SDG09 in the classroom: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructures
“Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”
At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
- Explore the18 sustainable buildings around the world and answer the questions
- Understand the importance of enhancing basic infrastructures such as roads in rural areas
- Understand the concept of “digital divide”
- Identify examples of low technology, medium technology and high technology
- Understand the trends of global manufacturing growth in the last years
- Identify key factors to ensure innovation and crisis management strategies both in developed and developing countries
- Analyze two digital stories on SDG9 by writing a text on issues and solutions
Watch the video to know more about SDG9.
A functioning and resilient infrastructure is the foundation of every successful community. To meet future challenges, our industries and infrastructure must be upgraded. What can we do? Learn about things to do.
CNN published 18 sustainable buildings around the world. Not only did these building designers consider the height and style, but they also took environmental impact into consideration.
Students look at the images and answer the following questions:
- What criteria should infrastructures and industries follow to be innovative and sustainable?
- Where are they located? In developed or developing countries?
- How is your school OR your parents' workplace building doing in terms of energy consumption, renewable energies and innovations that are ecologically sound?
Possible adaptations: this activity can be done in pairs or larger groups.
Brainstorming session through the following questions:
- Basic and resilient infrastructures like roads remain scarce in developing countries. What are other basic infrastructures?
- In your opinion, what are the benefits of enhancing road connectivity in rural environments?
- ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) are widespread around the world but not evenly (a phenomenon known as the digital divide). What are the reasons behind and consequences of the digital divide?
- Give examples of low technology (i.e. carpentry), medium technology (i.e. audiobooks) and high technology (i.e. solar panels)? Which are the most manufactured techs in today’s world?
- In your opinion, has global manufacturing (the making of articles on a large scale using machinery; industrial production) growth declined or increased in the last years? Justify your answer.
- What is the key factor to ensure innovation and crisis management strategies both in developed and developing countries?
Possible adaptations: (Online) This activity can be done with the use of online tools such as Jamboard, Miro or Mentimeter.
Students watch the stories. Afterwards, they pick two videos and write a 1-page text with:
- Explanation of the main issue reported in the video
- Explanation of the solutions that were adopted/ proposal of new solution (when none)/ proposal of other solutions (when a solution has already been reported in the story)
Story 1: A Healthy Life Depends on Clean Water !!!
Story 2: Increase of petrol stations in the city of Lubumbashi
You can also select other digital stories of Comundos related to SDG9
Possible Adaptation: This activity can be conducted in the form of a round-table conference. After watching the stories, students can explain the issues and propose solutions. Following this, students can vote for the best solution.
This quiz is about UN Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. You can either use it at the end of your lesson to revise the topics you talked about or at the beginning of the lesson to challenge students prior knowledge and gain their attention.
For SDG9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure) sheet, our favourite pedagogical twist is:
Flip the classroom: prepare and assign theoretical content to study at home (articles, reports, slides, videos, etc). In the next class, start discussions (through the brainstorming session) and facilitate students in the other activities.
Suggested material for SDG9:
- Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure explains the nature of SDG9 and shows its targets
- Why it matters (UN) explains SDG9, the issues in the field of industries, manufacturing and innovations and actions that should be taken to achieve this goal.
- Report SG9 (2023) reports the latest data available on SDG9
- ICTs: a technological fix? Focus on the topic of ICTs and the digital divide.
If you have another pedagogical twist in mind, feel free to apply or check the pedagogical twist list.
- Worldwide premiere of "The Decade of Action": "The Decade of Action" is a remarkable documentary on sustainability and why businesses need to go all-in if we want to achieve the climate goals, the SDG's and keep our world safe for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
- The article focuses on the rise of the startup scene in Africa by questioning who are the real beneficiaries of this new growth.
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Over the years, Comundos has helped remote communities around the world by teaching critical thinking, media literacy and the use of communication technology.
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