Nóra Blascsók, Marketing and Events Officer at the Confucius Institute, shares highlights from the Seeds of Hope and Action Project
The aim of the Seeds of Hope and Action project, funded by the SALC Social Responsibility Fund, was to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals on campus and inspire students and staff to reflect, engage in dialogue with the local community and take meaningful action towards environmental sustainability. We especially wanted to reach international students as they often lack opportunities to engage with the local community or might not think these kinds of projects are aimed at them because they are only in the UK temporarily.
The project was built around an exhibition on SDGs held in the SALC glass corridor in March/April 2025. The panels in the exhibition highlighted the drastic impact of climate change but also how individuals and communities can work together towards a more sustainable world. The exhibition was launched with a roundtable discussion featuring academic and student speakers and a local councillor. The event was well attended by staff and students who were among the 120 people who made pledges to make a small change in their daily life to be more sustainable.
Alongside the exhibitions, we hosted a range of activities students and staff could get involved in. These included tree planting in the Peak District, learning about and eating low carbon Asian food and a series of recycling fabrics workshops with Manchester seamstress and sustainability advocate, Taslima Ahmed OBE. We especially enjoyed the discussions at the low carbon lunches and how even the chefs at the Wai Yin Sheng Lok Centre, who were cooking these recipes without meat for the first time, were positively surprised by the tasty results.
Building on these events, we will continue to promote environmental sustainability in our work. Keep an eye on our website for what is coming up and follow us on social media.
This project was a collaboration between the Manchester Confucius Institute and the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute.