25 SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities – Team 28

Team Reflection
Reflecting on the role of business for social good highlights its importance in driving positive social change. Businesses are uniquely positioned to address social and environmental issues in a meaningful way and play a crucial role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs, established by the United Nations, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. These goals cover a range of interconnected issues, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. By aligning their plans with the SDGs, businesses can further contribute to sustainable development while bettering communities and individual well-being. The Aim2Flourish stories allowed us to see progress toward these goals realized in a real-world context through interviews with business owners. The knowledge gained from our respective business control, operations, and management classes proved invaluable in navigating the challenges of working with others from diverse backgrounds, delegating tasks and managing our time efficiently. We applied these skills to the COIL project, which helped our team stay organized and on track.

We found all the stories we read concerning our SDG very inspiring. Each one demonstrated the potential to enact positive change and take action through innovative business practices. It was also helpful to learn what steps the business owners took to work towards the goal of reducing inequality, as this offers ideas for how others can do the same. These stories made us feel as though we too could take concrete steps in our lives to bring about change and reduce inequality. One of the Aim2Flourish stories that stood out to us was Empowering the Lesser Known. Gowomania, the business highlighted in this story, was developed to allow women in developing countries to showcase their products and services. We were all inspired by this business innovation in particular because not only were the founders creating a service to uplift their communities, but they also established a platform that encouraged the active contribution of others. This dual approach ensures that Gowomania’s growth and positive impact within its community are sustainable. Another business innovation we were struck by is EDI Media Inc. This business understands that knowledge is power, and they are playing an integral role in offering Chinese-speaking communities in the U.S. (the largest Asian origin group in the U.S., making up 24% of the Asian population) some of their power back by availing to them the same access to information, entertainment, and shows that other people in the country enjoy in their native language. We thought this innovation was great for reducing inequality because a lack of access to information for a group this large only widens the inequality gap.
What we have learned from this cross-cultural experience is the importance of giving back to people from marginalized communities. This experience made us realize that anyone can bring about change and improve the lives of others regardless of age, geographic location, ethnicity or social and financial status. We saw that changing people’s lives by implementing the SDGs does not have to be a daunting and complex process. In every story we read, someone identified an injustice or a problem and started taking steps to solve it, using the SDGs as a framework. Reading the Aim2Flourish stories encouraged us to think creatively about issues and inequalities faced by communities in our own countries. They also reinforced the idea that regardless of how big or small the impact may be, even if just one person’s life is changed for the better, then the cause is worth pursuing.
We were pleasantly surprised to discover that some businesses used the SDGs to develop their business goals from day one. This finding was enlightening because we had not previously considered that a business could be founded with the SDGs as guiding principles, nor were we aware of any examples before this experience. Previously, we thought a business had to have already been established before it could implement the SDGs into its business plans. However, we now understand how businesses can be created from the start to align with the SDG goals while remaining profitable. Furthermore, the AIM2Flourish stories will affect how we act and think in our future endeavors. Whether we go into business, or pursue science or art, we now know that it only takes one person to transform the lives of an entire community for the better. Our coursework equipped us with the skills to communicate clearly and concisely with one another, especially when navigating potential cultural differences in communication styles. General skills acquired from our courses, such as dividing tasks, setting deadlines, and keeping the team on track throughout this project, proved instrumental.
Every week, we made sure to outline our tasks and determine what we needed to accomplish. On our weekly video call, every member would volunteer to take on the task they preferred to work on. This strategy worked very well for us, and there was never conflict over who should do what. All the work was fairly distributed among team members. We worked well as a team, and there were not any problems apart from small time zone and scheduling issues.
Overall, we learned a great deal from this project. Businesses can be powerful agents of positive transformation in society. Sharing the stories of business innovations that support the SDGs inspires and educates and prompts collective action toward making a more equitable and sustainable future. This experiential activity broadened our knowledge of other countries’ cultures and the different businesses that are being created worldwide. We can see a connection between this exercise and how we would act as businesspersons in the future because we now know how to integrate different business ideas and observe other countries’ plans to implement the SDG goals and apply these learnings to our own countries. We now know that business innovations aligned with the SDGs not only create value for society and the environment but enhance long-term business resilience and competitiveness in a rapidly changing world. We are very grateful to our professors for the opportunity to be involved in this remarkable project. Special thanks to Ruben Burga for the weekly tasks and submission reminders, as they were very helpful. We are happy to report we now have friends in different countries!

