Image Description: A promotional poster for “SDG Month at Queen’s” in March 2026. The top band features brightly coloured blocks inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals palette. Below, large white text on a dark blue background reads “MARCH 2026 SDG Month at Queen’s.” The lower half shows a grid of six event tiles with dates, times, locations, and brief titles, including sessions on teaching and learning with cultural heritage, women and disability, aligning careers with the SDGs, an international migration symposium, a feature event with Dr. Alaa Murabit, and a birdfriendly campus discussion forum. Bright SDG-inspired colours frame the grid on the sides.
Throughout March, Queen’s University is joining institutions across the country to mark SDG Month Canada, a national initiative that highlights the role colleges and universities play in advancing the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Led by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Canada and partners, SDG Month is designed to move beyond awareness and focus on concrete, locally grounded action.
What is SDG Month Canada?
is a collaborative campaign held each March that encourages post-secondary institutions to host workshops, panels, and interactive programming linked to the SDGs. Each campus curates its own events, drawing on multiple disciplines to explore complex issues such as climate change, health, poverty, and inequality, and to spotlight real-world solutions. The aim is to integrate sustainable development into teaching, research, operations, and community engagement, rather than treating it as a standalone theme.
SDG Month at Queen’s: Key Events
At Queen’s, SDG Month is coordinated through the Principal’s Office, which maintains an SDG Month at Queen’s event calendar featuring learning, networking, and engagement opportunities for students, staff, faculty, and alumni. Throughout March, the community can participate in:
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Research talks and panel discussions connecting Queen’s scholarship to SDG priorities such as climate action, health, sustainable cities, and equity.
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Workshops and interactive sessions that help participants understand individual SDGs and identify practical ways to act locally.
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Community-focused events that highlight partnerships between Queen’s and local organizations, showing how global goals translate into tangible impact in Kingston and beyond.
A major highlight of this month was the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Research Day, held on March 5 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. in the Rose Event Commons, Mitchell Hall. The event showcased graduate and postdoctoral research aligned with the SDGs, giving attendees a clear view of how Queen’s scholars are advancing sustainable development across areas such as health, water, cities, education, and climate resilience. Another signature feature of SDG Month 2026 at Queen’s is the SDG Month at Queen’s Feature Event: Dr. Alaa Murabit, presented in partnership with Universities Canada. On March 23, from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, Queen’s will welcome Dr. Murabit; an internationally renowned sustainability advocate, physician, and one of the architects of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Recognized as one of Canada’s Women of Impact and a UN SDG Advocate, she will speak about why human security, equity, and sustainable development are essential to global stability in an era of overlapping “polycrises.” The event will include a keynote address and a Q&A moderated by a Queen’s student leader, and it will be free, livestreamed, and recorded, with advance registration required for inperson attendance.
How You Can Get Involved
Members of the Queen’s community can participate in SDG Month Canada by:
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Exploring the SDG Month calendar on the Principal’s Office website and attending events that align with their interests, including SDG Research Day and the feature event with Dr. Alaa Murabit.
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SDG related activities such as guest lectures, workshops, or community projects to be included in the SDG Month event listings.
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Reflecting on how their own coursework, research, or student initiatives connect to specific SDGs, and seeking collaborations that can amplify impact.
By engaging with SDG Month at Queen’s and taking part in cornerstone events like the SDG Research Day and Dr. Murabit’s keynote, students, staff, faculty, and alumni contribute to a growing, national effort to build a more just, sustainable, and inclusive future.