Maker Majlis, a platform operating under the College of Islamic Studies (CIS) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), and now also under the SDG Education and Global Citizenship in Qatar Project, has been accepted as a member of the UN Sustainable Development Solution Network (SDSN) Youth community, becoming the first platform to be part of the SDSN Youth Network in Qatar.

The SDSN Youth is a subset of the Sustainable Development Solution Network (SDSN) – an initiative launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2012 and headed by Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. It works on mobilizing and utilizing global technological and scientific expertise from around the world to nurture practical and innovative solutions for sustainable development, including the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. The SDSN Youth was established in 2015 to educate young people about the SDGs and provide them with the resources to be at the forefront in initiating and delivering innovative solutions to address the world’s most pressing problems surrounding the SDGs.

SDSN Youth is led by many eminent global youth leaders and connects young people globally to exchange ideas, share experiences and collaborate to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is a network of more than 450 universities and campuses, which span over 100 countries, while the parent SDSN has a network of over 1,500 universities, research institutions, and other knowledge-based institutions. SDSN Youth’s mission statement is ‘Empowering Youth Globally to Create Sustainable Solutions.’

Among many other benefits, members get to attend UN SDSN events and SDSN Youth global, regional, and national events and participate in solutions, initiatives, and practical problem-solving under the SDSN Youth umbrella. The objectives of the program are to improve access to information and opportunities for local and regional organizations at an international scale and to create a supportive network and shared learning space for youth-led and youth-focused organizations.

Dr. M. Evren Tok, Associate Professor of Islam and Global Affairs at CIS and founder of Maker Majlis said: “We’re thrilled to have been accepted as a member of this prestigious global community. I’m confident that this will only further our efforts to find solutions to SDG-related problems and enhance our understanding of global SDG goals.”

The CIS Maker Majlis platform allows youth to engage in activities related to the United Nations SDGs. It is a space where the young leaders of the world can unleash their creativity and innovative ideas to contribute to achieving the SDGs. The Maker Majlis hosts workshops, educational programs, and events focusing on the SDGs, and is now working collectively with the SDG Education and Global Citizenship in Qatar project.

The SDG Education and Global Citizenship in Qatar project’s main aims are to cultivate SDG Education and Global Citizenship Education-related capacity and leadership in Qatar’s education system through targeted intervention in primary, secondary and tertiary levels and to identify, design, implement and evaluate educational models and modalities by rescaling Global Citizenship and SDG Education towards a localized, contextually sensitive and human values-centered process. The project is also working on mapping out international best practices on SDG Education and has selected SDSN as its first organization to map best SDGED practices from. Therefore, becoming a member of the SDSN Youth will enable the project to get access and understand the work of not only the SDSN Youth but its parent body, SDSN and its affiliates