On September 6, 2023, the opening ceremony of Center for Sustainable Development, the first such center in Kazakhstan opened at University, took place at Satbayev University within the framework of International Round Table “UN Sustainable Development Goals: Principles of Environmental Safety”. The event also included the adoption of the University’s strategy for Sustainable Development Goals.
The event was attended by Gulzat Kobenova, Chairperson of Higher and Postgraduate Education Committee at RK MSHE (online), Mikaela Friberg-Storey, UN Resident Coordinator in Kazakhstan, Assel Nurbekova, Director of Ecology and Energy Department at UNDP in Kazakhstan, Zhang Wei, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Almaty, and other officials.
UN Sustainable Development Goals are a set of ambitious goals aimed at the prosperity of countries. As Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted in his message, the key tasks of Kazakhstan’s development include ensuring the country’s water security and education quality. The work within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals is designed primarily to address the given issues.
Satbayev University has become the first and so far the only University in the Republic of Kazakhstan to be included in the UN Global Compact. This enables University to actively implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at the national and global levels. Among them: poverty eradication, hunger eradication, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation etc.
The initiative force of change will be Center for Sustainable Development opened at University, designed to develop practical solutions for the sustainable development of society. Center will develop new technologies and methods that help reduce the negative human impact on the environment and help raise people’s awareness of sustainable development issues and ways to solve them.
The participants highly appreciated the fact of the opening of such an important center, which will play a key role in economy growth and improving the society’s living conditions. To support University on the way to building a “green university” and in honor of the opening of Center, University’s business partner Dauren Askarovich Sabdenov donated two HONDA 1st generation electric crossover cars to Satbayev University.
– In order not to lose our way, we must all move in the same direction. Here we will work together to work out ways to solve problems that affect each of us in one way or another,” Rector of Satbayev University Meiram Begentayev said at the opening of Center.
The first step was the international round table “UN Sustainable Development Goals: Principles of Environmental Safety”. The purpose of the round table was to unite the ecological community of Kazakhstan under the auspices of Satbayev University, as well as accelerate and coordinate research to develop and promote reliable and effective solutions to environmental protection issues faced by humanity.