Call for Abstracts: Education and Action for a Sustainable Future

Interested members of the university are invited to participate in the International University Social Responsibility (USR) Summit 2022 that will be held virtually on 16-18 November 2022.  The International USR Summit is a biennial flagship event of the University Social Responsibility Network (USRN) of which the Ateneo de Manila University is a member.

From the USR Summit website, the summit is described as follows:

The Summit brings together higher education leaders, academics, students and practitioners from all continents to exchange ideas and foster partnerships among universities and to advance the global USR movement – to share insights in advancing university social responsibility, generating social impact and driving sustainable development around the world.

In 2015, the United Nations Member States defined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is a universal call for action by all countries to tackle climate change, end poverty and build a more sustainable and inclusive world by 2030.  Higher education plays a unique role in creating knowledge and cultivating talent. None of the 17 SDGs can be achieved without major contributions by university education and research.

The International USR Summit 2022 will be hosted virtually by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.  This action-oriented Summit, themed “Education and Action for a Sustainable Future” aims to nurture and guide generations of new leaders who will drive social change, and translate innovative ideas into concrete steps for a better, inclusive and sustainable future.

The Summit also provides opportunities to accelerate University Social Responsibility (USR) globally, and to share insights and innovative strategies to elevate institutions’ contributions to achieving the SDGs.

Acknowledging a broad range of possible issues, the Summit is arranged along the lines of the sub-themes below:

• Assessing and Reinforcing USR Impacts
• Collaborative Research to Address Global Challenges
• Driving Institutional Changes for USR
• Education to Cultivate Social Responsibility
• Elevating Sustainable Development through Regional and Global Collaboration
• Social Innovation for Inclusive Communities 

The Ateneo, as a USRN member institution, can also actively participate in the virtual summit in the following ways:

• Propose and host a plenary session in one of the summit sub-themes
• Propose and host parallel sessions(s) on different summit sub-themes identified above
• Contribute content for the virtual exhibition booth assigned for USRN member institutions

A professional virtual conference platform will be developed for the Summit to offer a dynamic conference participation experience for the delegates and speakers. As the International USR Summit 2022 is one of the 85th Anniversary celebrating activities of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a budget has been granted to support the summit organization and there would be NO REGISTRATION FEE to participate in the USR Summit 2022.  

Deadline for submission of abstracts is on 30 September 2022 (23:59 HKT)

For more details, please visit https://usrsummit2022.org

Rizalino D. Rivera

Vice President for Mission Integration