Baruch College’s chapter of AIESEC celebrated Sustainable Development Goals Day on Sept. 24 by holding an event on the second-floor lobby of the Newman Vertical Campus.
The SDGs were adopted by the U.N. in 2015 at the U.N. Sustainable Development Summit.
Seventeen goals were set for the 2030 agenda in order to improve an array of issues that the planet faces.
Some of the goals include no poverty, industry innovation and infrastructure, as well as affordable and clean energy.
At the event, students were encouraged to sign up for volunteering or internships abroad and were able to take pictures with a handmade poster of the seventeen SDGs.
“The goal is to develop a cultural awareness and to help other communities around the world that might be less fortunate and help them develop,” said AJ Delgenio a member of AIESEC about the organization’s purpose.
An ongoing theme of the event was the many ways in which students can get involved on and off campus, both nationally or internationally, in aiding other communities.
In light of it being SDG day, several students were asked what sustainability means to them.
“Sustainability means letting society grow at its own pace, but at the same time going at an accelerated pace,” Darren Wang, a member of AIESEC, said.
“One goal that I really like is gender equality, I’m gay myself so it’s something that I really appreciate, especially since it promotes such a large range of things.”
Wang also stressed the importance of keeping an open mind when it comes to these issues and others that are addressed by the SDGs.
“On an environmental level, [sustainability] means to be able to land at zero waster and live with the materials that we have without having to destroy any more of our environment,” said Delgenio.
“On an economic level, [it means] to be able to have economic growth where we don’t crash eventually and move along naturally without having any major dips.”
Delgenio, who is majoring in economics, went on to emphasize the importance of the work and economic growth of the U.N. plan.
This plan aims to increase employment opportunities worldwide, reduce the gender pay gap and promote safe working environments.
He mentioned the interconnectedness of job opportunities with income, food and education, relating it to why he thought this was the most important part of the SDG.
“When people aren’t poor, they don’t have to worry as much about working for jobs to make sure they can put food on the table and if they don’t have to worry about putting food on the table then they don’t have to worry about not being able to go to school,” Delgenio said.
“I would volunteer anywhere, I just wanna get out and help the communities,” said freshman Carlos Moya Moran after having signed up for AIESEC.
