UN SDG Action Campaign

Building Bridges the Road to Nairobi launches on International Youth Day

The Building Bridges Foundation’s Road to Nairobi 2016 project kicked off on International Youth Day, 12 August 2016, in Johannesburg and at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The Building Bridges Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established in the Netherlands. The mission is to foster youth-led solutions at the grassroots level in order to contribute towards the effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In their first project last year, the Foundation collected the opinions and priorities from young people by bike riding from Amsterdam to Cape Town in an effort to include youth voices in the development of the Sustainable Development Agenda.

In this second phase, the Road to Nairobi 2016, a team of Dutch and South African youth will travel by bus from Johannesburg to Nairobi, meeting 80 inspirational and innovative youth entrepreneurs from all industries and walks of life in eight countries. In each country, these real life case studies of the challenges youth entrepreneurs face will be presented to government officials, CEOs, foreign ambassadors, representatives of the UN and the media during a youth summit in the capital. The project co-creates solutions that promote youth employment and aims to inspire African and global leaders by showcasing how young people are making a difference, and how their work can be further promoted to help achieve the SDGs by 2030. The results will be presented at the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) in Nairobi in December.

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Building Bridges bus, which will carry the team and youth entrepreneurs to the Second High-Level Meeting of the GPEDC in Nairobi

“Young people often have the best out of the box solutions for difficult problems. So if we want a better life for unemployed young Africans, who else to ask then young African entrepreneurs.” said Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen. She continued, “they show that starting your own business empowers and creates jobs and income. The Road to Nairobi brings these smart youngsters together with politicians and business leaders who are eager for innovative and smart solutions. To reach the Sustainable Development Goals, young people are key.” Minister Ploumen supports the project in her role as co-chair of the GPEDC.

Through a series of multi-stakeholder events at the local and national levels, the project will help facilitate the co-creation of solutions and actions to promote youth employment in their respective countries. “We believe that only by working together with all stakeholders, can we achieve a more just, sustainable and equal world by 2030,” says Jilt van Schayik, co-founder of the Building Bridges Foundation. “Youth are traditionally seen as a problem, but we believe they are the solution. There are many youth entrepreneurs with innovative businesses solutions to overcome local challenges. We need to listen to their ideas, and help them grow to scale to create real impact for people on the ground.”

The Project was launched in South Africa in the Diepsloot Township jointly with the Building Bridges Team and the Dutch Embassy in South Africa. Focus on youth entrepreneurs in townships and rural areas, the launch included a panel discussion, about the enabling factors for innovative entrepreneurship and the necessary steps that will allow South African entrepreneurs to benefit from increased globalization.

The Road to Nairobi launch in Johannesburg with the Building Bridges team and the Dutch Ambassador in South Africa, H.E. Marisa Gerards

In addition to the project’s launch in South Africa, the project was ceremoniously launched at the SDGs exhibition in the United Nations Visitors Lobby by H.E. Mr. Karel van Oosterom, the Netherlands Permanent Representative to the UN and the UN SDG Action Campaign. The Ambassador toured the exhibition, seeing the enormous influence the first phase of Building Bridges had in collecting people’s voices to support the development of the SDGs. HE van Oosterom then viewed the current platforms for action, taking the MY World 2030 Survey reading the Humans if MY World stories and experiencing UN Virtual Reality. The visit concluded with a live video chat with the Building Bridges Team in South Africa, providing words of encouragement for their journey to foster youth employment on the African continent.

The Road to Nairobi launch at the UN HQ with the Netherlands Permanent Representative to the UN, H.E. Karel van Oosterom

The Ambassador, his son as well as a team from the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands to the UN and the SDG Action Campaign wrote their good wishes to the Building Bridges Team on the large sized exhibition blackboard. In a statement on the occasion of the virtual launch in New York the Ambassador said, “youth must have a central role in the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. We hope projects like this inspire other youth to step up and help realize the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Ambassador Karel van Oosterom’s good wishes to Jilt van Schayik, co-founder of the Building Bridges Foundation, and part of the Road to Nairobi team

Kristin Gutekunst, UN SDG Action Campaign Project Manager, remarked, “we are excited to be partnering with the Building Bridges Foundation and the Government of the Netherlands to continue SDG momentum in this new phase of the Building Bridges project. Young people are integral to making the SDGs a reality for all by 2030. The MY World 2015 Survey identified Better job opportunities as one of the main priorities for youth globally. Advancing youth entrepreneurship through this project and bringing people’s voices to the United Nations will support us in achieving the SDGs.”

