RSU participates in European Sustainable Development Week

From 18 September to 8 October, European Sustainable Development Week (ESDW) will take place across Europe, including in Latvia, for the eleventh time. Its goal is to encourage and inspire society to act sustainably, share experiences, showcase good practices, and strengthen a common understanding of how to build a balanced future in an economical, social, and environmentally friendly way. Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) is participating in this initiative for the second year, sharing activities on the ESDW platform during the period. As part of the University’s participation, the RSU Lifelong Learning Centre is launching a new professional development programme “Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Marketing” (applications are open until 7 October; the programme will run from 14 October to 25 November). Additionally, the RSU Innovation Centre and EIT Health will host the i-Days hackathon from 3 to 10 October, where students from all Latvian universities and study programmes are invited to create innovative and sustainable solutions to healthcare challenges.

Participation in ESDW is an opportunity to engage society, share experiences, implement your organisation’s values into practice, and establish contacts for collaboration at a European level. 

Participation is open to everyone – companies, schools, associations, municipalities, public and private institutions, as well as active citizens. Everyone is encouraged to think in advance about what initiative, event, or activity could be their contribution to this shared movement. It can be either an existing activity or a new idea that promotes sustainability, responsibility, and action.

ESDW is based on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations in 2015. It includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that define the main directions for sustainability worldwide – for example, climate action, accessible and high-quality education and healthcare, gender equality, sustainable economics and energy, social inclusion, and more.

These goals also define the thematic categories in which activities can be registered as part of the ESDW. These may include educational campaigns, community initiatives, workplace improvements, events in schools, actions by companies or municipalities in the fields of climate and environment, volunteer work, or other initiatives aimed at one of the UN defined goals.

ESDW was held for the first time in 2015. 

Back then, more than 4,100 events took place across 29 European countries, including seven in Latvia. This year, Latvia will participate in the ESDW initiative for the eleventh time. Latvia is internationally recognised as an active and responsible country in the field of sustainable development – in 2024, Latvia ranked 13th in the global index assessing progress in implementing the UN goals.

ESDW is organised by the Institute for Managing Sustainability at the Vienna University of Economics and Business within the framework of the European Sustainable Development Network (ESDN), in cooperation with contact points in the participating countries. In Latvia, the contact point for the ESDW is the State Chancellery.

During ESDW, the online e-course “Sustainable Development Goals in Latvia and in the World” is available free of charge until 8 October. The course was developed by the State Chancellery in cooperation with the School of Public Administration, and it explains in a simple and clear way how these goals work globally and in Latvia, as well as how each of us is already contributing to building a sustainable future today. The course is available online on the website of the Latvian School of Public Administration.