SDG Learncast

In this episode, we are featuring Benjamin Piper, the Director of Global Education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Ben sheds light on the groundbreaking work of the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP). With an exhaustive analysis of over 13,000 academic studies, GEEAP identifies the most effective and economical educational interventions. We delved into the intriguing concept of "Smart Buys" or "Great Buys" in education, dissecting approaches like structured pedagogy and teaching children according to their learning level rather than age or grade. We confront a stark reality: two-thirds of children in low and middle-income countries fail to acquire comprehensive reading skills by age 10. This crisis extends beyond literacy; it reflects the profound limitations of our current education systems. The question arises: How do we tackle this challenge? It's essential to look beyond simply increasing school enrolment. We must ensure that every child, once in school, has equal opportunities to maximize their learning potential. You can read more about the 2023 Cost-effective Approaches to Improve Global Learning Report and the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP). Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast on podcast apps. Visit the UN SDG:Learn website at ⁠⁠www.unsdglearn.org⁠⁠ to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at ⁠⁠https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/. 

In this episode of the SDG Learncast, we feature Breanne Pitt, a researcher and educator, on the concept of systems thinking and its vital role in modern education. They explore the challenges and complexities of the digital age, discuss the impact of standardized testing, and delve into practical tools like the World Economic Forum's Transformation Maps. This enlightening conversation underscores the importance of a proactive approach to teaching, preparing students for a deeply interconnected world. You can read more about Breanne Pitt's White Paper on Innovative Learning Solutions to Navigate Complexity: Adapting Systems Thinking to Future Classrooms. Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast on podcast apps. Visit the UN SDG:Learn website at ⁠www.unsdglearn.org⁠ to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at ⁠https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/. 

Tyson Miller, Director of Earth Insight unpacks the escalating threats of oil and gas expansion in the Amazon and Congo Basin regions. Drawing from the Earth Insight's reports "Congo in the Crosshairs: New Oil & Gas Expansion Threats to Forests and Communities" "Crisis Point: Oil and Gas Expansion Threats to Amazon and Congo Basin Tropical Forests and Communities" and an article from The Guardian, we discovered that Africa's oil and gas territories could quadruple, threatening to wipe out a third of the dense tropical forests and accelerating climate change. One thing is clear: polluting countries must step up to rapidly decarbonize their own economies. Tyson doesn’t just highlight problems but also offers solutions. From the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty's efforts to halt fuel expansion to the push for banks to champion against fossil fuel projects, Tyson shines a light on pathways to counter these looming threats. Listen to the podcast to learn more about protecting our world's critical ecosystems. Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast on podcast apps. Visit the UN SDG:Learn website at www.unsdglearn.org to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/. 

In this podcast episode, we're joined by Yasmine Sherif, the Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), as she discussed the importance of quality education in crisis situations. As a human rights lawyer with extensive field experience, Yasmine highlights the challenges of delivering education to the 222 million children lacking access today. Yasmine highlighted ECW's holistic approach to addressing this crisis, their hands-on experiences in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cox's Bazar, and the triumphs seen from strategic partnerships and programme investment, like in Colombia and Uganda. She also talks about the role of technology in this field, painting a realistic picture of its limitations and possibilities. Join us to discover how ECW advocates for education as the foundation of all sustainable development goals. Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast on podcast apps. Visit the UN SDG:Learn website at www.unsdglearn.org to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/. 

In this SDG Learncast episode, we delved into the challenges of achieving sustainable food systems and the balance needed between biodiversity conservation and nutrition. Our guests, Dr. Sarah Jones and Dr. Aline Mosnier, experts in food systems and biodiversity conservation, discussed the impact of agriculture on biodiversity and how we can meet global targets by 2030. They also explore the need to reduce the overconsumption of food and shift to healthier diets while meeting the nutritional needs of a projected population of 9 billion people by 2050. They also stressed the importance of avoiding conflicts and making ambitious policies and decisions to create a more sustainable future for everyone. Tune in for insightful conversations on sustainable development and learning to help us achieve a better tomorrow. Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast. Visit the UN SDG:Learn website at ⁠www.unsdglearn.org⁠ to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at ⁠https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/. 

