Greater collaboration needed to ensure successful implementation SDGs in Ghana and Africa - Professor Kofi Amoako

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals especially the goals focusing on Environmental Sustainability, Green Marketing, Sustainable Marketing, Green Economy, Circular Economy and Sustainable Procurement have been of great concern to the industry, academia, policy-makers, and all stakeholders within the value chain of Sustainability.

On 9th August 2024, the Faculty of Public Relations, Advertising & Marketing at the University of Media, Arts and Communication(UniMAC) successfully organized an SDG DAY under the theme, "Empowering Communities for Sustainable Future:Showcasing SDG Innovations". The Special Guest for the programme was a renowned marketing guru and one of the top 3% leading Researchers in Africa, Professor George Kofi Amoako.

The SDG DAY was well attended by experts from the academia, industry and the United Nations Development Programme. According to the Faculty members of University of Media, Arts and Communication, the university as part of the efforts to contribute to environmental sustainability has successfully established an SDG Corner at the university's library, serving as a dedicated space for the sensitization and awareness creation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the university community.

From the narrative, the university since 2022, has been leveraging Social Media Platforms(Social Media Engagement) to create awareness as well as foster discussions on the Sustainable Development Goals, thereby engaging and reaching out to a broader audience aimed at improving and promoting sustainable practices towards the attainment of SDGs by 2038.

Delivering a speech on the subject matter as the Special Guest, Professor George Amoako commended the University of Media, Arts and Communication(UniMAC) for the establishment of the SDG Corner at the university library, and subsequently made mentioned of the need for the SDG Corner to be replicated across all university's libraries in Ghana and Africa. He also indicated that, the Industry, Government Agencies, and Multinational Organizations should try as much as possible to establish an SDG Corner or Directorate/Department/Unit so that individually and collectively we all would be simultaneously pushing for the positive agenda towards the achievement of the SDGs by 2038.

He further called on the Ghana Library Authority to take a keen interest in supporting the SDG Corner agenda across Ghana. Also, the Secretariat of Vice Chancellors Ghana, and the Association of African Universities(AAU) are also encouraged to show serious involvement in the implementation of the SDG Corner across university campuses.

Professor George Kofi Amoako stated that, in as much as the University community has been at the forefront of pushing for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, there is also an essential need for the university to incorporate sustainability practices in their procurement & supply Chain practices as well as their teaching and learning delivery models.

In conclusion of his speech, Professor George Kofi Amoako asked a number of critical questions that called for sincere answers from the stakeholders in sustainability architecture, and some of the questions were:

1. How do we ensure consistency and continuity of the SDG Corner?

2. How do we measure the success or failures of the SDG Corner on university communities and organizations?

3. Can we show any empirical evidence of behaviour change since the implementation of the SDG Corner?

Professor George Kofi Amoako is the current Director of Research, Innovation and Consultancy at Ghana Communication Technology University, Accra, Ghana. He is a consummate Sustainability Consultant and Researcher in Africa.

Professor George Kofi Amoako also won the African CSR Award in 2015 in Mauritius for his remarkable contributions to the body of knowledge in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Social Investment and Sustainability.

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