The fourth national Sustainability Conference in Bergen (SDG Conference Bergen) will be held from 10 to 12 February 2021. This is where Norwegian universities and colleges meet decision-makers, voluntary organizations, businesses, trade unions and others to take a critical look at how the sector should work with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The first day of the conference is called ‘Day Zero’. This is the day of our workshop (to be held between 15.30 to 17.00), which we have organized under the auspices of the Center for Sustainability Transition. The theme is ‘collaboration to achieve the SDGs’. The workshop will be held in English.
Vice-rector Kristian Bogen will open the workshop, and Anne Gry Gudmundsdotter, who is also the general manager of the Center, will moderate.
Interactive workshop
At the workshop, specific R&D project will be presented as examples where our researchers collaborate with private and public partners to approach sustainability challenges.
A panel of students, external partners and researchers from USN will discuss and request inputs on the instruments, methodologies, and arenas that can best facilitate strong partnerships in achieving SDG No. 17: Partnership for the goals.
The workshop will present specific R&D projects where researchers at USN have collaborated with private and public companies to tackle sustainability challenges. A panel comprised of a student, representatives from the industry, and researchers from USN, will discuss and seek inputs on what can best facilitate strong partnerships to achieve the UNSDG No. 17.
See an overview of the panellists in the fact box.
“We call this a workshop because we want interactions with the audience and inputs from the outside. After the panel, there will be a discussion, where we hope to address the various topics that have come up and seek inputs from the audience,” says Gudmundsdotter.
The workshop will be fully digital via video (on Zoom). The workshop will be connected to a common platform, where the audience can come in and out of different sessions in the program.
‘Triple Helix’
The theme for the workshop based on the ‘Triple Helix Model’, which is a starting point for achieving the SDGs. Triple Helix refers to the cooperation between the private sector, the public sector, and the civil society.
The theme of the workshop was far from random:
“SDGs No. 17 states that new, and strong partnerships are necessary to succeed in achieving the SDGs. This means, among other things, stimulating well-functioning partnerships between the public sector, the private sector and the civil society, which are based on experiences and resource strategies. This is precisely also one of the main goals of our newly established Centre,” says Gudmundsdotter.