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Agenda
Click to see a more detailed agenda for the workshop.(tinyurl.com/MIWagenda)
09:30-10:00am Check-in
10:00-10:15 am Opening Remarks
10:15-10:45 am Introduction to UN Sustainable Development Goals
and the Value of Partnerships in Addressing Them
10:45-11:25 am Panel 1 - SDG Partnerships on the Program Level
--> Penn State Sustainable Communities Collaborative
--> Bucknell University-Coal Region Field Station
11:35-12:15 pm Panel 2 - SDG Partnerships on the Project Level
--> Shippensburg University-Storm Drain Art
--> PSU-Kensington-Walking the Sustainabilty Talk
12:15-12:30 pm Break, food line
12:30-1:15 pm Keynote address, Heidi Kunka DEP
--> The Power of Partnerships in Leading by Example
1:30-2:15 pm Concurrent Workshop Sessions Round 1
2:15-3:00 pm Concurrent Workshop Sessions Round 2
3:00-3:30 pm Reconvene and Closing Comments
Overview
In 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)- targets for the global community to improve quality of life, achieve ecosystem vitality, and ensure resilient communities. To achieve these goals, partnerships across sectors that can implement change at a local scale are key. Join us for conversations on community engagement for sustainability and how to build partnerships between university and community stakeholders with a focus on SDGs. Staff from Penn State's Sustainable Communities Collaborative, Bucknell's Place Studies program in the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, as well as faculty and staff from Shippensburg University and Penn State Kensington will share the details of their programs, how they work, the agreements they make, the relationships they build, and the projects they have put in place. They will also show how their projects engage with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and stitch them together through campus and community action. We will also learn about individual projects at PERC member schools in the arts, energy, water, and more. The workshop will include interactive sessions where participants can discuss these issues and develop tentative strategies for their own work and partnerships.
Keynote Speaker
Heidi Kunka, Energy Program Specialist with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), will be giving the keynote address: "The Power of Partnerships in Leading by Example."
Heidi oversees Pennsylvania's Local Government Climate Action Assistance Program, which is in its first year of implementation. The program partners with PA universities & colleges to “match a student with each participating local government, so they can be assisted in the process of developing their GHG inventories and CAPs.” The students work in partnership with DEP and ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability to guide a group of Pennsylvania local governments in completing a greenhouse gas inventory and subsequently developing a climate action plan.
In her keynote, Heidi will talk about the inaugural year of the program and how it is an excellent partnership model. She’ll explain why the program came to be, how it is shaped, and provide an update on its progress to date. Directly following the keynote, she hopes to hear from the audience on how to grow and improve the program. Heidi will be participating in the afternoon sessions as well, where participants will be able to gain further understanding of the program.
Gratitude
This event is made possible by dues from PERC Member Institutions and by the support of PERC's sponsors, including Sodexo, Brookfield Renewable, NextEra and our newest sponsor, Terrasol Energies. Thank you.