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17 ROOMS

The 17 Rooms exercise was a series of brainstorming sessions about how Concordia can have an even greater impact impact in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

concordia faculty in a well-equiped conference room in a brainstorming session

Concordia’s 17 Rooms exercise

Concordia’s 17 Rooms exercise launched on February 4, 2022 and continued on consecutive weeks over the winter term and into the summer.

Participants were invited by the 17 Rooms team based on individuals’ interests, expertise, and demonstrated commitment to impact- and engagement-oriented work.

Eight key takeaways emerged from that 17 Rooms exercise.

Learn more about the 8 key takeaways


Background

The 17 Rooms format was developed by the Brookings Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation in 2018, on the eve of the UN General Assembly in New York City, as a way to stimulate collaboration and advance the SDGs.

Brookings and Rockefeller convened participants from disparate organizations and communities to meet in their own “Rooms,” or working groups, to identify actions that could be undertaken over the 12-18 months. Emerging ideas were then shared between Rooms to identify opportunities for collaboration across different SDGs.

According to Brookings, there are three key principles behind the 17 Rooms format:

  • All SDGs get a seat at the table.
  • Take a next step, not the perfect step.
  • Conversations, not presentations.

17 Rooms events

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals logo
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