17 ROOMS
The 17 Rooms exercise was a series of brainstorming sessions about how Concordia can have an even greater impact impact in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Objectives of the 17 Rooms exercise
- Give members of the Concordia community an opportunity to engage with the SDGs
- Seed new collaborations and alignments among faculty, students, staff
- Deepen and amplify the impact of Concordia’s efforts related to the SDGs
Concordia’s 17 Rooms exercise
Concordia’s 17 Rooms exercise launched on February 4, 2022 and continued on consecutive weeks over the winter term and into the summer.
Participants were invited by the 17 Rooms team based on individuals’ interests, expertise, and demonstrated commitment to impact- and engagement-oriented work.
Eight key takeaways emerged from that 17 Rooms exercise.
17 Rooms team
- Jason Ens – Co-facilitator
Executive Director, Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic - Monica Mulrennan – Co-facilitator
Associate Vice-President, Research Development and Outreach, Office of the Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies - Anna Waclawek
Manager, 4th Space - Doug Moffat
Production Coordinator, 4th Space - Prem Sooriyakumar
Knowledge Broker, Office of Research - David Ward
Knowledge Broker, Office of Research - Johanne Pelletier
Director, Projects and Initiatives, University Communications Services - Rebecca Tittler
Research Administration Coordinator / Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability - Cassandra Lamontagne
Sustainability Coordinator, Office of Sustainability - Peter Graham
Part-time faculty member - Amy Nguyen
Program Coordinator, JMEC Sustainability Ecosystem and Concordia SDG Coordinator, SDSN Canada
Background
The 17 Rooms format was developed by the Brookings Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation in 2018, on the eve of the UN General Assembly in New York City, as a way to stimulate collaboration and advance the SDGs.
Brookings and Rockefeller convened participants from disparate organizations and communities to meet in their own “Rooms,” or working groups, to identify actions that could be undertaken over the 12-18 months. Emerging ideas were then shared between Rooms to identify opportunities for collaboration across different SDGs.
According to Brookings, there are three key principles behind the 17 Rooms format:
- All SDGs get a seat at the table.
- Take a next step, not the perfect step.
- Conversations, not presentations.
