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UVU discusses mountains and the 2030 Agenda

17.02.2017

The Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations, Ambassador Macharia Kamau, gave a lecture on the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for Utah Valley University (UVU) faculty and students on 9 February 2017. During the special meeting, student representatives from the Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF), a coalition of student clubs at UVU, were able to meet with Ambassador Kamau and share with him their work and accomplishments in furthering the 2030 Agenda and promoting sustainable mountain development (SMD).

On 11 December 2013, UVU student Jesler Molina had presented during the session of the United Nations Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), of which Ambassador Kamau had been a co-chair. UIMF members informed their distinguished guest about having successfully hosted the fourth International Women of the Mountains Conference (WOMC) under the umbrella of the Mountain Partnership in October 2015. This year, 2017, marks ten years since the first WOMC, which was hosted at UVU as a grassroots forum in North America to promote the gender and SMD agendas of the United Nations.

Ambassador Kamau was pleasantly surprised to learn that the UIMF was featured for the first time in the 2016 United Nations Secretary-General Report on SMD for hosting the WOMC and for contributing to implementing of SDGs 5, 6 and 15. The members of the UIMF also informed Ambassador Kamau about actively raising awareness about SMD in Utah and North America by encouraging local communities to contribute to mountain communities in developing nations who are often overlooked. As part of further promoting the SMD agenda, four students will participate at the 61st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women on 20-23 March 2017.

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News by the Utah International Mountain Forum

Photo: Matthew James