Five years ago the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 interlinked goals was adopted by the 193 UN member states. This marked a significant breakthrough for the entire international community. The Agenda 2030 aims at nothing less than improving the perspectives of all people. In concrete terms this means to eradicate poverty, protect the environment and to ensure sustainable economic activity. So the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a compass for a sustainable coexistence on our planet and open perspectives to the world population for a responsible and socially just life.

How can the international community ensure the commitment regarding the implementation of the SDGs and prevent these efforts from being overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic? The annual meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development serves as the core United Nations platform for followup and review of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In July 2020, Austria was one of the 47 countries that presented its first Voluntary National Review of Progress (VNR) at the High-level Political Forum. It was the first presentation of a nationwide overview on the measures taken, success stories and initiatives supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Austria.

So what has been done to promote the principles of sustainable development in Austria? After the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, the Federal Government opted for a national mainstreaming approach. Ministries are requested to incorporate the SDGs in all relevant strategies and programs. An inter-ministerial task force coordinated the reporting process and, for this purpose, set up a multi-stakeholder scheme.

Education, science and research play an essential part in the implementation of the SDGs. A range of national initiatives promoting sustainable development in all its dimensions throughout the education, science and research sector is described in the Austrian VNR report. “Digitalization,” “Women, youth and “leaving no one behind,“ as well as “Climate action” are the three main topics that have received special attention.

Especially those focus areas tackling digitalization and “leaving no one behind” gained momentum during the COVID-19 crisis. Austria has taken several measures to ensure continuous schooling for all and to give support to students and parents, especially those from a disadvantaged background. The Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research has launched an action plan for digital teaching. During lockdown, counselling services in 23 different languages were provided and schools and kindergartens stayed open for child-care when needed.

In higher education, a particular focus lies on activities involving financial stimulus packages and student support, more flexibility in quality assurance requirements, and capacity-building initiatives for online learning.

Comprehensive reforms aiming at increasing fairness and transparency continue. The Austrian education policy specifically encourages basic skills development, with a strong focus on acquiring German language skills from an early age. Schools facing particular challenges will be supported on the basis of an opportunity and development index.

The current updating process of the curriculum for elementary and lower secondary school will focus on competences and essential educational goals. Education for Sustainable Development is anchored in the curricula and shall serve as a guiding principle for transversal subjects. School networks such as the Austrian UNESCO schools (UNESCO Associated Schools Network), ECOLOG (Austrian Ecologization of Schools Network), initiatives like Citizen Science and Sparkling Science, and the Innovation Foundation for Education are setting thematic priorities on SDG 4.

A new web platform BILDUNG 2030 (Education 2030) pools together resources and learning materials on the 2030 Agenda themes, providing a wide range of suggestions on how to tackle global challenges at all ages and in different teaching and learning situations. The platform is a collaborative project by five leading organizations in the field of global citizenship education and education for sustainable development.

In 2017 , the Austrian Commission for UNESCO has established an advisory committee of experts in Transformative Education/ Global Citizenship Education, which aims to monitor and foster the national implementation of SDG 4. The master’s degree university course of Global Citizenship Education at the University of Klagenfurt provides a holistic and in-depth training that combines civic education, global education, intercultural learning and peace education for teacher trainers and educators. In 2018, it was honored with the Sustainability Award, a joint initiative of the ministries responsible for sustainability and science. Bestowed every two years, the award’s goal is to stimulate sustainability processes at Austrian universities.

Another project that deserves mentioning is UniNEtZ (Universities and Responsibility for Sustainable Development), a project which aids inter and intra-university networking and the integration of the SDGs in areas of university life such as research, teaching, student initiatives, management and administration. UniNEtZ started in 2019 and aims to make a significant contribution to sustainable development in Austria in the long-run. The project was initiated jointly by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and the Alliance of Sustainable Universities in Austria in order to foster co-operation between universities.

As SDGs require a holistic, inter-disciplinary dialogue, the UniNEtZ focuses on the interface between the sciences and the arts in order to intensify awareness on sustainable development and to find tangible solutions. Currently, 16 out of 22 Austrian universities are involved in the UniNEtZ project, each taking individual responsibility for specific SDGs, working together in lead or as partner with other universities to develop ways on how best to support the implementation of the SDGs. Expressed in numbers, this means nearly 400 scientists and artists from all Austrian regions and many different disciplines and backgrounds working together in 16 thematic SDG-teams and two comprehensive working-groups on “scientific methods” and “dialogue.” Moreover, the network also reaches out to discuss scientifically based options with various stakeholders from our society in a so-called science-society-policy dialogue.

Options and potential activities for the implementation of SDGs will be identified and presented in 2021 in form of a so-called “options paper+” that will serve as a political recommendation.