African NRENs and UN SDGs - side meeting colocated at UbuntuNet Connect 2022

NRENs directly and indirectly support a number of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through providing connectivity and dedicated services to African R&E communities. 

Nowadays, SDGs are used as a benchmark to strive towards a better world, and hence highlighting concrete examples of their contribution to SDGs is key for the NRENs to advocate for funds and resources and position themselves as active actors in creating a more sustainable world. This meeting aims at doing just that. 

Representatives of African NRENs, their communication staff and other interested European and African stakeholders are invited to take part in this hands-on face to face workshop which will be colocated at the UbuntuNet Conference 22 on November 24 in Gaborone, Botswana.

The workshop follows the online introduction to UN Sustainable Development Goals that was held online in September 2022 during which the AfricaConnect3 communications team called the African R&E Community to action to contribute to a comprehensive and detailed paper to evidence their contribution to the UN SDGs, among other resources of interest to the NRENs.

In this meeting, participants will join interactive breakout sessions where they will have the chance to gather and share concrete examples and argument of how their NREN and/or Institution contribute to the SDGs, either directly or indirectly.  The meeting is an opportunity for NRENs to bring their own perspective to the conversation and additional examples. 

Participants are invited to brainstorm internally first in order to come to this meeting with a list of examples. 

Please note that this workshop is free of charge. Fee and registration details for attending the UbuntuNet Connect annual conference are available on the website: https://ubuntunet.net/uc2022/

Agenda:

- Brief introduction to UN SDGs

- Brief introduction to the rationale and intended outcome of this activity

- Breakout rooms where participants will engage in interactive conversations and exercises to identify examples from their respective NRENs

- Reporting and discussion