The Road to Nairobi’s route across 8 countries

The Building Bridges team operates with the idea there is a gap between between local and international policymakers and the challenges faced by young people at the grassroots level. Simultaneously in New York, Building Bridges Representative and UN SDG Action Campaign Youth Advocate Jonas Lossau introduced the Road to Nairobi 2016 project and how it contributes to ‘17 SDGs in Action’ at the UN Headquarters on International Youth Day. Samantha Ndiwalana, a Building Bridges Project Manager, added, “the project is a way for young people to get together, to learn from each other, to share their solutions and to inspire each other. It is time for real action, not empty words.”

To create real changes, the Building Bridges team together with the most inspiring youth entrepreneurs will present their data and suggest solutions at the Second High-Level Meeting of the GPEDC in Nairobi.

Peoples' Voices from around the world celebrated in SDGs Exhibition in UN Visitors Lobby

Since its launch on the 18th of July, the SDGs: A People-powered Agenda – Leave No One Behind exhibition at the United Nations Headquarters has drawn excited crowds of visitors and high-level delegations from around the world.

H.E. Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, visits the SDGs exhibition

During the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), H.E. Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway and co-chair of the United Nations Secretary-General’s SDG Advocacy Group, was one of the first to visit the exhibition together with the Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations, Ambassador Geir O. Pedersen. Both expressed their commitment to making the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality for all on the exhibitions large size blackboard. H.E. Erna Solberg wrote that she will continue to advocate for “Quality Education for All”, while H.E. Geir O. Pedersen committed to “Take Action against Inequality”.

H.E. Geir O. Pedersen, Permanent Representative of Norway to the UN, writing his commitment to the SDGs on exhibition blackboard

The HLPF is central platform of the United Nations for the follow-up and review of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. It provided political leadership, guidance and recommendations on the 2030 Agenda’s implementation and follow-up; keep track of progress of the SDGs; spur coherent policies informed by evidence, science and country experiences; as well as addressing new and emerging issues. In addition to visiting the SDGs exhibition, H.E. Erna Solberg delivered the opening key-note speech at the start of the Ministerial Segment of the HLPF on 18 July and presented Norway’s voluntary national reviews on its progress of delivering the Sustainable Development Goals on the 19^th.

JCI members at the exhibition’s selfie station

Taking up the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s challenge that “youth should be given a chance to take an active part in the decision-making of local, national and global levels,” members of Junior Chamber International’s (JCI) visited the SDGs exhibition during the JCI Annual Global Partnership Summit. Held July 25 to 28 in New York City, the summit offered international leaders and JCI members the chance to visit the exhibition and experience its interactive selfie stations, take surveysand engage with the important challenges and opportunities that the SDGs present to youth globally.

Young students read the stories of Humans of MY World (www.facebook.com/homy2015)

Moreover, groups of national and international students have been particularly drawn to the exhibition’s touch screens hosting the MY World 2030 Survey (www.myworld2030.org), the High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment’s special MY World 2030 Empower Women Thematic Survey (www.empowerwomen.myworld2030.org) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Impossible Choices humanitarian challenge (www.impossiblechoices.org).

Visitor taking the MY World 2030 Survey on exhibition touchscreen

The UN Virtual Reality film series, which allows visitors to immersively experience the life of some of the world’s most vulnerable using high-tech 3D VR headsets has been a major visitor attraction since the opening of the exhibition. Visitors have been touched by the human stories of the Syrian refugee crisis, the Ebola outbreak in Liberia and the effects of conflict in the Gaza Strip in the VR films Clouds Over Sidra, Waves of Grace and My Mother’s Wing (www.unvr.org).

Students watch United Nations Virtual Reality at exhibition

Watching the movies and experiencing global issues up close has had a profound effect on visitors, many of whom have tried virtual reality technology for the first time. Especially touched was a group of students from LaGuardia Community College, NYC, who had scheduled a special visit to the virtual reality station. After visiting the exhibition with around 30 students the teacher wrote to the SDG Action Campaign to describe what a strong tool for the creation of empathy UNVR had been for the students:

“I just want to thank you for making the extra headsets available for my students last Friday. They were very impressed with the films. My students recently wrote an essay about whether or not the United States should take in Syrian refugees. Most of my students (who are all immigrants) said no, we shouldn’t let them in because there could be dangerous terrorists among them. One student stayed after class and argued with me about this, insisting that all Syrians are terrorists. After this particular student saw your film and experienced what it was like to be in a refugee camp, he told me he wants to rewrite his essay. We have been reading about refugee situations all during the term, we’ve seen film clips from the news, and we’ve watched Hotel Rwanda, and still most students wanted to keep refugees out. Your film changed that for some of them, which is very powerful. So thank you!”

