Æß²ÊÖ±²¥

A song to capture all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) has been created by a student at Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ (Æß²ÊÖ±²¥) Leicester.

In the hope of becoming a household anthem and achieving the global health goal, Elizabeth Kingsley, a Global Health MSc student at Æß²ÊÖ±²¥, aims to tackle complex issues through music.

A professional singer from Nigeria, Elizabeth was asked by her programme leader to bring an innovative approach to help with her own and her fellow coursemates’ mental health.

Elizabeth said: “Since most of us on the course are international students, we’ve experienced some challenges around new ways of learning and a different culture.

“I thought that music would help but instead of just singing, I thought we could create something more substantial that will go beyond global health, that could become a household song and everyone can sing along to.

“Then it could help to internalise the SDGs and help us achieve one health. There are 17 goals in total and it’s easy to get confused during lectures but this has really helped me to remember them.

“Music has a way of cutting through deep down into the soul, and driving a health message through cultural barriers to bring people together. Because of the repetition and melody, people can easily understand it.”

Elizabeth’s vision was shared among her coursemates and staff across Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ who all became invested in achieving the same result.

She added: “I wanted there to be an element of diversity about the song.

“I had about 25 people from the course show an interest, so we created a sub group on Zoom and I shared the song. We then sang it together and it really helped our mental health.

“I think we had six people who could sing really well. I realised that we had a recording studio in the Queen’s Building. I asked a staff member who happened to be a student on placement and he was really interested in helping me.

“Everything was original - I sang it and he recorded it, and then I shared it with my producer who lives back home in Nigeria, and he made the instrumentals.”

Speaking about what the song means to her personally, Elizabeth said: “I am very passionate about helping people to become a better version of themselves. I am especially concerned about disadvantaged children and women, and helping them to maximise their potential.

“One of the ways that I could help them was through music because it’s innovative. This is the first time Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ has done something like this and I’m so happy it’s about global health.”

Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ is the only higher education institution in Britain to be named by the UN as a global hub for an SDG. Filming inside Æß²ÊÖ±²¥’s SDG16 global hub, Elizabeth and her coursemates wore their native attire and county flags to reflect global health. Watch the video here.