[MUSIC] The SDGs constitute

a positive change agenda. The SDGs acknowledge that countries around

the world face universal challenges that require the investment of government,
citizens, and companies. They provide a blueprint for peace and
prosperity, for people and our planet. They are also a call to action for
everyone, that includes business, governments, citizens, and includes you. But how
can you be a force for
positive change in the world? And what is the role of business in the
transition to a more sustainable world? In the coming weeks, you will hear from
many academics working at Rotterdam School of Management who will share their
insights from their field of expertise. In addition, a variety of companies and
organizations will share their
experience from practice. This will give you an idea
of what is possible. These examples,
combined with academic insight, present a unique opportunity
to understand the role and responsibility of business in
addressing today's global challenges. Categorizing all 17 SDGs and
understanding how they are interconnected may seem like baking
a cake without a recipe. Luckily, the Stockholm Resilient Center
developed a system hierarchy for the SDGs,
also known as the wedding cake model. In this visual, you can see that
economies are embedded in societies and that societies are embedded
in the biosphere. The biosphere is the foundation upon
which life exists and is sustained. It has distinct environmental limits. For
example, it shows the amount of
natural resources that are finite. Societies constitute the man made
institutional conditions and the economy level presents the SDGs
that have to do with organizing change. At the top are partnerships, since
collaboration is essential when
you want transformational change. The structure of this MOOC is
roughly base on this hierarchy. Each week we'll focus on different SDGs,
would start with the SDGs related to the biosphere moving on to society and
the economy and ending with partnerships. The closing week of this MOOC
is devoted to system thinking as it is important to understand
that all SDGs are interconnected. Contributing to the SDGs inevitably
has an effect on other SDGs, positively or negatively. Along the way, you will
watch academic and
business videos, make quizzes and assignments, and connect with
others on our discussion platform. We will also ask you to
evaluate your own behavior and contribution towards the SDGs. What motivates you to
make a positive change? Understanding your own motivation helps
you to trigger positive change in others. To discover the impacts that you can
already have, we will engage you in weekly challenges and take action and
be a force for positive change yourself. Upon completion of the MOOC, you can
request the positive
change ambassador badge. With this badge, you can show the world
the importance of the SDGs and tell the story of positive change. I'm excited that
you joined us to learn
how businesses can be a force for positive change and
how you can start contributing today. The first question is,
why should business be interested in addressing the Sustainable
Development Goals? In the next videos, you'll learn that the
SDGs provide a positive change agenda for companies. As long as the companies
understand
that the SDGs present wicked problems as well as wicked opportunities. You will
also be introduced
to our weekly actions. So let's start exploring why the SDGs
are wicked opportunities and why positive frameworks are so important.