SDG Council
A first-of-its-kind, youth-led national initiative advancing Canada’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
About the SDG Council
The United Nations Association in Canada (UNA-Canada) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Council is a transformative, youth-led body designed to advance Canada’s implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Through meaningful collaboration between young leaders and decision-makers, the Council fosters innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges—from climate action and gender equality to poverty eradication and quality education.
By embedding youth perspectives at every level of policy and programming, we are championing youth leadership in shaping a more just, inclusive, and sustainable future.
Our Vision
A Canada where youth-driven, equity-centered action strengthens the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and holds decision-makers accountable to building a sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous future for all.
How the SDG Council Works & Why It Matters
A Cumulative, Multi-Cohort Leadership Model
The SDG Council operates across successive cohorts over one year, with each group building on the work of the previous one. This cumulative structure ensures continuity, knowledge transfer, and sustained impact beyond a single term. By the end of each cycle, three scalable projects per SDG are initiated to address gaps in Canada’s SDG implementation and inform future policy action.
Cross-Cutting SDG Integration Across UNA-Canada
Council members engage across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with flexibility to prioritize goals aligned with UNA-Canada’s strategic focus areas. This embeds the SDGs as a cross-cutting framework across programs and strengthens UNA-Canada’s role as a national leader in youth-driven sustainable development.
Policy, Advocacy & National Impact
The Council contributes to UNA-Canada’s advocacy ecosystem through youth-informed policy briefs, consultation-based resolutions aligned with UN priorities, and presentations to government departments, MPs, and UN missions. Progress culminates in public-facing outputs and a national SDG Summit (subject to funding), convening youth leaders, policymakers, and sustainability practitioners.
Structured Pathways for Youth Leadership & Engagement
The Council creates long-term engagement pathways for alumni and youth delegates, strengthening leadership pipelines and enhancing UNA-Canada’s visibility with funders, governments, and strategic partners. It ensures youth participation moves beyond consultation toward structured influence and co-creation.
Equity-Centered & Accessible Governance
Operating under strong Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) principles, the SDG Council prioritizes inclusive recruitment, accessible engagement, trauma-aware collaboration, and ongoing reflection on representation. It fosters a culture of belonging while advancing equity-centered approaches to sustainability, governance, and accountability.
Meet the Team
Dheeksha Reddy
Chair
Amanda Round
Director of Communications
Mariam Karmazanashvili
Director of Projects (Cohort 1)
Ishaan Sachdev
Director of Projects (Cohort 2)
Justin Langan
Senior Advisor
SDG Project Highlights (Cohort 1)
SDG 4: Quality Education
Yasmin Farah-Peer is the founder of Lives For Literacy. She is passionate about early-childhood bilingual literacy for newcomers in Montreal. Her project will involve the creation of literacy kits for families with recommended reading and literacy promotion tools.
SDG 5: Gender Equality
Mariam Karmazanashvili, our Cohort 1 lead, has developed an 8 week virtual fellowship for young women in Canada to receive diplomacy and policy training. The fellowship provides participants with the tools, mentorship, and exposure needed to shape meaningful change: locally, nation ally, and internationally. Through weekly sessions, fellows develop leadership, policy, and advocacy skills, while connecting with experts and mentors from diverse fields including diplomacy, governance, and gender equality.
SDG 6: Clean Water & Sanitation
Water insecurity in Indigenous and northern communities is not only a technical infrastructure problem, but a governance, accountability, and equity issue that intersects directly with health, education, food security, and economic participation. Hargun Korchar is looking to bridge this gap by creating a centralized, community-driven program that integrates water services with health, food systems, education, and governance capacity. Her goal is to reduce jurisdictional fragmentation, align funding streams, and create more durable pathways toward multiple SDG targets simultaneously.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Bita Pejam is the founder of the I3 Alliance (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), a cross-sector platform focused on translating strategy into implementation through private sector engagement. The Alliance convenes leaders across business, government, academia, and civil society to address systemic economic and sustainability challenges through coordinated, system-level solutions. Her broader research and work examines how private sector innovation and capital can be aligned with sustainable development priorities to enable scalable impact.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 10: Reduced inequalities
Nyasha Guta is conducting an exercise in dignity mapping that analyzes how underserved youth and communities experience a sense of belonging in key systems such as healthcare, education, and workplaces. The project has received funding for an interactive digital platform where participants can describe their stories and key themes can be identified. The outcome of this project will supplement StatsCan data on belonging in Canada.
SDG 13: Climate Action
Lucas Allen is a youth climate leader looking to educate youth on climate science and how it informs policy. Working with a cohort of 100 sixth-grade students in the Toronto education system, this workshop empowers youth to get involved in local climate action initiatives. Lucas is looking to expand this work to other schools in the Toronto areas (and even beyond!) to break down the educational barriers associated with climate action.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
Rajaa Berry is developing a youth negotiator program to train young people in understanding climate and human rights policy processes.The program will run capacity building sessions on negotiation procedures like tracking government commitments, and communicating policy recommendations effectively. Youth participants will be paired with mentors such as former or current youth delegates to COP, experienced staff from environmental NGOs, and community organizers with expertise in climate and gender equity, giving them guidance and clear pathways to participate in decision-making spaces.
SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals
Ishaan Sachdev is working hard to connect the UNAC SDG Council with topically-aligned organizations in the country. This engagement helps our Council further entrench the values of the Sustainable Development Goals in national programming. He works to elevate the work of our Council members by shining a light on these projects at SDG-related events and on the steering committee of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Ishaan is also the mastermind behind our SDG Showcase event, planned for the summer of 2026.
Make a Difference Today
Your donation directly supports UNA-Canada’s work and will be used wherever the need is greatest.
By making a donation you are helping to create a more just, inclusive and peaceful world.
