17- Partnerships for the goals
Here are the actions taken by the Université de Montréal to build partnerships in sustainability projects.
Inter-Campus Collaboration
Talloires Declaration
The Université de Montréal signed the Talloires Declaration in 2011.
Composed in 1990 at an international conference in Talloires, France, this is the first official statement made by university administrators of a commitment to environmental sustainability in higher education. The Talloires Declaration is a ten-point action plan for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy in teaching, research, operations and outreach at colleges and universities. It has been signed by over 350 university presidents and chancellors in over 40 countries.
Source : https://www.ulsf.org
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie brings together some 80 states and governments, members and observers. The Francophonie consists of the 33 countries and nations that have French as an official language or experiencing a significant practice of the French language. In a broader sense, the Francophonie is a cultural reality that unites all those who experience or express some belonging to the French language and Francophone cultures.
International Association of Universities
The Université de Montréal is part of the International Association of Universities, which is itself part of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
For over two decades, the IAU develops projects, takes part in international and regional initiatives, and regularly organizes events to promote and facilitate the integration of sustainable development in higher education policy and practice.
Source : http://www.iau-hesd.net/
U7+ Alliance
The Université de Montréal is also part of the U7+ Alliance.
The U7+ Alliance is an international alliance of university presidents who engage both in discussion and in concrete actions by addressing the most pressing global challenges in a multilateral context. It is the very first alliance of university presidents aimed at structuring and advancing their role as global actors across the multilateral agenda.
Source : https://www.u7alliance.org/
Nature Positive Universities
The universities that sign the Nature Positive Pledge recognize that institutions of higher education and research have a vital role to play in the fight to stop the loss of biodiversity and to restore ecosystems. By joining the movement, the Université de Montréal acknowledges its responsibility to address the biodiversity crisis and is committed to be part of the solution.
https://www.naturepositiveuniversities.net/
Quebec Population Health Research Network
Many professors from the University are members of the Quebec Population Health Research Network, which brings together researchers working in population health around six strategic clusters. Its efforts aim to identify, understand and act on the social determinants of health to guide public health interventions and inform public policy.
Community Partnerships
The Université de Montréal’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (1st partnership)
The Darlington Ecological Corridor is one of the flagship projects of the University’s Unité de développement durable. This project combines all three of the preservation of biodiversity, sustainable development and the teaching mission of the University. The goal is to create an ecological corridor (through greening, urban agriculture, stormwater management and other ecological interventions) to link the University’s main campus to its new MIL campus. This corridor allows native flora and fauna to disperse throughout the Island of Montreal, improving the quality of life of its residents. The Unité de développement durable teamed up with the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough to complete the project. This involved, among other things, the establishment of urban gardens, the demineralization of contaminated lands and the planting of trees.
The Project Through Time
The Darlington Ecological Corridor is a project that focuses on the ecological connectivity of green spaces in Montreal. The benefits are primarily to facilitate the expansion of wildlife in the urban fabric, but there are many other benefits. Among them, the project promotes greater citizen empowerment, provides food, develops habitats for bees, offers a pollination service, offers ecological alternatives to rainwater management and becomes an interesting playground for both students and the local community.
In 2014, the Unité de développement durable, its biodiversity advisor and a trainee in landscape architecture proposed a project to connect green spaces that links the University’s two campuses. First proposed as a project of ecological connectivity between green spaces, it quickly integrated the social sphere.
In fact, in 2015, a workshop organized by the Unité de développement durable and a human geography student took place with organizations that work on environment, conservation and development issues, as well as some residents who took part in discussions about the main outcomes for the community. This workshop was held at the summit of Mount Royal, a natural site where the University maintains its main campus. Also in 2015, a second student completed his internship in food sociology to better understand the profile of the surrounding community and its relationship with food. The main findings of this study still guide various interventions at the University. In partnership with the local borough, the University set up 40 giant pots to encourage residents to garden.
In 2016, a third student completed an internship at the University. This sustainable development student created a second consultation workshop, targeting mainly residents. These exchanges allowed the University to identify a priority intervention zone and develop relationships with the urban garden community. This is how the University’s gardening group came to develop a special project on composting. Until then, the Darlington project office acted as a facilitator between the community, the University and the borough. That same season, the Unité de développement durable secured external funding for the first time from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. This money was directly reinvested in the community by inaugurating a nourishing forest in a rather moribund area. The planting of trees took place with a group of young people known as the Green Patrol, whose job was to bring concrete solutions concerning environmental matters. The project made it possible to provide a place for young people to learn about tree planting and to green a sector while opening the area to the local community.
In 2017, the Unité de développement durable got another funding amount for a development project of flowery meadows to provide a habitat for bees. This project took place in the field of the University’s new partners, the community gardens. Maintenance of this site always takes place during the summer. During the summer of 2019, the University targeted a sub-community more specifically. The University hosted a party in a park to discuss with the community and assess its specific needs. This approach made it possible to target certain projects and resulted in the creation of a dog park. The University repeated this model of celebratory consultation since then.
In 2018, an urban planning student, supervised by the Unité de développement durable, contributed to the project by proposing new areas of intervention, while proposing to link the project to other boroughs (Ville Mont-Royal and Outremont). The borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce offered funding to hire a horticulturist, a community animator, two urban planning students (specialized in active transportation and rainwater management), a project manager in social mobilization and a project coordinator. This funding was renewed in the summer of 2019.
During the summer of 2019, a student in socio-ecology and sustainable development developed a program of resident engagement through a calendar of activities (e.g., gardening, BBQs, gatherings for children, permaculture workshops). The benefits exceeded expectations. Residents joined the Darlington team as volunteers to develop new project areas and new activities (e.g., green alleys, cleaning chores, resident workshops, composting). Also, the University started a first development project with a Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux. It is the first project carried out by a sustainable development team from the healthcare system in the neighborhood.
Also, during the 2018–2019 academic year, the University hosted workshops in local elementary schools to create a new generation of gardeners who will maintain the gardens and to raise students’ awareness related to urban ecology issues.
In addition to these partnerships with local organizations, the University developed a partnership with Polytechnique Montréal. In the fall of 2017 and 2018, the CIV-4940 course for graduating students in civil engineering offered students the opportunity to develop an integrated approach to stormwater management in the corridor that addressed infrastructure problems while providing water supply for local biodiversity. The best ideas were then selected by the instructor and were offered to the sustainable development office of the borough. This successful project became a continuing education workshop offered by Polytechnique Montréal in the form of a massive open online course. This course is offered in English and to all Canadian engineers. This made it possible to integrate new notions of urban ecology into an engineering curriculum.
Also, each year since 2015, a professor from different disciplines takes over the project concept to make it a semester project. The University was able to work with students in urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, communication and sustainable development. The University hopes to integrate students from other disciplines, such as geography and biology, in the near future.
FIRM project
The FIRM project consists of developing plots of land on public, institutional and private rights-of-way. Its main objective is to allow the community to discuss issues related to ecological and food planning. This programming, motivated by urban health milestones, aims to empower the community in terms of food supply while providing interfaces for cultural mediation.
For more information on the Darlington Ecological Corridor :
https://unpointcinq.ca/article-blogue/corridor-darlington-montreal/
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/recit-numerique/4151/environnement-vert-darlington-ecologie-sommet-terre
The University’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership)
Affiliated with the University, the Extension is a support centre made up of an interdisciplinary team, including educational (orthopedagogy) and health professionals (optometry and dentistry). Its goal is to support the development of children in precarious situations and to help their families by providing them with educational services and accessible healthcare.
This model offers several benefits that make the learning of everyone highly significant, such as collaboration between children and student trainees, interrelation between student trainees from different disciplines and complementarity of care and services.
The Extension advances research and knowledge related to community services and care. These are its three priorities :
1. Offer accessible services and care
2. Offer an innovative training facility for students
3. Offer a place to advance research
For more information : http://www.extension.umontreal.ca/
The University’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership)
Faced with an unprecedented ecological crisis, the University and Espace pour la vie joined forces to propose Chemins de Transition, a major project that engages the academic community, alongside other vital forces in society, in the debate on the climate transition in Quebec.
