In this assessment, using a carefully structured essay, you will:
In this assessment, using a carefully structured essay, you will:
compare Laudato Si with either SDG 1 (No Poverty) or SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) [it is strongly recommended that you choose the same SDG you focused on in Assessment task 2],
explain the relevance of this comparison to: a) a module topic; b) your course of study; and c) a local community organisationModule topic: choose one from the following options:
Community engagement (relates to Module 3); or
Human dignity (relates to Module 4); or
3) Advocacy and action (relates to Module 5).
Course of study: the degree program you are enrolled in at ACU
. Local community organisation: your choice, but it must be local (i.e., not global).
It is a requirement that you: a) cite at least the following eight readings/resources:
Wolfgang Sachs, The Sustainable Development Goals andLaudato si: varieties of PostDevelopment?Third World Quarterly38 (2017) 25732587.
one Faculty-specific unit reading from your chosen module topic.
https://www.bettertogether.sa.gov.au/principles-overview. one Faculty-specific resource/website (refer to Texts and References section towards the end of the Extended Unit Outline). https://www.essa.org.au/
iv. one resource (e.g., LEO book, a linked article, reading (other than Sachs, 2017), a
YouTube video, etc.) that is included in the LEO folder/tile for Module 2: Sustainable
Development Goals (NB: it must be different to the LEO resource you chose in
Assessment task 2).
v. one resource (e.g., LEO book, a linked article, reading, a YouTube video, etc.) that is
included in the LEO folder/tile from your chosen module topic.
the Laudato Si Action Platform website: https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/.
vii. the Global Goals website: https://www.globalgoals.org/.
The twin cornerstones of ethical analysis persist throughout Laudato Si Book, as in recent documents of Catholic social teaching, the principles of human dignity and the common good accentuates the notion that humans are a part of a larger world. Given that the human life is sacred Laudato Si amplifies humans shouldnt shy away from the immense issue and factors based on their socioeconomic and geographic status some rural populations which lack access to essential services and where some workers are reduced to conditions of servitude, without rights or even the hope of a more dignified life (154, Laudato Si). Lisa Sowle Cahill also emphasizes that humans are a part of the broader world in a way where they should stand together and fight for the rights of each individual to sustain the principle of human dignity protecting the rights of individuals and small groups to be free from undue control by any larger and higher collectivity (Lisa Sowle Cahill). This idea is meant to safeguard people's rights to be free from excessive control by disregarding socioeconomic and geographic status so that humans as a collective can be whole again.
Stressing the fact that human life is social, all human beings' basic demands for well-being should be satisfied. Laugato explores the perception that human individuals and groups are collectively responsible in order for the society and community as a whole to live a happy and genuine human life once we start to think about the kind of world we are leaving to future generations, we look at things differently; we realize that the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others. (Laudato Si 159). Based on this, one can argue that in order for the younger generation to flourish in todays society, individuals are collectively responsible in providing them with necessary essentials that they have learnt to make this world a better place elaborating on the common good. The ideas of the common good and social justice underpin this ecological connection where Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator states in his journal The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation (no. 48). In this case, in order to fulfil the common good between humans and the environment, we must mutually avoid the destruction of the individual and society to allow humans to have their basic needs for there wellbeing to be met.
I am currently undertaking a bachelor of exercise and sports science at the Australian Catholic University. Being in my third year, I have seen how this course is able to reach out to those specific areas in need. Disregarding the issues individuals face based on their socioeconomic and geographic status, this course is able to highlight that humans are a part of the bigger picture in such a way that they must stand together and fight for the rights of all individuals in order to uphold the principle of human dignity. Elaborating on the fact that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God, in this course of study we are able to provide information, resources and access to all communities about health and the way the body works disregarding socioeconomic and geographic status. Further to this, in Agnes M. Brazal abstract, he talks about how the rights are deprived from women based on there gender For the grandeur of women includes all the rights derived from their inalienable human dignity. One can argue that in todays society, gender inequality is still a factor however, in my course of study we are able to treat and provide support for all genders as well as hiring them to promote this cause in order to uphold the principle of human dignity.
During my course of exercise and sports science, It has taught me that to fulfil the common good between the the environment and individuals, we as a collective society are solely responsible for the basic demands for the well being of humans to be met. Catholic Health Australia states that each person is primarily responsible for making decisions concerning his or her own health . In this course, we can argue that the primary idea is to provide information and resources to all individuals in a community that educate them on how to have a healthy lifestyle that they can pass onto their children. Providing the basic needs for individuals that allow there wellbeing to be met is an example of how to fulfil the common good that further explores Laugato Sis notion that we realize that the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others (159). Therefore, we as exercise and sports scientists are responsible to promote the health and wellbeing of the patient whilst providing resources to the community to allow the basic needs to be met to fulfil the common good.
