UNAIR NEWS – The series of activities for SDGs CONNECT, the 11th AUN-HPN International Advisory Committee Meeting and the 5th International Health Promotion Conference, continued. This time, participants took a city tour of Surabaya on Friday (October 16, 2026). The tour included releasing fish fingerlings into the Kalimas River, visiting the Heroes Monument, and learning about several places and the history of Surabaya.
Stepping directly into the field
Assoc Prof Dr Sri Widati SSos MSi, coordinator of the SDGs Center at the Institute for Sustainable Community Service (LPMB), Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), emphasized that the activity along the Kalimas River was a tangible implementation of SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water).
“We are helping to make sure there are fish in the Kalimas, that there is good life here, for the balance of biodiversity and for climate change issues. By preserving life below water, we hope this can be a real contribution to tackling climate change,” she explained.
Prof Widati said releasing gourami fish fingerlings in front of the Submarine Monument (Monkasel) was something participants had been looking forward to. She said that each time random samples were taken, the fish caught were female. According to her, this happened because of the temperature and biochemical conditions in the river.
“The gourami fingerlings we released will help them flourish and protect the underwater ecosystem,” she stressed.
Sustainability of SDGs CONNECT
Prof Widati hoped SDGs CONNECT could be held regularly every year in October and keep collaborating with various countries. She stressed that the collaboration would not stop at the conference, but would also extend to research, publications, and community service.
“We work together with the ASEAN University Network-Health Promotion Network (AUN-HPN). We also collaborate with the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE),” she said.
She further advised that health literacy should not stop at purely cognitive knowledge; it must be put into practice in daily life. She said the SDGs are not only an institutional responsibility, but also a personal one.
“Start with simple things, like throwing trash in its place, not wasting food, meaning not throwing away leftovers, and contributing to the sustainability of the earth,” she said.
Author: Putri Andini
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
