AIS participates in SDSN Thailand Public Forum 2025

Ateneo Institute of Sustainability (AIS) Director Dr Emmanuel D Delocado and Program Head for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Ms Ma Margarita Christina A Lacdao-Umali delivered talks at the SDSN Thailand Public Forum 2025. With the theme “The 10th Year of the SDGs: Reflections, Realignments, and the Way Forward”, this year’s annual forum was held last 18-19 November 2025 at The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dr Delocado delivered two panel talks. His first talk under the panel session on “Sustainability in Higher Education” focused on advancing impactful research aligned with local and global SDG priorities. He highlighted how research can be made more relevant by going beyond the field of specialization and exploring the broader socioecological context and structural forces which drive the research problem.

Expanding the earlier talk, his second talk under the panel session “University Sustainability Forum” delved into how Ateneo de Manila aligns its teaching, research, outreach, and stewardship to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, the talk highlighted how Integral Ecology as a Lux-in-Domino Priority Area shapes the sustainability roadmap of the University.

Meanwhile, in addition to moderating a session, Ms Lacdao-Umali delivered a panel talk on “Education for Sustainable Development”. She elaborated on the VUCA world as a reality that the current students live in. This context propels educators to design more meaningful learning experiences in the classroom, which she argues to be the mindset needed in addressing the SDGs.

The two-day forum was well attended by representatives from academia, government, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, and the business sector who are committed to advancing the SDGs in Thailand. The forum was organized by Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Thailand housed at SDG Move Center for SDG Research and Support of the Thamassat University, in partnership with Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Ateneo de Manila used to be the Secretariat of SDSN Philippines from 2019 to 2025.