SDG Conference at the URJC

Nora Fernandez Fernandez 

 Next Friday, February 24, various associations of the Rey Juan Carlos University are organizing a conference on the Móstoles campus to address various topics related to the SDGs. Specifically, they are the Debate Club, IURIS, Ecotopia, URJCmun, International Relations, OASIS and UNION.  

Each of them will develop an activity completely designed by themselves and linked to one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In this link, there is the complete program of the Day and the description of the activities. 

According to Luis Giménez Benavides, academic director of University Social Responsibility, “universities have an undeniable social, economic and environmental impact on their environment. “One of the fundamental pillars of this impact is the opportunity to bring together large groups of young people, not only to develop their professional skills but also to generate their own initiatives and have the opportunity to be heard. That is the purpose of student associations, and the Sustainable Development Goals are a perfect framework to empower them ”, he adds.  

For this reason, one of the objectives contemplated in the URJC2030 project, promoted by the Vice President for Quality and Strategy, is to encourage activities that arise from the student associations themselves and that encourage critical, creative and cooperative thinking around the challenges set by the SDGs.  

In the words of María Najarro, director of the URJC2030 Project, “this day has been organized by and for the students, although of course it is open to anyone who is curious. The only thing we have done is contact the associations, explain the idea to them and offer them some means to develop their initiatives”. 

As Najarro explains, "we wanted there to be associations from very different fields because the Sustainable Development Goals encompass everything and hence the participation of these seven well-differentiated associations, each one in its sector."  

The activities that will take place during the day will be very diverse, from talks, round tables and debates, to a visit to the university garden. In addition, there will be a demonstration of a student-developed hydroponics model that allows plants to be grown using very small amounts of space, water, and nutrients.