1st Edition

Struggles and Successes in the Pursuit of Sustainable Development

Edited By Tay Keong Tan, Milenko Gudić, Patricia Flynn Copyright 2020
    238 Pages 33 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    238 Pages 33 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The challenges associated with the struggles for attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and objectives are as diverse and complex as the variety of human societies, national conditions and natural ecosystems worldwide. Despite decades of economic growth and technological advances, our world is plagued by poverty, hunger, disease, conflicts and inequality, and many societies are under the strain of environmental changes and governance failure.

    Such global-scale challenges call for the SDGs to be translated beyond bold concepts and aspirational targets into concrete programs and feasible plans that are substantively valuable, locally acceptable, pragmatic and operationally implementable. In the pursuit of the SDGs, positive results are far from guaranteed. Success is uncertain. Instead, the path forward requires difficult learning, experimentation and adaptation by multiple stakeholders. Loss and sacrifice are foreseeable and often inevitable.

    This important book captures the lessons from ongoing struggles and the early successes. Productive failures and emerging practices are identified, analyzed and promulgated for interdisciplinary learning by, and for the inspiration of, like-minded individuals, organizations, communities and nations worldwide. They can also inform and enrich the curricula in universities, training institutions and schools to prepare future generations of citizens, leaders and activists with the ethos and values of sustainability and social responsibility. The book offers a platform for academics, practitioners and concerned global citizens to identify pathways forward on the immense challenges of sustainability.

    Introduction

    Tay Keong Tan, Milenko Gudić and Patricia M. Flynn

    PART I: The big picture 

    1 Struggles and successes of transformative learning for the SDGs: a case study

    Dario Cottafava, Laura Corazza and Gabriela Cavagliá

    2 Using our time on the planet to make a difference – the Sustainability Mindset

    Margaret A. Goralski

    3 Deep sustainability: really addressing our endangered human future

    Glen T. Martin

    4 Inclusive leadership: how to deal with unconscious biases in human resources decisions

    Gudrun Sander, Bianca van Dellen, Ines Hartmann, Dominik Burger-Kloser and Nora Keller

     

    PART II: Addressing SDGs at industry levels

    5 Tapping into new power: opportunities and challenges for growing community renewable energy

    Judith M. Herbst and Deanna Grant-Smith

    6 Sustainable waste management for the plantation sector in Sri Lanka

    A. D. Nuwan Gunarathne and Mahendra Peiris

    7 The Sustainable Development Goals, the ICT industry and ICT4D research

    Martin Wynn and Peter Jones

    8 Creative industries as a tool for poverty alleviation in Pirot, Serbia

    Hristina Mikić

    PART IIIGender equality, women’s empowerment and social inclusion

    9 Women’s empowerment through indigenous social enterprises in Latin America

    Mario Vázquez-Maguirre

    10 Struggles to break the corporate board ceiling: the case of women in North Africa

    Jalila El Jadidi, Sonia Arsi and Hebatallah Ghoneim

    11 The renaissance of gender equality research and sustainable development in the academic context of marketing: championing paths forward

    Linda Tuncay Zayer, Wendy Hein, Jan Brace-Govan, Catherine A. Coleman, Robert L. Harrison, Nacima Ourahmoune, Minita Sanghvi and Laurel Steinfield

    12 Canada’s feminist foreign policy and the SDGs: working with business to address gender inequality

    Maureen A. Kilgour

     

    PART IV: Programs and partnerships in developing countries

    13 Social innovators as drivers of social transformation in Morocco

    Majid Kaissar el Ghaib and Brahim Allali

    14 Partnering for sustainable development in Nigeria – challenges and opportunities of multi-stakeholder partnerships

    Ijeoma Nwagwu

    15 Help isn’t always helpful: lessons from seeking inclusive education in rural Malawi

    Patricia Winter and Brooke Blanks

     

    Conclusion

    Tay Keong Tan, Milenko Gudić and Patricia M. Flynn

     

    Biography

    Tay Keong Tan is Director of International Studies and Leadership Studies, and an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Radford University, Virginia, USA.

    Milenko Gudić is Founding Director of Refoment Consulting and Coaching, Belgrade, Serbia, and a visiting lecturer at University Donja Gorica, Montenegro.

    Patricia M. Flynn is Trustee Professor of Economics and Management at Bentley University, Massachusetts, USA, where she served as Dean of the McCallum Graduate School of Business for ten years.

     

     

    "May God bless this important and timely publication that brilliantly illuminates the multiple challenges that the sustainability crisis poses for humanity. This is a book bursting with expert knowledge, insights into many dimensions of our global crisis, and creative responses that bring hope and clarity to its readers."

    Swami Agnivesh, social activist, politician and religious leader, and the author of Applied Spirituality, and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (The Alternative Nobel Peace Prize), and founder of the Bonded Labor Liberation Front.

     

    "This excellent resource, written by experts from around the globe who are committed to gender equality, anti-poverty initiatives, anti-corruption, and addressing the climate crisis, critically examines the UN SDGs and offers analysis, compelling test cases, and new proposals for how to concretely address some of our most intractable global issues."
    Elizabeth W. Collier, PhD, Chair, North America Chapter, UN PRME, Christopher Chair in Business Ethics and Professor of Business Ethics, Brennan School of Business, Dominican University