquiring minds, those SDGs are now something they know like the back of their hand. From September 3rd to October 16th, online courses have helped those learners to understand what the 17 SDGs are and the way they interact with one another. The goal was also to discover tools to better take SDGs into account in their daily routine, to express ideas and make suggestions for tangible initiatives, or to provide instances of initiatives and experiences that are already running.
The public was made up of 53% women and 47% men who came from 114 countries. 60% of those who signed up followed the course from France, and 33% from Africa. Supported by the Veolia Foundation, like those on Biodiversity, the Causes and Challenges of Climate Change, and Ecological Engineering, the MOOC represents a true record for the UVED (Virtual University of Environment and Sustainable Development University), who produced and coordinated the course.
The MOOC’s entire range of videos is freely available under Creative Commons License (BY NC ND – “Attribution – No commercial use – No modifications) on the UVED portal in the section Les parcours thématiques (theme-focused journeys) on broadcasting channels YouTube UVED and Canal-UVED. The MOOC is in the process of being translated into 5 languages. It will soon be available in the following languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian.
Veolia featured among the experts
Veolia Sustainable Development Director Pierre Victoria is among the 33 experts gathered to purvey the MOOC; he will be featured during the 4th week, devoted to “players who take on SDGs” (the theme is under the scientific supervision of Bettina Laville, Chairperson of Committee 21).
“The world of business is changing. Everyone knows that it is by being efficient in social and environmental terms, taking into account the needs of the planet and its populations, that businesses will become legitimate and be in a position to create value,” says Pierre Victoria, who explains why companies must take SDGs into account and how they can do so.