In the face of disasters like North America’s record-breaking heat waves, fatal flooding in China and Germany, and Australian wildfires, climate change has quickly become our deadly reality. Recent years have seen individuals bear the weight of advocacy against environmental emergency. Their action takes many forms, from metal straws to climate protests — but citizens are not alone in their fight to save our planet. The United Nations adopted a set of goals to address the most dire, worldwide crises of our time. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cover a wide range of issues, promoting awareness and research on 17 different environmental and humanitarian challenges. Among ambitions like clean water, gender equality, and responsible consumption, the SDGs emphasize the necessity of global collaboration in solving urgent sustainability issues.  

That is why IU became a founding member of the U.S. chapter of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) in 2018 and launched the UN SDG Poster Competition in 2019. After its initial success, IU invited international partner universities to join the effort and formed the UN SDG Partner Network, which spans five continents and includes institutions from seven countries. Within this unique setting, students integrate multiple perspectives into collective learning and problem solving, transcending boundaries, and acting in local and global contexts.