Bridge 47 partner in Ireland, the Irish Development Education Association (IDEA), delivered an online interactive GCE workshop on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to Deloitte Ireland’s staff with Global Action Plan on 19 October as part of their Impact Week. Here is a blog written by a Deloitte staff member who attended the workshop, sharing her experience and learning.

Immediately after attending the SDG workshop as part of our Community Impact week, I felt a great sense of purpose. I had some knowledge on the SDGs before attending the workshop but I had never put much thought into what I could do both within my workplace and in my personal life to make an impact in working towards the goals. I found the workshop very engaging as not only were we provided with information on the goals but we also got the opportunity to have group discussions and share our own thoughts or opinions on certain aspects related to the goals. I thought the application “Slido” was great to allow these discussions to occur! There was also a very open atmosphere created by the facilitators so all attendees on the call were comfortable to share their opinions and this resulted in some great discussions. This workshop has definitely prompted me to reflect on my own day-to-day activities to ensure I am making positive steps to work towards achieving the SDGs not only within my professional life but also within my everyday actions. 

During the workshop, there was a section where we focused on one topic in particular – homelessness. After exploring and discussing the root causes of the problem, we separated out into smaller groups to discuss what needed to be done from the point of view of, government bodies, within our own companies, civil society and as individuals. I found this exercise to be particularly engaging as it made me think about the SDGs in the context of a real-life, everyday crisis that needs to be solved both within our communities and globally. This exercise also made me reflect on the opportunity for a large company like Deloitte to make real positive impact towards reaching these SDGs by continuing to make meaningful impact on crises such as homelessness. This workshop, in my opinion, has really helped empower the individuals that have taken part to take action and make positive change within both the professional and personal lives.