UNAIR NEWS – Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) has shown its seriousness in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by holding the SDGS Festival, including the SDGs Innovation Booth Exhibition. The event took place from Monday, Nov 20, 2023, to Wednesday, Nov 22, 2023, in the Garuda Mukti Hall, Management Office, MERR-C Campus. The exhibition aims to be a forum for showcasing various innovations that support the achievement of the SDGs.
The innovation exhibition presented several booths from FTMM, FF, Lecturer Community Services, FKG, ECOTON, Environmental Pillar Community Service, FPsi, FKP, Social Pillar Community Service, FKM, Economy Pillar Community Service, and FST. Each booth attracts visitors’ attention with its interesting innovations.
Showcase innovation in nutrition
The FKM booth not only enlivens the exhibition but also presents various interesting programs with their chosen theme: “Good Public Health for SDGs.” Faculty of Public Health (FKM) showcases its latest activities, including stunting, nutrition, and the environment.
The FKM lecturer representative, Damai Arum Pratiwi, said that their focus on SDGs at the SDGs festival exhibition included points 2, 3, 6, and 17. FKM emphasizes cross-sectoral collaboration in implementing its programs, involving the community, NGOs, central government, and regional governments.
Furthermore, FKM displays nutritional innovation in the form of CHC Drink, a tea made from cocoa bean shells. There are also Indonesian Emergency Biscuits (BIDARI), which are a nutritional solution during disaster emergencies.
“Through SDG good health, we will continue to strengthen cooperation and produce innovation not only in the form of consumer products but also education such as Madurese language modules to support local wisdom. This way, FKM is not only a pioneer in public health efforts but also plays an active role in providing useful education,” explained Damai.
Voice eco-innovation
The ECOTON booth also showcased innovation at the UNAIR SDGs Festival. The Institute for Ecology and Land Conservation Studies presented a solution to the problem of plastic consumption by inviting people to reduce the use of single-use plastic. Sofi Azilan Aini, ECOTON Research Assistant, expressed her concern about the increase in plastic consumption in society.
ECOTON not only provides education by presenting microplastic samples from plastic recycling factories and data on microplastic findings in rivers and aquatic biota but also sells environmentally friendly products such as shopping bags and reusable diapers. ECOTON programs and innovations contribute to SDG 3 (Good health and well-being) and SDG 5 (Gender equality) through empowering women in the production of environmentally friendly products.
“The programs and innovations that we present here aim to educate the public and encourage the government to set quality standards regarding microplastic pollution. We urge the government to act quickly and direct their attention to environmental problems,” said Sofi.
Author: Maissy Ar Maghfiroh
Editor: Feri Fenoria
