By Maria Manacheril, Teacher and co-MUN Director at the American School of Doha
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On the morning of October 20, 2017, I was standing under the spider sculpture at the Qatar National Convention Center with a furrowed brow, looking over the catalog of speakers at the 2017 Qatar Leadership Conference and trying to decide which of the many alluring workshops I wanted to attend. A panel titled “Behind the Scenes: The United Nations and the SDGs” caught my eye, so I headed to the theater to check it out. I had no idea that what I was about to hear would have such a profound impact on my role as an educator.
The message from Natabara, Sean, and Sergio that stood out to me was that we need to get the word out about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and raise awareness about the work that is going on worldwide and inspire others to contribute. I realized that my school, the American School of Doha, is involved in many service projects that directly support many of the SDGs, but we are not doing our part to spread the word. I felt very strongly that we need to do a better job of educating our teachers and students about the SDGs and getting them excited about working towards achieving them.