Bibliography:
Lisa Sowle Cahill, Laudato Si': Reframing Catholic Social Ethics,The Heythrop Journal59 (2018) 887900
Agbonkhianme ghe E. Orobator, Laudato Si: A Prophetic Message,Journal of Catholic Education24 (2021) 300305
Agnes M. Brazal, Ethics of Care in Laudato Si: A Postcolonial Ecofeminist Critique,Feminist Theology29 (2021) 220233
Zenneo. (2021, June 2). Ethics. Catholic Health Australia. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://www.cha.org.au/mission/ethics/
Thomas A. Klein and Gene R. Laczniak, Laudato si A Macromarketing Manifesto for a Just and Sustainable Environment,Journal of Macromarketing4 (2021) 7587
It is a requirement that you: a) cite at least the following eight readings/resources:
Wolfgang Sachs, The Sustainable Development Goals andLaudato si: varieties of PostDevelopment?Third World Quarterly38 (2017) 25732587.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01436597.2017.1350822Wolfgang Sachs, The Sustainable Development Goals and Laudato si: varieties of Post-Development?Third World Quarterly38 (2017) 25732587
Find this resource on wolfgang sachsone Faculty-specific unit reading from your chosen module topic.
https://www.bettertogether.sa.gov.au/principles-overview. one Faculty-specific resource/website (refer to Texts and References section towards the end of the Extended Unit Outline). https://www.essa.org.au/
iv. one resource (e.g., LEO book, a linked article, reading (other than Sachs, 2017), a
YouTube video, etc.) that is included in the LEO folder/tile for Module 2: Sustainable https://youtu.be/M-iJM02m_HgDevelopment Goals (NB: it must be different to the LEO resource you chose in
Assessment task 2).
v. one resource (e.g., LEO book, a linked article, reading, a YouTube video, etc.) that is
included in the LEO folder/tile from your chosen module topic. https://youtu.be/dH5kTYDyX5Ithe Laudato Si Action Platform website: https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/.
vii. the Global Goals website: https://www.globalgoals.org/.
https://www.sdgfund.org/sites/default/files/report-sdg_fund_sports_and_sdgs_web.pdf.
4. Required reading CAN USE THIS FOR IDEAS
This page is a guide through Module 2's required reading. The guide should not replace your own work; the two should go together. Highlight ideas and sentences in both the guide and the reading that interest or confuse you. Make notes for your classes and assignments. The reading is Wolfgang Sachs The Sustainable Development Goals andLaudato si: varieties of Post-Development? an article inThird World Quarterly.Look out for the following important topics and ideas:
Laudato Si'and Francis' critique of the technocratic paradigm (Module 1)
how to understand and measure (if at all) a community's needs and its wellbeing indicators (Module 3)
SDG targets and human rights obligations, as well as interdependence as a response to global inequalities and vulnerabilities, as an affirmation of global dignity (Module 4)
degrowth as a way forward out of crisis, as a part of positive ecological action (Module 5)
In this articleSachs looks for notions of development and post-development in both the SDGs andLaudato Si'.The piece is largely comparative.Laudato Si'comes out in a more positive light than the SDGs and Agenda 2030. ButSachs finds many significant parallels between these religious and secular approaches to sustainability.
Thesection on the SDGsis called "transformation of development in SDGs."Its subsections cover "survival instead of progress," "one world in lieu of North-South," and "social indicators instead of GDP."
The initial issue Sachs raises in respect of the SDGs is that they are "non-binding" and lack "a sanction mechanism," which means that these "vague demands and inflated goals could well be an invitation to inaction for governments," and which results in "a disconnect between international rhetoric and national measures" (p. 2574).
Interestingly, as Sachs points out, it isn't totally clear what "development" actually means in the name "Sustainable Development Goals" and why it's included at all. It seems that the SDGs are more about survival than development, which, understood historically, is in fact the opposite of what we find in the SDGs: the Goals are global and universal, but development has always been the narrative of poor countries becoming more and more like rich countries:
"Seven goals are dedicated to human vulnerability(ending poverty, ensuring food security, universal health, universal education, gender equality, universal access to water and sanitation, and access to sustainable energy sources) andfive goals to ecological vulnerability(sustainable cities, sustainable methods of production and consumption, tackling climate change, conservation of oceans andlandmass ecosystems). This constitutes nothing more than a due appropriation of human rights obligations and ecological imperatives highlighted with specified targets.The classical development narrative is conspicuously missing... thedevelopmentin SDGs is a semantic delusion.TheSustainable Development Goalsshould more fittingly have been called SSGs Sustainable Survival Goals...The SDGs stress their globality and universality. The mental rupture could not have been formulated more clearly: The geopolitics of development embodied by the old-industrialised countries serving as an example for poorer countries to follow was ceremoniously disposed of... What sense would development make, if there is no country that can justifiably be called developed?" (pp. 2575-2576).