The interactive SDGs exhibition will continue to be open until 4 September 2016.

HOW TO VISIT

The exhibition is open to the general public during official UN visiting hours:

Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm
All visitors must exit the building by 5:30pm.
Virtual Reality screenings at the exhibition: Monday through Friday, 10am to 4pm.

The entrance is at 46th Street and 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Visitors without an official UN Pass will have to first obtain a guest pass at the screening station on 46th and 1st across the street from the UN. Be sure to bring a photo ID.

If your delegation or mission would like to schedule a special exhibition tour, please kindly contact Kristin Gutekunst at kristin.gutekunst@undp.org (9143303774).

MY World 2030 launches next phase

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Did you know, the MY World Survey is comprised of much more than one simple question now?

On July 18, 2016, the UN SDG Action Campaign, in partnership with UNDP, ODI and Global Pulse, launched the next phase of MY World in the UNHQ. Partners from multiple sectors joined in the discussion, reporting on methodologies and strategies. They also presented lessons learnt and preliminary results from early pilot testing and representative studies.

See what our speakers and panelist have said during the MY World 2030 Launch!

“MY World is an opportunity to hear from voices across the spectrum, voices of the people who really shifted this agenda” – Rosemary Kalapurakal, Lead Advisor, 2030 Agenda Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP
“We really need to work together to make sure that the spirit of the MY World campaign lives” – Haoliang Xu, Assistant Administrator and Director for the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, UNDP
“MY World 2030 is about monitoring progress, satisfaction and awareness” – Mitchell Toomey, Global Director, UN SDG Action Campaign
“The main focus of a questionnaire has got to be on the individual respondent” – Hayk Gyuzalyan, Methods Director, TNS Opinion
“Partnership is not about engaging varying entities, but also engaging all individuals in ensuring we leave no one behind” – Muhsin Syihab, from Indonesia
“Local actions must be taken to make impact, particular by youth” – Maria Fernando Olvera, Director of Injuve
“We must continue unfinished business of MDGs through implementation of SDGs” – Princess Orelope-Adefulire, from Nigeria

The UN MY World 2015 survey (2013-2015) showed that it is both possible and useful to bring peoples’ voices directly into policy making at a global level. MY World was designed to bring the voices of individual people into the political deliberations on the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and it has been highly successful in doing so. Almost ten million people have responded to the survey, and the results have fed into every part of the political process for creating the new goals. MY World has been cited as part of the High Level Panel deliberations, the Open Working Group discussions, the PGA consultations and the Independent Expert Group on Data. The SG, DSG, Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning, Secretary General Youth Envoy and chair of the UNDG regularly reference the MY World data.

MY World 2030 will have two clear areas to contribute to, enabled through four different channels.

Main goals of MY World 2030:

Contribute to efforts to report back on progress. The aim here will be to collect globally comparable (both at scale and nationally representative) data to monitor how people feel their lives are changing. This data could feed into official monitoring efforts both locally and globally and contribute to an enhanced mechanism for the effective monitoring and implementation of the goals.
Mobilise and build dialogue between decision makers such as parliamentarians, local governments, mayors and citizens, in particular young people in order to contribute a “people’s perspective” on how to implement the new agenda at different levels and establish accountability mechanisms. This data and citizen voice will be focused at the community; municipal and provincial level and provide a rich source of information for national decision makers. It is envisaged that this dialogue will be aggregated at national, regional and global levels. The demand for this has been demonstrated by the MY Municipality initiative in Macedonia and the continued expansion of U Report globally.

Continue reading “MY World 2030 launches next phase”

UN SDG Action Campaign at European Development Days

13435303_10153720584802496_5037934373334761564_n — UN team

On 15-16 June 2016, the UN SDG Action Campaign jointly with the UN Brussels Team facilitated the setting up and coordination of an SDG Action Hub at the European Development Days (EDD) in Brussels, Europe’s leading forum on sustainable development. For its tenth anniversary, EDD 2016 focused on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Organized by the European Commission, EDD brings the development community together each year to share ideas and experiences in ways that inspire new partnerships and innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

Watch our new video featuring highlights and prominent speakers from EDD 2016:

Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent an unprecedented leap forward in the fight against poverty and inequalities, as well as in the struggle for environmental sustainability. The SDGs embody a universal, inclusive and transformative vision of development, which calls upon all Member States to ensure a life of dignity for all, leaving no one behind.

