Contrary to common assumptions, the vast majority of the world’s refugees reside in neighbouring countries in the Global South, where they struggle to find quality education and opportunities for decent livelihoods. UNESCO’s Global Monitory Report (2019) and UNHCR’s Global Framework for Refugees (2019) stress strengthening vocational and entrepreneur skills for employment generations, empowerment, and decent work.

This paper explores the underexamined yet highly relevant interlinkage between sustainable livelihoods and education among urban refugees residing in three major cities in India. It speaks to the tight intersection of education, livelihoods and aspirations of five refugee communities: Afghan, Rohingya, Somali, Chin and Tibetan. Building on interviews, focus groups and participatory drawings from 66 refugees and staff respondents, it foregrounds the compounded interplay of skills development with intersectional oppression of refugees and their socio-political freedoms in navigating livelihoods and entrepreneurship avenues.

The research builds an evidence base for SDGs 4 and 8, addressing quality education and decent work. It further builds a bridge between these two SDGs and establishes the interconnectedness of these goals by examining the role of available educational opportunities in supporting decent and dignified work for refugees. Furthermore, the study foregrounds refugee voices and presents a comparative picture of refugee realities in India.

By bridging capabilities and sustainable livelihoods approach, the paper foregrounds the effects of race, gender, class, ethnic, and religious identities of refugees on their educational attainment, involvement, and utilisation. Theoretically, the paper advances capabilities account in refugee contexts by combining it with sustainable livelihoods to develop a deeper understanding of refugee lives and livelihoods. I argue that the idea of education and livelihoods for refugees should seek to move beyond the neoliberal agenda of self-employment and self-reliance and towards well-being, holistic development, and social integration.

Nearing nine years after the introduction of the Agenda 2030 and the SGDs and efforts made to achieve these sustainable goals, there are still concerns about the ability to achieve sustainable development. Scholars interrogating the challenges conflating the achievement of the SDGs have attributed to factors such as lack of commitment, due to the abstract nature of the SDGs, insufficient awareness, and implementation structures at regional and local levels. The United Nations- implementing institution, is critiqued for operating within a world order which propagates a colonial and capitalist system, impacting commitment and ownership by persons primarily impacted by global crisis and inequalities in the Global South, Indigenous and racialized communities. In addition, the westernization of efforts around the SDGs is enumerated to account for the crisis of understanding and appreciation of the issues to be addressed at the community level. These arguments suggest that achieving the Agenda 2030 and its goals requires a more eclectic approach.

In recognition, this paper calls for a decentralized approach to SDGs with attention to both mainstream and alternative methodologies and responds to how the SDGs can be approached to ensure meaningful development for diverse contexts and identities. A conceptual review explores how, as a people, we might collectively enable inclusive and ethically diverse pathways to sustained futures. This is achieved by exploring a case study at Dalhousie University that employs the Brookings Institute’s 17 Rooms approach and two-eyed seeing. Based on findings from this case study, we conceptually explore how we can begin conversations on reimagining desired futures through decentring the SDGs in both conceptualization and implementation.

The 2030 agenda for sustainable development, adopted by all United Nations member States in September 2015, provides a shared blueprint for prosperity and peace to strive among the people and all regions of the world. Many countries in the continent of Africa, despite the fact that they gained independence decades ago, do not prevent Africa from becoming dependent. Although the shift from colonization was full of hope with a brighter, rewarding future, it did not have a visible impact on the SDG goals, most especially efforts to deliver people from poverty and hunger, which are easily encouraged by undeterred corruption at all levels. It is obvious and well reported that many local, regional, and international institutions have supported the African continent to deal with poverty, gender inequality and forestall good livelihood of people and nations of Africa, discover and explore the individual, national and regional potentials making required contribution in the global community. This paper will evaluate the effect of the global goals on the African continent; the objective will be to determine the poverty (relationship between hunger and income) level, assess the impact of gender equality on sustainability, and the alarming effect of unsustainable consumption patterns in high-income countries on the climate crisis.