The SDGs take a "development-as-social policy" rather than a "development-as-growth" approach (p. 2577). And yet,the legacy of development lives onas the SDGs use "social indicators" instead of GDP to measure how various countries are "progressing" in particular dimensions:"Because numbers now constitute the framework of multi-dimensional development, the Agenda 2030, aside from all the noble goals, is an attempt at measuring the world" (p. 2588).
Thesection onLaudato Si'is called "renouncing the development discourse." Its subsections cover "a declaration of mutual dependency," "no sufficiency, no justice," "common good against technocracy," and "the creation and universal brotherhood/sisterhood."
Sachs begins by asking ifLaudato Si'is a post-development textbefore highlighting how Francis does away with a traditional linear notion of progress for the sake of"sober, nuanced contemplations on the present" (p. 2579). Francis presents a "transformatory and engaging narrative" which has (not a temporal, but) a "spatial consciousness" and espouses (not a "declaration of independence," but) a "declaration of interdependence": "the combination of things in virtual or geographical space appears to be more important than their sequence in time" (p. 2580).The SDGs protect the growth model, butLaudato Si'advocates for degrowth, for "a reductive rather than an expansive modernity" (p. 2581). The contrast develops in even stronger terms:
"the encyclical attacks the power-interests of the economic and financial systems that perforate and disregard the common good. This is in stark contrast to theAgenda 2030, which fails to explain the reasons for the constant reproduction of poverty and the decline of the biosphere that have made the SDGs necessary. Neglecting the root causes is typical for UN documents and comfortable for governments, but fatal for any therapy" (p. 2582).
This is ultimatelywhatLaudato Si'offers: a therapeutic (if disruptive), present-orientated narrative of awareness. Beyond targets and measurements, Francis seeks to sober his readers (i.e., all global citizens) with the stark reality we face and may yet continue to perpetuate.
Sachs' conclusion is worth quoting at length:
"The world is in crisis roundabout: the biosphere is being shattered, and in more ways than one, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. Whileboth publications agree that the global economic model can now be considered old iron, there are equally significant differences. While the Agenda 2030 seeks to repair the existing global economic model significantly, the encyclical calls for a pushing back of economic hegemony and for more ethical responsibility on all levels.While the Agenda 2030 envisions a green economy with social democratic hues, the encyclical foresees a post-capitalist era, based on a cultural shift toward eco-solidarity. The era of expansive modernity is over" (p. 2584).
Finish your reading now by noting down some reflections on these two differences between Agenda 2030 andLaudato Si', in terms of economic versus ethical emphases, and of social-democracy versus eco-solidarity worldviews.
Cities and communities around the world are evolving and are leading the way to a more sustainable economy. SDG 11; Sustainable Cities and Communities talks about trying to make cities and human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The UN aspires to provide affordable and safe housing services to all citizens living in communities and cities by the year 2030. This includes roads and public transportation, particularly for vulnerable groups such as children, women, the elderly, and the disabled. Also the UN has emphasized on reducing the cities' negative per capita environmental effect by 2030, including special emphasis to air quality and municipal and other waste disposal.
Moreover, the UN aims to deliver universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible green and public places by 2030. Creating public and green spaces raises the likelihood of improving people's health and quality of life in cities. By doing so, it enables individuals to improve their psychological and physical health while also making cities and communities more enticing places to live and work. With these global goals in mind, there will be problems and crises to overcome in order to achieve sustainable cities and communities worldwide.
With the number of people living in cities expected to reach 5 billion by 2030, it is critical that efficient urban planning and management techniques are in place to deal with the issues that urbanization brings (SDG Academy 2022). Due to more than half of the worlds population living in cities, the rising traffic, infrastructure and lack of affordable social housing are among the many global concerns in critical need of repair and or expansion (Barbara Norman Chair of Urban & Regional Planning and Director of Canberra Urban & Regional Futures et al., 2022). Cities and Communities worldwide are faced with an everyday issue of the high density of people.
In todays society, we live in an ageing population which means people are living longer which therefore results in an increased and denser community and cities. When an economy is unable to fill in-demand vocations, it suffers from poorer production, employment and retirement patterns, and an increase in the frequency of chronic disease and disability, all of which are influenced by social ageing. In this case, cities are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and natural catastrophes due to their high concentration of people, infrastructure, housing, and economic activity. (The state of the climate crisis in 2021 - YouTube 2021).
