Joint Humanitarian Entrepreneurship Summer Academy 2022 to Achieve SDGs Virtually

The Joint Humanitarian Entrepreneurship Summer Academy 2022 was conducted from the 4th of July to the 29th of July 2022. This four-week remote learning experience attracted students majoring in a wide variety of fields. The 23 students participating in the program were from 8 different countries spread over 4 continents. The program focused on enhancing the learning by using flipped learning and the class sessions were exclusively for workshops, discussion, and sharing. This year the projects continues focused on United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and tried to understand, evaluate, and address some of the challenges around economic and environmental sustainability in Uganda and tackle some of the emerging trends which pose a serious challenge to social sustainability like product design and gender. The main focus of the projects in Uganda is to alleviate poverty by focusing on socioeconomic development of the community through sustainable interventions.  

Plastic Recycle Project to achieve SDG1, SDG11, SDG12, and SDG13 (By team REgainful)
To help improve GLI’s current program in Uganda, this group made several recommendations based on the information collected from the internet, the meeting with GLI’s staff Sebastian and Moses, information collected from community surveys and discussions with summer academy advisor Mr. Kum Hui Fung and Aloysius. 

The students looked at the problem from two directions, transportation part for lowering the transportation cost for the recycling center. The other direction is to organise workshops to increase the awareness of recycling plastic and environmental protection in the community of Kabale and Lira where GLI’s two collection centers are located. 

Clean Water Project to Support Uganda to Achieve SDG1, SDG3 and SDG6 (By team Aquamarine)
(The aim of the project is to make children, students, and the wider community aware of the risks of using unclean water)

Despite recent growth in the economy, Uganda is facing the crisis of not having enough clean water access. Studies show that almost 24 million people in Uganda do not have access to clean water. The team assessed the situation at the community level through data from surveys, focus group discussion with community stakeholders and other secondary data.

Word of Mouth is one of the strongest mediums of communication in Uganda. Booths and posters are the easiest solution. When installing a water purifier, this group suggests setting up a booth. Conversations with the people in Uganda revealed that children are more vulnerable to water-borne diseases than adults. Hence, it is important that children are made aware of the practices of maintaining hygiene and using clean water from an earlier stage. Adding fun elements in hands-on role-playing workshops like games will ensure that they have fun while learning at the same time.

Empathy Exercises include “You are What You DRINK!” and “Water Maze” which instil empathy towards clean water and emphasizes the importance of clean water for healthy body. 

Uganda Solar Project to Achieve SDG1, SDG7, SDG9, and SDG11 (By team Sunlight)

The lack of power grid in Uganda leads to the use of Kerosene lamps which are not very bright causing accidents at night. The group suggests providing guidelines of battery maintenance and extending the life of the battery through proper discharge and charging methods after analysing data from various primary and secondary sources. The team also stresses the importance of working with the community leaders who have the authority in dispersing information about the solar lamp. The above methods create a micro economy for the community and more people can be educated. 

Sustainable Fast Fashion Project to achieve SDG11, SDG12, and SDG13

The team investigated the problem of accessibility of clothes in the fast fashion and clothing industry in general for people with various gender identities and preferences. They surveyed people to collect information around cultural and social influences in clothing and the constraints people face in accessing fashion.

The students in the program are from Lingnan University and other Universities, including

• FLAME University
• International Christian University
• Al Akhawayn University
• Duke Kunshan University 
• Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts
• International University of Grand Bassam 
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong
• China Pharmaceutical University 
• Ahmedabad University