Two dozen data sets. Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. Four key themes, and almost 200 countries around the world. A Sustainable World brings them together into a new learning platform.
Through interactive maps, real-world data, and multimedia learning resources, Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) and Canadian Geographic’s new platform shows how issues like climate change, education, health, and gender equality are connected — and how communities around the world are responding with creativity and resilience.
On September 24, educators, students, and community leaders gathered at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in Ottawa to celebrate the public launch of A Sustainable World, which was produced with support from the Government of Canada.
The hybrid featured opportunities to explore the platform via AKFC’s new Discovery Booth, engage with interactive learning experiences, and attend a fireside chat exploring the role of global citizenship education in an increasingly complex world. The conversation was moderated by Sophia Mirzayee, Education and Youth Engagement Officer at AKFC, who co-leads the educational components of A Sustainable World alongside John Estabillo, Director of Canadian Geographic Education.
Reflecting on her own journey, Mirzayee introduced the panel by underscoring the lasting impact educators can have on young people.
“I would not be who I am today, or certainly not doing what I’m doing today, if not for the teachers that I had when I was in school, who made sure that I not only learned about the world, but that I also understood my role in it and my ethical responsibility to other people, no matter where they live,” she said.
Alexandra Pope, Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Geographic, who has been involved with the project since its inception, served as one of the panelists. Working closely with a cartographer, website developers, and project partners, Pope shared how she helped select and interpret the datasets underpinning the resource and emphasized how storytelling can help us bring data to life.
“A number is just a number until you put the human face behind it,” she said. “When you see them on a map and you’re able to draw those connections between your life and the lives of people globally, that’s powerful.”
For panelist Gabrielle Rogers, a French immersion and former humanities teacher from New Brunswick, one of the platform’s greatest strengths is its ability to help support inquiry-based learning across a range of subjects and audiences – beyond geography.
“In a broader social studies [context], there’s a lot you can do with this in relationship to civics, to development, to the role of NGOs as well,” she said, adding that there is also a really strong numeracy component to the resource, as well. “If you are teaching in in a STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics] classroom, I think there’s a lot you can do looking at real life data visualization, looking at what the statistics show, even just understanding how to interpret them…It’s definitely cross-curricular and interdisciplinary,” Rogers said.
The discussion also featured Aly Rajan, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur and former member of AKFC’s national Youth Advisory Committee. Rajan contributed to the development of A Sustainable World by ensuring that the experience remained engaging and relevant for young people.
Rajan’s message to educators using the platform in schools? Encourage your students to be curious. “I encourage you to let your students explore these themes climate change, education and gender equality,” Rajan said. “I would rather have a student leave [the lesson] asking a question that they didn’t have before, rather than giving them a statistic that they’re going to forget by Saturday.”
For educator, author and professor Garfield Gini-Newman, who also sat on the panel, one of the platform’s greatest strengths is its ability to foster meaningful student engagement with complex global issues. “As teachers and students return to school in an increasingly destabilized world, it becomes more important than ever that students see themselves as having an agency over their future,” he said.
Throughout the conversation, speakers returned to a common theme: meaningful learning starts with curiosity. By combining data, stories, and inquiry-based learning, A Sustainable World encourages students to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and connect local experiences with global realities.
The successful launch marked not an endpoint, but the beginning of a new journey. As educators, students, and lifelong learners across Canada begin exploring A Sustainable World, the platform offers new opportunities to build empathy, strengthen critical thinking, and foster active global citizenship.
Explore the platform and discover the stories, data, and connections that bring our global community to life by visiting A Sustainable World.
Missed the event? Watch the recording.
