Event title: Partnerships with Academia as an Accelerator for Local Innovation and Sustainable Communities
Date: 26 January 2026 at 9:00 a.m. New York time
Modality: Virtual side event (Zoom)
Registration:
Organizers:
- (IAU)
- United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), Department of Global Communications, United Nations
- ) (UNAI SDG 10 Hub Chair)
- (UNAI SDG 11 Hub Chair)
Description:
As part of the and held in parallel with the Learning Planet Institute Festival, this virtual side event spotlighted how higher education institutions, students, and civil society were driving transformative action on the (SDGs)—well beyond education alone.
Framed by the overarching ECOSOC theme, “Transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda,” this official side event examined how universities were acting as societal partners by co-creating solutions with cities and communities. Discussions focused on place-based partnerships, futures thinking, and whole-institution approaches advancing , , , , and .
Speakers:
Keynote – Youth / civil society governance leader:
Nudhara Yusuf, Co-Chair, Coalition for the UN We Need; Fellow, Princeton University, United States (SDGs 11, 16, 17)
United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) SDG 11 Hub:
Dr. Mark Charlton, UNAI SDG 11 Hub Chair Lead & Associate Professor of Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, United Kingdom (SDGs 9, 11, 17)
De Montfort University:
ZamZam Yusuf, Founder and Director, ZamZam Unlimited Possibilities CIC; Community Partner, De Montfort University UNAI SDG 11 Hub (SDGs 9, 11)
International Association of Universities (IAU) – SDG 4 Cluster:
Dr. Robert Didham, UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Lifestyles, University of Inland, Norway (SDGs 4, 6, 7, 11, 17)
SDG Academy / SDSN:
Dr. Abel Kinyondo, SDG Academy and University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Tanzania (SDGs 7, 9, 11, 17)
Student representative:
Jacob Blasius, Executive Director, Global Student Forum (SDGs 4, 16, 17)
Closing:
Jayashri Wyatt, Chief, Education Outreach Section, Department of Global Communications, United Nations
Co-Moderators:
Isabel Toman, International Association of Universities (SDGs 4, 17)
Katrin Kohl, York University (SDGs 11, 17)
Watch the full event recording: