To commemorate the 5th Anniversary of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sunway University released a board game “Are You the Master of Sustainability?”

This multiplayer board game aims to become a vehicle to mainstream education for sustainable development as mandated by SDG 4: Quality Education Target 7 “to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.” The game highlights key societal issues – water security, land degradation, plastic pollution, greenhouse gases, gender inequality. Players are exposed to a range of issues through a simple gameplay mechanism which encourages learners to transition from local to global perspectives.

The game was received by a range of local NGOs, corporate members, schools, and government ministries all of whom are recognised for efforts in championing the SDGs. These include YBhg Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, Director-General of Health Malaysia; Julian Neo, Managing Director, DHL; Stefan Priesner & Juanita Joseph, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Malaysia.

Many recipients provided feedback on Sunway University’s efforts in forwarding a national and global awareness on the importance of SDG 4: Quality Education, which has been mentioned by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, who is the SDG Advocate under United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, as the most important SDG.

Sunway University’s staff from JSC and students of the Master in Sustainable Development Management programme played a role in the game’s design, development, and the crafting of questions to educate players on the need to find solutions to some of the most pressing social and environmental issues in Malaysia and the world today.

Sunway University is home to the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development and will host the new Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Asia office, working with SDSN-NYC and SDSN-Paris to coordinate the global reach of SDSN. SDSN was set up in 2012 under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General to mobilise global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development, including the implementation of the SDGs.

Featured above: some of the recipients of the Are You a Master of Sustainability? United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Board game.

References:
Center for Sustainable Development, E. I., Columbia University (Producer). (2020). Charting an SDG 4.7 roadmap for radical, transformative change in the midst of climate breakdown. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwc-GOfdKJQ&t=2493s