ABSTRACT
The challenges associated with the struggles for attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and objectives are as diverse and complex as the variety of human societies, national conditions and natural ecosystems worldwide. Despite decades of economic growth and technological advances, our world is plagued by poverty, hunger, disease, conflicts and inequality, and many societies are under the strain of environmental changes and governance failure.
Such global-scale challenges call for the SDGs to be translated beyond bold concepts and aspirational targets into concrete programs and feasible plans that are substantively valuable, locally acceptable, pragmatic and operationally implementable. In the pursuit of the SDGs, positive results are far from guaranteed. Success is uncertain. Instead, the path forward requires difficult learning, experimentation and adaptation by multiple stakeholders. Loss and sacrifice are foreseeable and often inevitable.
This important book captures the lessons from ongoing struggles and the early successes. Productive failures and emerging practices are identified, analyzed and promulgated for interdisciplinary learning by, and for the inspiration of, like-minded individuals, organizations, communities and nations worldwide. They can also inform and enrich the curricula in universities, training institutions and schools to prepare future generations of citizens, leaders and activists with the ethos and values of sustainability and social responsibility. The book offers a platform for academics, practitioners and concerned global citizens to identify pathways forward on the immense challenges of sustainability.
Introduction
Tay Keong Tan, Milenko Gudić and Patricia M. Flynn
PART I: The big picture
1 Struggles and successes of transformative learning for the SDGs: a case study
Dario Cottafava, Laura Corazza and Gabriela Cavagliá
2 Using our time on the planet to make a difference – the Sustainability Mindset
Margaret A. Goralski
3 Deep sustainability: really addressing our endangered human future
Glen T. Martin
4 Inclusive leadership: how to deal with unconscious biases in human resources decisions
Gudrun Sander, Bianca van Dellen, Ines Hartmann, Dominik Burger-Kloser and Nora Keller
PART II: Addressing SDGs at industry levels
5 Tapping into new power: opportunities and challenges for growing community renewable energy
Judith M. Herbst and Deanna Grant-Smith
6 Sustainable waste management for the plantation sector in Sri Lanka
A. D. Nuwan Gunarathne and Mahendra Peiris
7 The Sustainable Development Goals, the ICT industry and ICT4D research
Martin Wynn and Peter Jones
8 Creative industries as a tool for poverty alleviation in Pirot, Serbia
Hristina Mikić
PART IIIGender equality, women’s empowerment and social inclusion
9 Women’s empowerment through indigenous social enterprises in Latin America
Mario Vázquez-Maguirre
10 Struggles to break the corporate board ceiling: the case of women in North Africa
Jalila El Jadidi, Sonia Arsi and Hebatallah Ghoneim
11 The renaissance of gender equality research and sustainable development in the academic context of marketing: championing paths forward
Linda Tuncay Zayer, Wendy Hein, Jan Brace-Govan, Catherine A. Coleman, Robert L. Harrison, Nacima Ourahmoune, Minita Sanghvi and Laurel Steinfield
12 Canada’s feminist foreign policy and the SDGs: working with business to address gender inequality
Maureen A. Kilgour
PART IV: Programs and partnerships in developing countries
13 Social innovators as drivers of social transformation in Morocco
Majid Kaissar el Ghaib and Brahim Allali
14 Partnering for sustainable development in Nigeria – challenges and opportunities of multi-stakeholder partnerships
Ijeoma Nwagwu
15 Help isn’t always helpful: lessons from seeking inclusive education in rural Malawi
Patricia Winter and Brooke Blanks
Conclusion
Tay Keong Tan, Milenko Gudić and Patricia M. Flynn
