A recent UNESCO report described,higher education "..at a turning point, shaped by technological disruption, demographic change, shifting labor market expectations, growing international mobility, financial pressures and persistent inequalities in access, quality, completion and opportunity”. (For those of us who spent time paying attention to the 2026 ESRI User Conference - either by being present in San Diego, or online - we all know how important GIS is becoming for improving our communities).
From my background, as a career United Nations professional, I believe we can agree how important it is "... to demand higher education incorporate teaching of sustainability (and GIS) into its course teaching". Think about whether universities are “ knowledge producers, conveners and co-creators of knowledge.” If we can agree on how important the role of our universities are, then perhaps we can understand how important it might be to multiple and expand that work....
While the 2026 ESRI UC was happening, a few thousand miles away in New York at the United Nations premises along the East River, a High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development was happening - check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_21fNrndHow.
So now both events have concluded and it is time for actions. Let's get busy.
