Massey to host Sustainable Development Goals Summit

Massey will work with Rangitāne o Manawatū, Palmerston North City Council and Food HQ to host this biennial event.  

The Aotearoa New Zealand Sustainable Development Goals Summits were inspired by people wanting to collaborate across sectors to drive meaningful change for the SDGs. The SDGs are part of Agenda 2030, ratified in 2015 at the United Nations (UN), which is an agenda designed to transform our world and is based on the 17 SDGs, ranging from zero hunger, good health and quality education, through to sustainable cities and climate action.

Professor Glenn Banks from the School of People, Environment and Planning says, “It is a real opportunity for Massey to be involved in shaping the national conversation regarding the SDGs and a more sustainable future for Aotearoa. There are a wide range of groups actively engaged with the SDGs - from local government, iwi, community groups and corporations - but they are often working independently and can benefit from a forum where they come together to discuss what they are doing, opportunities for greater collaboration and, at the National level, progress towards our commitments. And we intend to ensure these conversations are co-designed and led out with Iwi.”

Provost Professor Giselle Byrnes says, “Massey is committed, through our research plan, to maintaining our focus on supporting our world-leading areas of research that align with and support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. We’re also prioritising the ongoing development of researcher capability and capacity for research that amplifies the SDGs and are very proud to host the 2025 Summit.”

The process will kick off later this year with a one-day event on the Pukeahu campus in Wellington. This will focus on indigenous approaches to and engagement with the SDGs agenda, using the concept of 'Let's ask nature' that foregrounds mātauranga Māori. This event, to be held at Te Rau Karamu Marae, will seek to build and strengthen connections and relationships across those parties in Aotearoa actively working on various aspects of the SDG agenda.

In 2025, Massey will host the two-day Summit, a gathering that aims to impart both a sense of achievement – drawing on some of the amazing successes that are out there – and a sense of urgency for the unfinished business and the ‘finish line’ of 2030.