The Contribution of BRICS to the Quality of Global Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Ricceri
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Global Development ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Quality Approach

This study explores the BRICS platform, composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It discusses its vision and principles, as well as its objectives. I also present a selection of particularly significant and emblematic programs of activities. A core question is how its members will realize their main objective, to contribute to the quality of global development. And how do they relate their objective to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations? Aspects of the current framework of the social quality approach (SQA) will be applied in order to deepen this exploration. In the context of this study, it is relevant to cite the decisions by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to assist the elaboration and dissemination of the SQA.

scholarly journals Cybersociety and University Sustainability: The Challenge of Holistic Restructuring in Universities in Chile, Spain, and Peru

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Domínguez-Fernández ◽  
Esther Prieto-Jiménez ◽  
Peter Backhouse ◽  
Eduardo Ismodes
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Problematic Situation ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Catholic University ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals

The global challenge of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals present a framework of opportunities, in which universities must respond to the demands of a sustainable social organisation by addressing the issues of quality education, the participation and inclusion of different sectors, and the need to promote university social responsibility. In response to this situation, we examine three experiences that highlight the reorganisation demanded at each of the three organisational levels: (1) Macro: the need for cooperation between different universities in Chile’s “macrocampus”; (2) Meso: the organisation and running of faculties in light of the challenges to renew curriculums with the experience implemented by the Social Sciences Faculty of Pablo de Olavide University in Spain; and, (3) Micro: the integration of students and commitment to the needs of the social surroundings, with the E-QUIPU experience implemented at Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) in Peru. The report we present is based on a case study, and the findings and conclusions lead us to propose a new holistic-organisational paradigm to facilitate the sustainability of universities. The results of the restructuring allowed us to conduct a meta-evaluation of the sustainability of organisations within a problematic situation (COVID-19), which tested the results of the restructuring objective of Cybersociety.

Developmental Social Work and the Sustainable Development Goals in South Africa: Opportunities and Challenges

2020 ◽  
pp. 251660262097522
Author(s):  
Emmison Muleya
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals

The main thrust of this article concerns the potential for the social work profession to contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which overlap with developmental social work, specifically with respect to poverty and inequalities in South Africa. Although developmental social work practice may attempt to tackle the structural causes of poverty and inequality, relatively few studies appear to have been conducted to evaluate the contribution of this approach to attaining SDGs. The article draws from contemporary available literature and documents and the author’s observations pertaining to developmental social work and the role which it can play in attaining SDGs in the context of present-day South Africa. The review revealed the potential for developmental social work to make a meaningful contribution to attaining SDGs and the factors which could continue to hinder developmental social work practice, thereby making it difficult for SDGs.

scholarly journals Relationship between tourism and Sustainable Development Goals in Africa: Circular Economy as a future bet

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Miguel Rodríguez-Antón
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
Peace And Justice ◽  
Development Goals

No one has the slightest doubt about the enormous potential that the African continent has as a tourist destination. The diversity of cultures, the great biodiversity that it possesses, the multiple artistic manifestations that it offers and the beauty of the seas that surround it are key pieces in continuing to promote its capacity as a tourist attraction, which is approximately 60 million tourists per year who generate seven percent of exports and employment. However, in order for Africa to take off, it is necessary that a number of conditions related to security, health, education, eradication of poverty, reduction of inequalities, peace and justice and quality of its waters, among others, are intimately related to the Sustainable Development Goals defined in the 2030 Agenda. In this context, we maintain that the implementation of the Circular Economy in Africa will be a key tool in this process of improving the sustainability of this continent in its three aspects, economic, social and environmental, and raising its level of tourism competitiveness.

scholarly journals Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals Through the Lens of Urban Resilience: Lessons and Learnings from 100 Resilient Cities and Cape Town

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Croese ◽  
Cayley Green ◽  
Gareth Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Rockefeller Foundation ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Global Development ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Paris Climate Agreement ◽  
The City

Urban resilience is increasingly seen as essential to managing the risks and challenges arising in a globally changing, connected, and urbanized world. Hence, cities are central to achieving a range of global development policy commitments adopted over the past few years, ranging from the Paris Climate Agreement to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, knowledge of the ways in which cities are going about implementing resilience or of how such efforts can practically contribute to the implementation of global agendas is still limited. This paper discusses the experience of cities that were members of the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) network, an entity pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation. It reviews the resilience strategies developed by 100RC members to show that 100RC cities are increasingly aligning their resilience work to global development policies such as the SDGs. It then draws on the case of the city of Cape Town in South Africa to illustrate the process of developing a resilience strategy through 100RC tools and methodologies including the City Resilience Framework (CRF) and City Resilience Index (CRI) and its alignment to the SDGs and reflects on lessons and learnings of Cape Town’s experience for the global city network-policy nexus post-2015.