Major cities and communities worldwide are facing environmental and health challenges as a result of overpopulation, excessive consumption, pollution, and resource depletion. Due to this, the growing migration and urbanization has caused an increased demand on resources and infrastructure, putting city sustainability at risk. This is becoming increasingly critical to address as cities already house around half of the world's population, with that figure
anticipated to climb to 60% by 2030. This is another crisis that countries worldwide must attend to in order to achieve sustainable cities and communities.
Future Earth Australia are based at the Australian Academy of Science. They are a nationwide project that connects and collaborates Australian researchers, governments, and civil society on sustainability transitions. The mission of Future Earth Australia is to create an integrated knowledge network of talent and innovation that can help find solutions to the sustainability issues that confront Australia and the entire world. Future Earth Australia aims to enhance sustainability by facilitating and transferring the SDGs from research to practice by ensuring institutions and governance in urban systems to be effective and coordinated.
Cities and communities in Australia are going through a significant time of change and opportunity. The progression of these communities and cities will significantly influence the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals. It is crucial that pertinent knowledge is coproduced and used to guide the decisions affecting urban change in order to guarantee a favorable impact. In March 2018, Future Earth Australia adopted Sustainable Cities and Communities as a priority focus area. On 25 May 2018, cross-disciplinary researchers from across Australia were brought together by FEA to begin envisioning how knowledge could support Australias transformation to sustainable urban systems (Future Earth Australia, 2022) The agreement that FEA lead a national process of involving stakeholders from research, policy, practice, and the community was a significant outcome of the meeting. Through this collaborative process, a strategy plan will be created for enhancing the knowledge cycle that will support the long-term sustainable growth of Australian cities and communities.I am currently studying a bachelor of exercise and sports science at ACU. Given that this course involves initiatives to promote health, prevent chronic diseases, prevent injury, and improve athletic performance, sport it is a strong and privileged platform for education, campaigning, and awareness raising. The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development has acknowledged Sport as a crucial element for achieving the SDGs (SDGF,2020)
Sport is seen as a factor in the empowerment of people, including women and young people, as well as communities. Sport participation provides chances for the empowerment of individuals with disabilities; it promotes respect and awareness by showcasing ability rather than impairment (ESSA 2021). Therefore, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, the contribution of sports can contribute to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. One of the aims of SDG 11 is to provide safe, accessible green and public places to individuals living in communities and cities. Creating these spaces will increase ones health and therefore with the inclusion of sports it will help individuals reach this goal. Moreover, due to sport's popularity and favorable attitude towards it, it provides an appropriate instrument for addressing inequality in hard-to-reach locations and groups. It can help combat bigotry and discrimination by encouraging tolerance and pro-social behavior which will ultimately lead to a safe, resilient and sustainable community.
Sport may also be utilized to celebrate and value diversity. Sport stakeholders can foster understanding among participants and resolve discriminatory acts and other forms of discrimination. Sport venues that serve as backdrops for human behavior can develop into hubs for inclusion and respect for variety, based on human rights. Furthermore, in relation to my course of study, the involvement of sport to promote a healthy lifestyle can provide a more sustainable, human and environmentally conscious future.
Bibliography
Barbara Norman Chair of Urban & Regional Planning and Director of Canberra Urban & Regional Futures, Peter Newman Professor of Sustainability, & Will Steffen Emeritus Professor. (2021, February 24). Fires bring home climate-driven urgency of rethinking where we live and how. The Conversation. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://theconversation.com/fires-bring-home-climate-driven-urgency-of-rethinking-where-we-live-and-how-155044
TED. (2021, October 2). Climate action tracker: The state of the climate crisis in 2021 - YouTube. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wJo5aKBwq0
Christine Wamsler, Education for sustainability: Fostering a more conscious society and transformation towards sustainability, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 21 (2020) 112130
ESSA. (2021). Exercise and sports science australia . Who we are. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from https://www.essa.org.au/Public/About/Who_we_are/Public/ABOUT_ESSA/Who_we_are.aspx?hkey=db18d152-8af4-4376-984d-1a2c2890498f
SDG Academy. (2022, August 2). Sustainable Cities and communities. SDG Academy. Retrieved September 17, 2022, from https://sdgacademy.org/goal/sustainable-cities-and-communities/
Lundgren, D. P. (2022, September 11). Transitioning to a Sustainable Australia. Home | Future Earth Australia. Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://www.futureearth.org.au/
SDGF (2020). The contribution of sports to the achievements of the sustainable development goals: a toolkit for action. Retrieved on 14 September 2022 from https://www.sdgfund.org/sites/default/files/report-sdg_fund_sports_and_sdgs_web.pdf.
