Her Excellency Dr Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), Switzerland
"Universities and academic institutions are not only centers of learning but also hubs of innovation, research, and community engagement. They play a pivotal role in equipping the next generation with the knowledge and skills needed to achieve sustainable development."
The World Association for Sustainable Development (WASD) is very pleased to welcome you to the Kuwait Universities Sustainable Development Goals Universities Initiative (KUSDGsUNi).
Following the official launch of WASD’s major initiative SDGs Universities with an opening speech by Her Excellency Dr Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), Switzerland, WASD is pleased to invite all universities in Kuwait to join its new and major initiative (KUSDGsUNi).
The initiative aims to bring together all universities and research institutions in Kuwait and comet them together and with universities from across the world in a global forum (SDGs Universities) to collaborate and reconnect with the discourse of Sustainable Development (SD). KUSDGsUNi will therefore help Kuwait universities and research institutions to play a critical role, enabling Kuwait achieve the Kuwait Vision 2035 and the United Nations Agenda 2030 and its 17 SDGs.
KUSDGsUNi aims to critically examine a number of issues relating to the role and relevance of universities and research institutions in Kuwait to the contemporary discourse and Kuwait Vision 2035 towards Kuwait sustainable inclusive knowledge-based development such as the role of Kuwait universities in supporting and enhancing the process of economic and social development in Kuwait; identify all major obstacles that Kuwaiti universities face and most importantly how can these obstacles best be overcome; and what is the new role(s) of Kuwaiti universities in the post Covid-19 era.
KUSDGsUNi also aims to improve the research within Kuwait universities to address the significant demand for evidence-based research across the world. It is therefore aims to provide practical recommendations and actions to help transform the way Kuwaiti universities conduct and use research to achieve the UN SDGs, and the way Kuwaiti universities access and benefit from the global data freely available for use by leading international organizations such as the UN, World Bank, etc. The Initiative will work closely with various Kuwaiti universities to address the following key issues in their contribution to the Kuwait Vision 2035 and Kuwait’s efforts to achieve the UN Agenda 2030 and its SDGs: how Kuwaiti universities see the role of STI in service of the Agenda 2030?; how do Kuwaiti universities reflect the SDGs in their own research activities?; and do Kuwaiti universities believe that the HE system in Kuwait is properly using scientific research in finding solutions to Kuwait’s problems?