The St. Paul’s Way: Committing on the UN SDGs from Classroom to Community

Amreesh Chandra is an educationist and an SDG Campaigner with the honourable title of Freeman to the City of London; he lives in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Mosaic has been following his journey in education and propelling the SDGs, we had many questions we wanted to address on the SDGs, so we visited his office at St. Paul’s School. While seated in his office, the first things we noticed were the SDG posters on the walls, an SDG-themed events calendar and SDG newsletters on his desk. It was a candid, heartfelt and illuminating conversation with him, which shed light on the mission he is advancing for his school and his city. A passionate advocate of SDGs, he offered to contribute a special feature for
Mosaic on his school and his personal vision. Mosaic is excited to share with you this outstanding and unique narrative on sustainability, with school children taking the spotlight.

Ban Ki-moon, in his last speech as the outgoing Secretary-General of the United Nations in 2022, highlighted that the foundation on which the UN’s core values function are equality and collective action. He underlined that every constituent of society can contribute to peacekeeping and achieving prosperity for the planet and its people. I avidly endorse his words and encourage the inclusion of children and youth to be the cadre for sustainable development. Even if the baton of peace and prosperity may not be for all to usher for now, the rest of humanity is not residing in the seclusion of snuggery but witnessing or living the results of its fruitful transformations. This is an inspiration and a reason enough for us to employ our best attitude, action and endurance to a better future.

St. Paul’s School is where I was once a student, and it is where my heart nests, my mind finds serenity, and my cognizance is valiant to endeavour an enriched and enhanced ecosystem of education, one which is ever-evolving, inclusive and global in its methodology. When I say global, it signifies that our teachers adopt international techniques, pedagogy, and global perspectives and empower our students to be global citizens who comprehend and demonstrate tolerance, inclusivity, empathy and action. This is where sustainability takes an indispensable role.

I am often asked why the subject of sustainability, or the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations, is so close to my heart. People in my circle notice the kind of work we do as an educational institution where other similar institutions may not even be aware of the subject. The answer is simple: I have observed the SDGs agenda more in person than others, for I was fortunate and honoured to represent the Indian education sector at many forums and conclaves internationally, at which the esteemed panels discussed effective SDGs implementation and the very need of education for its success.

It led me to recognize the power people and institutions hold in accelerating the 2030 mandate, which is indeed crucial; I realized that as an Executive Principal to St. Paul’s Schools, we have a broad community of teachers, students and parents that we can engage with on the global vision. I returned to my country with one sure answer – people do not know the SDGs, they do not understand the SDGs and their impact, but the concept can be simplified and can be spread.

I am very proud of the 45-year legacy of the St. Paul’s institution, and especially my parents, who are also the founders of the school, for it is through their visions that the school is known for quality teaching and learning. St. Paul’s is an institution that is very driven towards community development. Some of the initiatives acclaimed by Indian and international media, such as Project Out of School Children, which is an innovative concept of taking shipping containers, refurbishing them in a record time of less than forty days, and this way taking quality and affordable schools to the disadvantaged children. Another is the Mariam Foundation, which has worked in areas of cancer recovery, mental well-being and education. One of the latest events organized by the Mariam Foundation is Teachers Awards Gorakhpur (TAG), a reward and recognition programme for teachers of the ICSE and ISC schools of the region. Back to SDGs, if we follow the world news and the UN updates, SDGs might seem very clinical and academic agenda, but in no way does the UN share that it is only for policymakers or governments of countries. The UN recognizes the important function the youth, the school-going children and societies have to play. I understand it and propagate it, that sustainability matters, and it is for all – you and I.

As an SDG campaigner and as an educationist, I notice a wide gap in the knowledge of the SDGs across schools and societies, and it is also essential to see, when empowered, how the students can engage on the subject. The students of our school are very active and involved in social agendas, from collaborating with the city’s welfare society, working for Alzheimer’s cause, reaching out to help disadvantaged children, and visiting the offices of government officials with requests and interactions. The students take up various tasks to facilitate the under-empowered, malnourished, uneducated and deprived individuals. If one understands the SDGs, what this means is that our children already work in promoting the SDGs 1 – No Poverty, 2 – Zero Hunger, 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing, 5 – Gender Inequality, 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, 10 – Reduced Inequalities, and 17 – Partnerships for the Goals.

They did not know that their positive action to help the community already resonated and aligned with an SDG goal. What If? What if our students understand the world’s largest lessons on the SDGs? Then how better can they execute what they were already doing? What if these students take the same concept of sustainable development to the immediate members of society they interact with – like their parents, friends, neighbours and so on? Also, I have seen that students have a higher readiness to promote environmental conservation or community upliftment; I cannot wait to see what new and innovative ways they get to build back a better, safe and healthy future for all of us – humans, animals and nature.

In September 2022, I invited a team of our school’s senior faculty members to my office and shared my vision to make our students – teachers – and parents, a tripartite community aware of the UN SDGs. The teachers had read about the subject in the news but had no expertise or experience to fathom this. We closed the meeting that day, institutionalising an SDG Circle in our school led by a core team of teachers. The then appointed SDG circle took responsibility for creating a toolkit to roll out the SDGs across our institutions. I am proud of the SDG circle, a team of senior teachers, prefects and school marshalls, who presented and executed SDGs schoolwide and brilliantly. We now have an SDG-aligned curriculum, our SDG-focused campaign, and soon to go live with a student-led podcast. One can see the SDGs painted creatively on the school pillars, in both English as well as Hindi, informing everyone of the goals. Similarly, each classroom has SDG branding above the blackboards. You can take a walk, and posters designed by students are on display, poems on sustainability and even signs to switch off lights and fans.

I believe it all starts with the small steps, and with introduction of the idea. After many hours of brainstorming, creative working, and student engagement, the institution proudly announces that it is the city’s first SDG Aware School. I want to emphasize what changes the alma mater or its student population noticed in the daily learning and development function. The school operates as it is; it delivers its core, which is quality teaching, student and parent engagement, student wellbeing and teacher training and development, but what is new is an introduction of and adoption of a sustainability mindset by everyone at St. Paul’s. Yes, every Paulian understands sustainability not just superficially but in layers and impact we all can make.
This takes me back to the forum in New York, where I was in the eminent company of some key policymakers at the UN and its associate programmes. I get reminded of the pursuit we all envisioned for a society to adopt SDGs in a wholesome manner, transitioning from an ignorant to an aware and fully sustainable community.

The school designed a unique campaign, ‘F.E.W’ which stands for Food, Energy and Water. It is led by the students at St. Paul’s to address SDG 2 for Zero Hunger by practising responsible consumption of food, and in the same way, SDG 6 for water and SDG 7 for energy. We have learnt and now continue to live that sustainability is not a lesson confined to a classroom but an analogy to a proficient value system one can adopt in one’s lifestyle

So, this is the story of our school, and it is by all means commendable. What excites us further is that we have new milestones we have identified and new communities to reach out to to make aware and actionable on the SDGs. From homemakers to shop owners, from vendors to manufacturers, to take ownership of their actions. A next for the school is a unique publication titled – Salad, Stories Tossed in a Flavour of Sustainability. This emotionally and action-inspiring book has multiple stories; one that I particularly wish to quote here is of a child discovering the other side of society, a reality only witnessed by a few, and even fewer showing as much empathy. Where disadvantaged children strive hard for survival, how a child is inspired to convene the neighbourhood and provide for these children and include them in celebrations and festivities, this is an SDG story, a vehicle of change where the action of children is essential and cannot be ignored in shaping up resilient, enduring and prosperous societies..