Student Voices & Artwork
STUDENT VOICES
Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals
The SDGs represent a shared global framework for advancing equity, sustainability, and collective well-being. From poverty eradication and gender equality to climate action, sustainable cities, health, peace, and partnerships, the goals reflect interconnected dimensions of development.
For this series, students submitted work related to any of the SDG(s), with submission options including but not limited to: research, community engagement, lived experience, artwork, or course-related insights.
AMY HUANG
Afternoon at Trillium Park
This painting of Trillium Park was inspired by an afternoon picnic during the bustling CNE Air Show, where the shoreline came alive with people yet remained enveloped in natural tranquility. Using acrylics on canvas, I aimed to capture the balance between vibrant community life and serene green space. By highlighting the park’s natural beauty and the shared enjoyment it fosters, this piece reflects the principles of SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities—emphasizing the need for accessible, safe, and inclusive urban green spaces that enhance quality of life while preserving the environment for future generations.
DIEGO MOURA PANARIO
Informality and the SDGs
My paper for JPF455/2430 focused on the failure of the SDGs to meaningfully implement change in the informal sector. It reflects on what went wrong with the SDGs to hopefully not repeat the same mistakes with the new goals replacing the SDGs in 2030.
I have been working on a research project with the School of Cities on climate action and informality in Mumbai, visiting slum settlements in the city helped link the various ways informality worsens many other social indicators. This led me to focus on informality in the paper for JPF455/2430.
With most of the global future growth being in cities with high informality, and the fact that informality has knock-on effects (worse health, gender inequality, education, etc.), tackling informality is the quickest way to improve all other social SDG indicators. The lack of improvement in informality since the setting up of the SDGs is a massive failure of the international community and is something which the new goals in 2030 should put larger emphasis on.
AHMED SABER
Health Equity Is Sustainability: Rethinking Student Wellness Through Care and Community
My submission explores sustainability through the lens of student wellness, health equity, and collective care. It connects to SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing by reflecting on how students’ ability to learn, participate, and thrive is closely connected to their access to support, understanding, and healthy campus environments.
It also relates to SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities by emphasizing that a sustainable campus should be inclusive, accessible, and supportive of students as whole people. The piece encourages a broader view of sustainability as not only environmental responsibility, but also care, belonging, dignity, and equal opportunity.