Sustainability ambassadors: MPA students facilitate mayor commitments to No Poverty and Zero Hunger
Sustainability ambassadors: MPA students facilitate mayor commitments to No Poverty and Zero Hunger
Sustainability ambassadors: MPA students facilitate mayor commitments to No Poverty and Zero Hunger
6/3/2021
The May 2021 graduates of the Master of Public Administration program have seen the work of their capstone experience come to fruition. The cohort served as ambassadors for the G3 Commitment (G3C) Badge Program, resulting in 11 village mayors earning 鈥淣o Poverty鈥� and 鈥淶ero Hunger鈥� badges 鈥� the first two of 17 badges aligned with the United Nations鈥� . The badges signify the villages鈥� efforts and continued commitments toward addressing these issues within their communities.
The G3C program, part of the island-wide initiative facilitated by the 91快播鈥檚 Center for Island Sustainability, aims to recognize and reward businesses, organizations, educational institutions, and community groups that develop and create sustainable practices that align with the Guam Green Growth Action Framework and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
The badge program will be rolled out over five years, starting with badges for poverty and hunger and gradually advancing through all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The May 2021 graduates of the UOG served as G3C ambassadors, facilitating the mayors鈥� awareness of the goals and participation in the badge program.
The mayors were invited to be early adopters, and the villages of Piti, Dededo, Hag氓t帽a, and Sinajana were awarded their first two badges during the 2021 Conference on Island Sustainability in April. The villages of Mongmong-Toto-Maite, Mangilao, Agat, Yona, Umatac, Inal氓han, and Chalan Pago were recognized with their badges on May 14.
鈥淢ayors have so much on their plates 鈥� to add another program was going to be hard,鈥� said MPA graduate Christine Fejeran, so the student ambassadors provided a framework and a booklet of resources for the mayors to use as a guide for future sustainability projects and partnerships.
Actions that could make an organization or mayor鈥檚 office achieve a badge include assisting with food commodity distribution or supporting backyard farming.
Piti Mayor Jesse Alig commended the efforts of the public administration students
in providing local support for sustainable action.
鈥淭his is good because we have to start somewhere so we know where to end,鈥� Alig said.
MPA Program Director John J. Rivera said it was a new and unique experience for the MPA program鈥檚 capstone experience.
鈥淕iven the times we are in and the needs of the community, it was a real opportunity for us to get back into the community,鈥� Rivera said. 鈥淭his is the first time we did something on a grassroots level, and it allowed us to engage by reaching out to the heart of the community 鈥� the mayors.鈥�
According to G3 Project Coordinator Annania Nauta, the MPA students helped bridge the gap between the program and the island鈥檚 mayors.
鈥淭his cohort was a determined and hardworking group,鈥� Nauta said. 鈥淔rom after-hours Zoom calls to meeting with and presenting to most of the mayors鈥� offices, it was a real pleasure working with them. They helped to make the launch of the G3 Commitment a great success.鈥�
