We are faced with the challenge of collectively re-designing the human presence on Earth. NOW is the time for transforming humanity’s planetary impact from predominantly degenerative to regenerative! It is our generations, those alive today, who face the task of regenerating the healthy, life-supporting functions of marine and terrestrial ecosystems everywhere. In doing so we will create the basis for thriving local communities and vibrant circular bio-economies. We can create a fairer distribution of resources through widespread global-local collaboration while learning to live within planetary boundaries. This is the promise ahead, if we come together across sectorial, national and ideological divides to collaborate in implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the local, regional and global scale. It is time to get to work – one community at a time!

SDGs Training for Multipliers is designed to build the capacity of facilitators and multipliers of the vitally important conversation about how to implement the 17 SDGs and their 169 targets at the local and regional scale in ways that are carefully adapted to the biocultural uniqueness of each location. This question-centred training is designed to help SDGs education, and engage local communities in a process that will turn what might be perceived as top-down goals of the United Nations into meaningful projects that are locally relevant and collaboratively implemented by the communities themselves.

The SDGs Flashcards contain more than 200 questions relevant to the four dimensions of Gaia Education’s whole systems approach to sustainability (Social, Ecological, Economic and Worldview). Participants will explore these four dimensions of each of the 17 SDGs in question-focused small group conversations, to collaboratively identify actions and solutions aimed at implementing the global goals in ways that are relevant to their lives and their communities. This is an effective way of teaching SDGs and creating local community ownership of the SDGs.

Achieving the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – one community at a time’ requires us to facilitate widespread culturally-creative conversations that can lead to behavioural change by enabling people on the ground to co-create solutions in tune with local ecosystems and culture. By joining this SDG Training of Multipliers you will have a chance to take part in such conversations and learn an easily replicable process to facilitate more of these conversations yourself in the future.

With our new SDG Multipliers Handbook, our goal is to help all the changemakers to teach SDGs and be able to initiate community-focused conversations about local SDG implementation.

Sustainability is not an end point in a journey; it is a community-centred process of learning how to live sustainably and regeneratively in a particular locality with its ecological and cultural uniqueness. Everyone in that place can take the leadership to start or participate in culturally-creative conversations about how to collaboratively create specific projects aimed at implementing priority SDGs in their community. If you want to teach SDGs, take part in SDGs education or facilitate such conversations where you live, this course is for you.

This SDG training is an opportunity to become an active participant in your community’s future, whether you work in the private or public sector or for a civil society organisation, as a community organiser, teacher, social entrepreneur, concerned parent, pensioner, recent school leaver or university graduate. You can take part simply to engage with others in your community to explore the best opportunities to make a positive difference in collaboration with others. Alternatively, you can take part with the intention to become a multiplier of such conversations by learning how to use the SDGs Flashcards and the detailed workshop script to facilitate such conversations and initiate such projects around your community. If you are a teacher, academic, civil servant or consultant, for example, taking part in the training will almost certainly contribute positively to your professional practice.