Our civilisation, as we know it, is at an historical tipping point, because of the environmental wreckage we are causing in the planetary biosphere. Planetary biophysical limits will determine the future of our world and, as things stand, this may well be characterised by huge discontinuities for human and natural systems, caused by widespread natural disasters, mass migration, and civil unrest. In this new age , – the Anthropocene- we urgently need new ways of thinking and acting. The shockwaves running through our interconnected global, environmental, socio-economic, and educational systems caused by Covid-19 create opportunities to transform all our current systems, at the deepest levels.
I am currently drafting a chapter which explores how our university systems could play a significant part in this national and global transformation, but only if they themselves can become transformative. As Richard Bawden (2008 ) has commented :
“There is a strange and inexplicable reluctance by our institutions of higher education across the entire globe, to overtly promote the fact that they are first and foremost, agencies of human and social development”.
He argues that “project civilisation” is profoundly fragile and our universities have extraordinary know how and capacity to protect it.
Many pressing challenges require transformation, rather than incremental change and trade-offs. These ‘grand challenges’ are reflected in the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the nations of the world in September 2015 at a meeting titled Transforming Our World, and in the December 2015Paris Climate Agreement (together called Agenda 2030). Agenda 2030 requires deep – many call it radical – change in mindsets, and ways of acting and organizing. Agenda 2030 present the challenges as inter-dependent ones of environment, equity, and poverty.
The knowledge, tools, and action for achieving transformative change are, however, inadequate and fragmented across disparate disciplines, issues, organizations, and people. There is, therefore, an urgent need to develop, nurture and connect ways of working and learning for transformative change. The SDG Transformation Forum is addressing this need. See also : https://transformationsforum.net/
And this short film outlining its purpose:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BTcKMODVAvoIypE2YGYUL10f04Xg6qD1/view
Find out here what is meant by “Transformation”.
A National Plan for the SDGs: https://www.ukssd.co.uk/measuringup
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