According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021, although 46% of sub-Saharan Africa's population now has access to electricity--up from 33% in 2010--the region is far behind the global average of 90%. 97 million people in urban areas and 471 million in rural areas are still without access to electricity.   The lack of access is caused by several factors. On the demand side, there are low uptake and expensive connection charges while on the supply side, the energy sources are unreliable since more of the existing options in the region are renewable decentralized grids. This unreliability drives blackouts and brownouts.  In this episode, we feature Camila dos Santos Gonçalves and Grace Chenxin Liu, who are members of the New York Academy of Sciences, which selects 1,000 of the world's brightest high school students (ages 13-17) to become part of The Junior Academy. The members are then given a global challenge to work on, together with mentors and experts, to learn how to understand global problems and find approaches to address them.  In this year's challenge, the group was tasked to work on the Flexible Use of Electricity. After two months, the team of young people from different parts of the world presented their approach of using space satellites to respond to the energy needs but also approaching the issue holistically, addressing systemic issues, gender equality, and climate change.  Listen to this episode to learn more about how Camila, Grace and their team use space satellites to provide electricity to the most vulnerable groups in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast. Visit the UN SDG:Learn website at www.unsdglearn.org to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/. 

Misinformation and disinformation are pressing public issues. There has been a rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation. Sometimes we call them fake news. This happens online and offline and it affects everyone, every day. Receiving truthful and quality information is critical as we all depend on information to make decisions.  At the personal level, we need accurate information to make decisions about health and who we vote for. And at the global level, we need established facts to make collective decisions on pressing issues. Such as pandemics climate change and resolving conflicts. The UN Secretary-General and his report 'Our Common Agenda' called the large-scale spread of disinformation and the undermining of scientifically established facts as an existential risk to humanity. In this episode, we will be speaking with Dr. Julian Jaursch, Project Director at the SNV in Berlin, working on Strengthening the Digital Public Space. Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast.  Visit the UN SDG:Learn website at www.unsdglearn.org to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/. 

Blockchain technology has been leveraged in humanitarian settings by the World Food Programme to deliver cash directly to beneficiaries securely and quickly, without the need to go through a local bank. The potential of blockchain applications in protecting the environment has also been tested to eliminate illegal fishing in the tuna industry. Blockchain applications are also being considered to provide a transparent, trustworthy way to show how nations are taking action to reduce their impact on the climate.  In this SDG Learncast episode, we spoke with Ms. Thy-Diep "Yip" Ta, co-founder of UNIT Ventures and DLT Talents, to unpack the blockchain technology for our podcast listeners and explain how the blockchain technology can also help vulnerable groups get access to financial resources, support people working in the care economy, and creating more incentives for collaboration, transparency, and good behavior through the blockchain technology. Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast. Visit the UN SDG:Learn website at www.unsdglearn.org to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/. 

The data revolution is the unprecedented increase in the volume and types of data—and the subsequent demand for them—thanks to the ongoing yet uneven proliferation of new technologies. We need data to formulate sustainable development policies. But it requires that we collect accurate data and use this evidence to inform policymaking. The use of evidence derived from data in policymaking requires the capability to collect and analyze accurate data and a way to make evidence available to decision-makers.  In this episode, we will speak with Dr. Emmanuel Letouzé, the Director of Data-Pop Alliance, a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, which he founded in 2013 with MIT Media Lab, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and ODI. This episode will talk about ensuring that vulnerable groups are not left behind in the data revolution and the advancement of new technologies. Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast. Visit the UN SDG:Learn website at www.unsdglearn.org to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) has helped the world estimate real-time precipitation worldwide since 2005. AI is also being used to inform emergency planning, track typhoons, and manage and prevent floods, droughts, and storms. But AI's use is not only for disaster responses and prevention.  In a 2020 study, a group of researchers found that artificial intelligence can enable the accomplishment of 134 SDG targets across all the goals but it may also inhibit 59 targets. The study showed that society can benefit from AI in reducing extreme poverty, providing quality education, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, and supporting the creation of circular economies and smart cities that efficiently use their resources. However, the researchers also warned that if AI technology and big data are used in regions where ethical scrutiny, transparency, and democratic control are lacking, AI might enable nationalism, hate towards minorities and biased election outcomes. Our speaker in this episode, Jeanne Lim, Co-founder & CEO of beingAI, former CEO and CMO of Hanson Robotics, and co-developer of Sophia, the human-like robot, is one of the leading experts in pushing for a more compassionate artificial intelligence that can benefit people and our planet. Let’s hear from her. Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast. Visit the UN SDG:Learn website at www.unsdglearn.org to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/.