Case Study: SDG 11 - Sustainable cities and communities

Essex researchers have helped assess the impact of the award-winning All In programme pioneered by Eastlight Community Homes. Now there are hope the project could become a model for other areas of the UK.

All In gave Essex residents the opportunity to dedicate a year of their lives to one goal – creating a bold solution to a big social issue in their community, and then making it happen.

Participants were paid an annual salary to focus their efforts on the project.

Academics from Essex Business School worked alongside the Essex-based housing association for the duration of the project and have “been blown away” by the success of what was the first community project of its kind.

Dr Rebecca Warren from Essex Business School said the concept could be rolled out to help communities across the country to create new solutions tackling the big social issues affecting them.

Dr Warren said: “The project saw people working on issues which were important to the communities of north Essex. Not only was it a transformative experience for them, but more than 2,500 people engaged in person with the programme in one year.”

All In won the Neighbourhood Transformation category at the Affordable Housing Awards in November 2023.

Case Study: SDG 14 - Life Below Water

North Sea oil and gas extraction can cause pollution to spike by more than 10,000% within half a kilometre around off-shore sites.

The University of Essex, Natural History Museum and Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) research has uncovered the true impact on Britain’s seabed life - with the number of species plummeting nearly 30% near platforms.

The findings, published in Science of The Total Environment, come in the face of continued global fossil fuel exploration.

The study discovered pollutants like hydrocarbons were up to 10,613% higher within 500m of the platforms than unimpacted, further away sites.

And heavy metals - like lead, copper, and nickel - were 455% higher within the same distance.

Dr Natalie Hicks, from the School of Life Sciences, said: "These platforms are leaving a potentially concerning legacy"

Contaminants have been accumulating for decades around platforms and this study shows a direct impact on marine invertebrates - which play a key role in underwater ecosystems, acting as food for larger animals like fish.

Case Study: SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Essex legal experts teamed up with indigenous representatives from Colombia to make special representations before key members of the United Nations.

Dr Matthew Gillett and Dr Marina Lostal, both from Essex Law School, worked with Freider Legarda Mojomboy, Gabriel Muyuy Jacanamejoy and Yuli Meneses from the Inga Indigenous Territorial Entity AWAI, and co-investigator Santiago del Hierro from ETH Zurich, to complete a report on human rights and intercultural higher education that was presented to UN Special Rapporteurs Farida Shaheed (Education) and the team of Francisco Cali Tzay (Indigenous Peoples and other officials).

The report became an input on the right to access and take part in scientific progress issued by the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights.

Key themes raised in the submission to the Special Rapporteurs and their teams included indigenous rights to their own education and how this can be a tool to peace-building in a post conflict setting, such as Colombia.

The experts also noted how indigenous-led education can facilitate environmental protection and ensure that cultural knowledge is preserved.

Dr Gillett said: “The team was able to sensitize interlocutors to the challenges that the Inga people face and explain how higher education can assist them to enjoy their human rights.”

The project is being funded through an Arts and Humanities Research Council grant and is looking to develop international networks to research peace and trust, while addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

This project is being realised through knowledge exchange, including workshops in Colombia, meetings with Colombian officials, and engagement with the UN and Special Mandate holders.

Case Study: SDG 17 - Partnerships

Computer scientist and artificial intelligence expert Professor Maria Fasli is working to support education initiatives and the development of skills and capacity in the crucial areas of data and artificial intelligence as UNESCO Chair in Analytics and Data Science.

As UNESCO Chair, Professor Fasli has been collaborating with UNESCO and international partners, in the Global South in particular, to engage in research, host a wide range of activities and develop training programmes to help address the skills gap by strengthening the knowledge base.

Workshops and joint events have been held across the world including Brazil, China, Malaysia, South Africa, Indonesia and Rwanda.

Professor Fasli added: “The cornerstone of our approach is that data is all about people. By improving people’s data literacy and capacity, along with access to and understanding of data and knowledge we can empower citizens to positively contribute to the governance of their country and transforming economies of developing and transitioning countries into strong, self-reliant digital and knowledge economies.”