Individual Reflections
Anik
As a member of the team, I enjoyed this experiential activity, finding it enriching and fun. I had never taken part in an assignment like this before, and it was wonderful to get the chance to meet students from other countries and gain insights into different perspectives and traditions from around the world. For example, our teammates from South Africa introduced us to the song “Angelina” by Caiphus Semenya, and we learned about Ramadan from our teammates in Indonesia.
Navigating multiple time zones presented some difficulties, but I think our team was successful in working through this challenge. We were able to find times that worked for everyone each week, demonstrating collaboration and flexibility on everyone’s part. Despite the occasional hiccup, such as forgetting about a meeting, everyone worked well together and did a great job of contributing to each assignment. If anything came up, all team members did a fantastic job of communicating this right away, allowing us to resolve any issues or misunderstandings efficiently and effectively.
Overall, I appreciated the opportunity to engage with a global team and found this experience very rewarding. Participating in this experiential activity allowed me not only to strengthen my cultural competency but also to improve my teamwork, both skills that will be helpful in all future endeavors. Most importantly, I made some new friends!

Angelina
I enjoyed working on the COIL project with my teammates. At first, I was unsure of what to expect from the project and was worried that there would be issues with meetings and completing classwork because of the different time zones. However, this was not the case, and I looked forward to meeting with my group every week. It was also nice to talk with them about different events going on in their lives and socialize outside of working on this assignment. I learned about a song from South Africa called Angelina, which I thought was very cool, and I appreciated my teammates sending me a song that reminded them of me because of my name. It was also interesting to share different celebrations occurring in our countries. I taught my teammates about St. Patrick’s Day and learned about the Ramadan celebrations in Indonesia. The time differences posed some challenges within our group, but through email communications, we were able to work it out and meet together at least once a week. Everyone in our group was respectful and easy to work with. Overall, I learned a lot from this experience and appreciate the conversations we had as a team throughout this project.

Anele
As a South African participant in COIL, being part of a cross-cultural team has been a valuable learning experience. My classmates from Canada and Indonesia brought different perspectives and exposed me to new approaches when completing our assignments. We worked effectively as a team. There was clear communication and a willingness to understand different viewpoints. We had regular video calls, shared online documents and set clear deadlines. The only hiccup was the different time zones, but that didn’t stop us from completing our tasks.
I have learnt a lot about SDGs and how businesses address them. This experience has increased my ability to communicate across cultures, a valuable skill in today’s globalized business world. Overall, this experience has allowed me to learn from a global network, apply classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios, and develop valuable communication and teamwork skills. I am really happy to have taken part in COIL.

Nthati
This experiential activity was a one-of-a-kind experience for me. I have never been involved in a project with such a diverse group of people. I have never been to Canada or Indonesia, so it was really exciting to work and learn from my teammates from these parts of the world. Initially, everyone was a little bit reserved, but I think it was mainly because we were all still a bit nervous about meeting each other. It took us at least two meetings to become more comfortable and to warm up to one another. It was interesting to learn about Saint Patrick’s Day from our teammates in Canada, which is something we don’t have in South Africa. This project was really great because it showed that I was able to work well in a team, and I could improve my social skills.

Surya
Working with a cross-cultural team for the first time has been an enlightening experience that I have thoroughly enjoyed. Despite initial nervousness, it has been about a month since we began collaborating, and we’ve encountered challenges along the way. Despite the hurdles, I’ve cherished every moment, particularly the engaging weekly questions from our lecturer. As time has passed, I’ve found myself feeling increasingly at ease with my fellow team members. Surprisingly, despite the geographical distance, there have not been any conflicts among us. While there have been minor misunderstandings, such as differences in time zones, we’ve been able to address this challenge efficiently as a team. Wrapping up this reflection, I must say I’m genuinely happy with how our COIL class has unfolded. From making new friends to overcoming logistical challenges such as time zones, it has been a rewarding journey. I’m grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with such a dedicated team, and I commend each member for their outstanding contribution. I don’t know why, but somehow, in my little heart, I just want to keep in touch with all of you.

Syauqi
Participating in the COIL project with friends from Canada and South Africa has been an incredible journey spanning five weeks. We have been diving deep into the world of business and its connections to Sustainable Development Goal 10. At the start, I did not know what to expect because this was the first time I was doing this kind of project. Just thinking about the meeting itself was kind of worrying because we all have different time zones, but we were able to solve this problem with organization and flexibility. I was also pretty nervous about speaking up because I wasn’t too confident in my speaking skills. But you know what? It turned out to be an amazing experience filled with learning and fun. Every chat and brainstorming session felt like a step forward, and honestly, everyone was so nice and supportive. This project wasn’t just about understanding how businesses can tackle social inequalities. It was also about discovering my own strengths and building up my confidence. It has been quite the ride, and I am so grateful for every moment of it.