Since 2019, Chemins de transition mobilizes the knowledge from several disciplines and multiple actors to collectively identify the paths that have the potential to lead Quebec society to a resilient future.
This work is structured around three major challenges:
1. How do we feed more humans without depleting the Earth’s resources in the context of a changing climate?
2. How do we converge the digital transition and the ecological transition?
3. How do we live in Quebec in a sober and resilient way in the context of the ecological transition?
For more information : https://www.cheminsdetransition.org
The University’s STARS report card on community partnerships : https://reports.aashe.org/institutions/university-of-montreal-qc/report/2022-12-23/EN/public-engagement/EN-10/
Participation in Public Policy
The Université de Montréal’s commitment in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the local level
The Université de Montréal is an active and permanent member of the Table de concertation du Mont-Royal, under the aegis of the City of Montreal
The Table brings together several stakeholders concerned with the future of Mount Royal. Within the Table, the University is a member of the planning and consultation committee. The members of the Table meet several times each year with the objective to establish a consensus on accessibility, protection and enhancement of the land, and to implement harmonious management and development of Mount Royal. In recent years, it has initiated the Mount Royal Community of Practice, in which 10 major institutions located on the mountain participate. Its mandate is to improve the management of protected areas and to integrate best practices in terms of managing biodiversity on the land.
The Mount Royal Community of Practice also proposes solutions to preserve this heritage site. Recently, it proposed to convert a portion of the former Royal Victoria Hospital parking lot to green spaces, adding to the protected natural area.
For more information : https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-to-expand-mount-royal-park-remove-some-visitor-parking
The Université de Montréal’s commitment to public policy advocacy for sustainability at the state, provincial and regional levels
The Université de Montréal was actively involved in the creation of the Stratégie nationale d’achat d’aliments québécois pour une alimentation locale dans les institutions publiques in 2021–2022.
Quebec’s Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation mandated the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec to accompany government institutions that wish to increase their share of local food purchases. This major project, which will be spread out over three years, is aimed primarily at establishments in the healthcare and educational network.
For more information : https://www.quebec.ca/gouvernement/politiques-orientations/strategie-nationale-achat-aliments-quebecois
The Université de Montréal’s commitment to public policy advocacy for sustainability at the global level
The Université de Montreal, through international collaboration and research, reviews comparative approaches and develops international best practices on tackling the SDGs. For example, the TOPICS project is a collaboration between the University’s Unité de santé internationale and France’s Institut de recherche pour le développement that involves citizens in Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burkina Faso in improving their healthcare system.
Also, the Quebec Population Health Research Network has a research group on global health headed by Prof. Lisa Merry, a professor at the University’s Faculté des sciences infirmières. The group’s research on global health is adjusted to align with the 17 SDGs and its members include researchers from around the world.
Co-organized by the University’s Unité de santé internationale, the Équipe RENARD, France’s Institut de recherche pour le développement, the Centre de recherche en reproduction humaine et en démographie, the Réseau national des ONG pour le developpement de la femme, and the Association action, gouvernance, intégration, renforcement, a deliberative workshop was held on February 16 and 17, 2021. The event brought together teams from the Technologies participation citoyenne en santé project in Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burkina Faso to share the project’s mid-term results and lessons learned. The event was attended by experts from the various organizations involved in the project, as well as representatives from health ministries in Benin, the DRC and Burkina Faso.
For more information : https://usi.umontreal.ca/nouvelles-et-infolettre/nouvelles/nouvelle/news/detail/News/technologies-democratie-et-sante-les-resultats-du-projet-topics-a-mi-parcours/
Also, the University collaborates with many NGOs. For example, in connection with SDG 3 on good health and well-being, the TOPICS project is a collaboration between the University’s Unité de santé internationale and many NGOs, such as the Centre de recherche en reproduction humaine et en démographie and the Réseau national des ONG pour le développement de la femme. The project involves citizens in Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burkina Faso in improving their healthcare system.
The University’s Unité de santé internationale is also involved with the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation in the Yellen project, a project on reproductive health in Mali.
For more information : https://www.santepop.qc.ca/en/groupings/global-health