As part of the ongoing campaign on the Sustainable Development Goals carried out by the United Nations, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) is presenting a weekly series of articles on #SDGSinAcademia that highlights the importance of higher education in achieving the Goals. Featuring additional sources for use by faculty and students alike, this series is intended to inspire action on the SDGs and showcase activities and initiatives of UNAI member institutions.

03 July 2018 - This week we are featuring in our #SDGsinAcademia series Goal 10 Reduce inequality within and among countries

Targets:

  • 10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
  • 10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
  • 10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
  • 10.4 Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality 
  • 10.5 Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations
  • 10.6 Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions 
  • 10.7 Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies 
  • 10.A Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements
  • 10.B Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmes 
  • 10.C By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent

What are UNAI member institutions doing about Goal 10? Here are some examples:

  • The American University of Antigua (Antigua and Barbuda) has actively promoted, created and encouraged through different initiatives, a set of opportunities in the physician workforce for underrepresented minorities. The institution considers that culturally competent care is connected to patient outcomes so racial inclusion on campus and in the medical field as a whole has been taken as a key priority for the university.
  • The Universidad de los Andes (Venezuela) hosts a Unit of Attention for Persons with Disabilities, to promote protection and integration of persons with disabilities on campus, including faculty, staff and students. Aside from the management of a comprehensive database it promotes awareness campaigns and activities such as sign language training and the celebration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
  • La Salle University (Brazil) has been conducting through the Education Graduate Programme and under the leadership of Professor Leonidas Taschetto, academic research that looks at how dynamics of racial discrimination impacts student development in higher education settings. A related project, about the experiences of academic mobility in higher education with emphasis on the establishment of interethnic relations is also taking place.
  • The Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Argentina) has a Programme of Social Inclusion and Equality of Opportunities to fund and implement social projects targeting persons in situation of vulnerability, addressing with an interdisciplinary perspective a range of social challenges. To this date, over 250 projects have been carried out involving not only the academic community but also civil society organizations and the local community.
  • The Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Spain) offers a training programme entitled Intervention Methodologies with Migrants to foster the understanding about needs of migrants, education tools for migrants and management of cultural diversity. It also facilitates the design and implementation of intervention projects which are sensitive of cultural diversity and the practical application of the knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom.
  • The University of Geneva (Switzerland) offered last month a summer school on Global and Regional Migration Governance aimed to teach about regional migration initiatives and to discuss about structures, actors, processes and challenges of global and regional migration governance in dialogue with international academic experts and practitioners from international organizations and civil society organizations based in Geneva. 
  • LCC International University (Lithuania) has been implementing the Middle East Scholars programme dedicated for young people from Middle East countries, who have less education opportunities because of complex conditions back home. Students receive special scholarships and benefit from another programme intended to offer employment opportunities for them and to enable their integration into the Lithuanian society.
  • Western Sydney University (Australia) has an Indigenous Education Policy that provides guidance for the development and management of Indigenous education providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with access to higher education. It is also intended to foster international Indigenous awareness and collaborative projects and also to raise the prominence of Indigenous culture across the university.
  • Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand) offers a Master's programme of Migration Studies drawing on several disciplines, including political science, geography and history, to discover why and how migration happens and gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges and opportunities it creates. Special topics of the programme include labour migration, multiculturalism and immigration.
  • The State University of New York - Oswego (United States) has created a Human Migration research group with faculty from multiple schools and disciplines. The group will ultimately break out into team-taught courses that examine the global and regional causes (including water issues) of migration and diaspora while also exploring topics related to globalization, identity change and cultural shifts. 

Here you can take a look to a selection of the Activity Reports submitted by UNAI member institutions.

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The following resources can help improving your knowledge and understanding about Goal 10 in particular and also about the SDGs in general:

  • This is a comprehensive research guide made by the United Nations Library in Geneva listing resources about the SDGs in general and about each one of the Goals, including books and articles (some of which are fully available on line free of charge), UN documents such as resolutions and reports and additional resources.
  • The SDG Fund has created this online library featuring over 1,000 online publications. The publications are categorized by the Goals they represent, by geographical regions they relate to and by authors, to facilitate easy searchability. Each publication also has a short summary attached to it which helps with keyword searches.
  • This is an initiative supported by UNDP, UN-HABITAT and the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, which offers a selection of tools such as concept notes, papers, case studies, compilation of best practices and guides providing contextual and practical information about the SDGs.
  • This is a guide entitled Getting Started with the Sustainable Development Goals intended for stakeholders and designed by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) to serve as an initial basis for implementing the SDGs.
  • This guide entitled Getting Started with the SDGs in Universities was also developed by the SDSN to help universities, higher education institutions and the academic sector in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific to accelerate their contributions to the SDGs highlighting the important role universities have in implementing the SDGs through their teaching, research, operations and leadership, and providing practical guidance and examples to inspire further action.
  • This guide entitled Sustainable Development Goals - Human Response Alignments features the human element of change and the human response corresponding to each of the SDGs in order to quicken the global conversation about vital issues and to encourage the movement that supports the vision of the SDGs.

Sustainable Development Goals Explained: Reduced Inequalities

Sustainable Development Goals Explained: Reduced InequalitiesUnited Nations: Goal 10 focuses on reducing inequality within and among countries. We asked Programme Specialist Shannon O'Shea from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to explain what type of inequality the goal focuses on and what countries, organizations and individuals can do to reduce inequalities in their societies.