scholarly journals Perception of Social Gender Roles in Medical Faculty Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
H Aygar ◽  
B Isıktekin Atalay ◽  
S Akbulut Zencirci ◽  
A Unsal ◽  
D Arslantas
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Study Group ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Mean

Abstract Background “Gender equality’’ is the fifth of the Sustainable Development Goals put forward in order to ensure the development in all areas. Medical faculty students, who will be a doctor, should practice with a gender equality perspective and shape their views and attitudes with equality in mind which will have an important part in the adoption of equality by society. The aim of the study was to evaluate the perception of social gender roles in medical students. Methods This cross - sectional study was performed with all students in Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine. The questionnaire includes sociodemographic characteristics and Gender of Perception Scale(PCS) to measure perception of social gender roles. The scores that can be taken from the scale are ranged from 25 to 125, and high scores indicate that perception of gender is positive and equality. Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis were used in univariate analysis; multivariate linear regression was used in multivariate analysis. Results The study group consisted of 1023 (84.3%) students in the study group, 52.8% were females and their ages ranged from 17 to 30 and the mean was 21.36 ± 2.06. The PCS scores ranged from 32 to 125 and the mean was 108.07±16.58. Multivariate linear regression analyzes were performed to determine the factors associated with the PCS. According to the results of last model sex, living with grandparents until the age of 18, region of the majority of life and parental attitudes were found to be related to perception of social gender roles (F = 29.602, R2=0.170, p < 0.001). Conclusions The perception of gender of medical students was found to be positive. Sex and the characteristics of the social environment were related to perception of gender. In order to raise awareness on gender equality, it might be useful to ensure integration in the medical education curriculum. Key messages Factors that can be changed, such as the social characteristics of the living environment, were found to be related to perception of social gender roles. Ensuring gender equality, one of the Sustainable Development Goals, is important for medical students who will be a role model for society.

scholarly journals Rethinking 21st-Century Businesses: An Approach to Fourth Sector SMEs in Their Transition to a Sustainable Model Committed to SDGs

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 5569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernestina Rubio-Mozos ◽  
Fernando Enrique García-Muiña ◽  
Laura Fuentes-Moraleda
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Economic Model ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Resistance To Change ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Continuous Growth ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Depth Interviews

With barely ten years remaining to reach the goals included in the United Nations 2030 Agenda (UN2030A), there is still no agreed-upon universal criterion regarding how businesses can move firmly forward to achieve them. A significant number of laudable initiatives have emerged and been consolidated internationally, highlighting the need to change the outdated mainstream economic model based on continuous growth—whose maximum exponent is the macroeconomic magnitude “Gross Domestic Product” (GDP)—to another sustainable model which considers the ecological "people and planet-centered" oriented limits, prioritizing individual wellbeing and social prosperity, in line with the UN2030A. Facing the prevalent resistance to change, some innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are consciously addressing the transition on their own, but not without difficulties. The purpose of this article was to fill the gap in the social sciences literature by conducting in-depth interviews with Fourth Sector (4S) entrepreneurs, business leaders from purpose-driven companies, and academics, in order to approach and look into their perspective about the role that 4S SMEs are being called to execute to advance toward 2030. The two main contributions of this article are (1) 4S SMEs identify an urgent need to modify the current economic model with metrics aligned with UN2030A and (2) it is essential to assemble and build an “Engagement Ecosystem” through a systemic thinking approach to allow 4S SMEs to make real contributions to the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

scholarly journals Overcoming the Myths of Mainstream Economics to Enable a New Wellbeing Economy

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Coscieme ◽  
Paul Sutton ◽  
Lars F. Mortensen ◽  
Ida Kubiszewski ◽  
Robert Costanza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Mainstream Economics ◽  
Distribution Of Wealth ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Social Wealth ◽  
Selection Of

Increasingly, empirical evidence refutes many of the theoretical pillars of mainstream economics. These theories have persisted despite the fact that they support unsustainable and undesirable environmental, social, and economic outcomes. Continuing to embrace them puts at risk the possibility of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and overcoming other global challenges. We discuss a selection of paradoxes and delusions surrounding mainstream economic theories related to: (1) efficiency and resource use, (2) wealth and wellbeing, (3) economic growth, and (4) the distribution of wealth within and between rich and poor nations. We describe a wellbeing economy as an alternative for guiding policy development. In 2018, a network of Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo), (supported by, but distinct from, the larger Wellbeing Economy Alliance—WEAll) promoting new forms of governance that diverge from the ones on which the G7 and G20 are based, has been launched and is now a living project. Members of WEGo aim at advancing the three key principles of a wellbeing economy: Live within planetary ecological boundaries, ensure equitable distribution of wealth and opportunity, and efficiently allocate resources (including environmental and social public goods), bringing wellbeing to the heart of policymaking, and in particular economic policymaking. This network has potential to fundamentally re-shape current global leadership still anchored to old economic paradigms that give primacy to economic growth over environmental and social wealth and wellbeing.

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