After being approved by the Executive Board at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), the inaugural meeting of the Monitoring Commission of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the United Nations 2030 Agenda has been held. The UMH Vice Rectorate for International Relations, along with that of Inclusion, Sustainability and Athletics, has been entrusted with the commitments to and management of the aforementioned commission.

Standing out among the commission’s main tasks are to lead initiatives, studies, training and research activities; strengthen UMH links with third parties in terms of the SDGs; define key and communication lines to incorporate the SDGs into UMH activities and endeavors; promote incentives and recognition for actions on the matter; promote dissemination, training, and awareness activities; plus encouraging local and international development cooperation and volunteerism. Moreover, this commission aims to foster the realization of research projects on the SDGs and to coordinate the Strategic Plan from the 2030 UMH Agenda.

During this first meeting, the actions already in motion at the UMH concerning the SDGs were summarized and analyzed to converge in further actions that involve and reach the entire university community of students, staff, faculty, and research personnel. Among the ongoing and planned actions for 2020 is to map the SDGs at the UMH, under the agreement the Generalitat maintains with the university on matters of development cooperation, and which enables learning about their actual degrees of knowledge or implementation. The meeting also highlighted the pilot project of responsible consumption to reduce the use of plastic in the cafeteria; the upcoming launch of the First Plan for Fairness, Diversity, and Inclusion; the addition of new sustainable products at the UMH Store; actions undertaken by the UMH Headquarters in Rwanda Chair; as well as the future Chair for Sustainable Development in the Axis of Prosperity, which will be based on the Orihuela Salesas Campus.

Participants on the commission, which is chaired by UMH rector, Juan José Ruiz, include the vice rectorates for Student Affairs and Coordination; Institutional Relations; Academic Affairs; Inclusion, Sustainability and Athletics; Infrastructure; Research; International Relations; and that of Knowledge Transfer & Exchange. Also participating are the managers from the Environmental Office; Unit of Equality; Service of International Relations, Development Cooperation and Volunteerism; and the UMH Student Delegation.