13423754_10153720586242496_6469839582574022255_n — UN team with World Bank President Dr. Jim Kim, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his wife Mrs. Ban, and European Commissioner Neven Mimica

The EDD provided a unique opportunity to generate momentum around Agenda 2030 in Europe and across the globe, and to reflect on the universal character of the Goals.

At this year’s forum, the United Nations (UN) showcased and celebrated the Agenda 2030’s inclusive spirit of leaving no one behind and the SDGs, which are truly the “peoples’ goals”. It also underscored the importance of citizen engagement and action-centered initiatives to deliver on the Agenda and achieve the Goals.

Queen Mathilde of Belgium visits the UN Stand

Visitors to the stand had the opportunity to learn more about the SDGs through new technologies such as virtual reality, and interact with the data generated from the MY World survey, as well as to promote the SDGs first-hand by having a say at the stand’s meeting point and taking pictures of themselves with the different Goals.

Visitors interact with data and watch virtual reality

Watch video / See photos

Humans of MY World is now in Rio!

Countdown to Rio with the Humans of MY World!

With the arrival of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the world’s eyes are focused on Rio de Janeiro, the “marvelous city.” Known for its good vibes, warmth and joy, Rio de Janeiro is home to many local characters with inspiring stories to tell, whether in line at the bank, on the road or at happy-hour after work.

To honor the people of Rio in the lead up to the Olympics, Roberta Thomaz, member of the RIO+ Centre team set off for the streets of Rio to capture the peoples’ energy, creativity and hope in their attempt to live more sustainably. The RIO+ World Centre for Sustainable Development, a legacy of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), was set up to keep the commitment to sustainable development alive in both action and ideas. A partnership between the Government of Brasil and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) based in downtown Rio, every day they inspire and inform policies and practices that lead to greater social, environmental and economic justice in an attempt to transform the urban daily life, artistic and social of Rio’s population.

DCIM101GOPROG0533358. — All photos by Roberta Thomas

Join the 10 day countdown as we share the hopes and dreams of some of the local people of Rio by following the Humans of MY World on Facebook!

#humansofrio #humansofmyworld #rio2016 Juegos Olímpicos de Río de Janeiro 2016 PNUD Brasil UNDP in Latin America and the Caribbean United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP)

SDGs: A People-powered Agenda – Leave No One Behind

The SDGs Exhibition Launches July 18 at the United Nations!

Throughout the post-2015 process and following a call to action from the United Nations Secretary-General in 2012, over ten million people shared their hopes and dreams with the UN to help shape the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As we enter the era of Agenda 2030, the challenge now is to show that the SDGs are in fact achievable through partnership and action from everyone everywhere. Will YOU become a part of this movement to build a better world?

INTRODUCTION

The exhibition recounts how millions of ordinary people have ensured the Sustainable Development Goals are a bold and ambitious agenda through the most inclusive and transparent process the UN has ever seen. It also provides some concrete examples of the actions people can take now to help their governments with the implementation of the SDGs by 2030.

We need YOU to help ensure the SDGs become widely known and to ensure that as the Agenda 2030 is implemented, and NO ONE IS LEFT BEHIND.

The exhibition was curated, designed and produced by the UN SDG Action Campaign on behalf of the UN Development Group (UNDG), in partnership with: the Federal Government of Germany, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

It features voluntary input and stories from millions of people around the world through data visualizations, photographs, videos, virtual reality. It also allows interactive ways to share your opinion, make your commitment and explore how to take action on the SDGs.

HOW TO VISIT

The exhibition is open to the general public during official UN visiting hours, 418 July 18 – 7 September 2016,

Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm
All visitors must exit the building by 5:30pm

The entrance is at 46^th Street and 1^st Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Visitors without an official UN Pass will have to first obtain a guest pass at the screening station on 46th and 1st across the street from the UN. Be sure to bring a photo ID.

If your delegation or mission would like to schedule a special exhibition tour, please kindly contact Alice Chen at alice.chen@undp.org (6096510945)

FEATURED CONTENT

MDGs to SDGs

Learn about the process that led us from the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development Goals with a special emphasis on peoples’ voices. By using cutting edge technology and data visualizations, the voices of over 10 million people, especially the voices of the most vulnerable populations, are told through the following initiatives:

MY World 2015 Survey – over 10 million people, most of them youth, have told the UN their top six of sixteen priorities for a better world, data that has fed into the post-2015 agenda
World We Want – a knowledge platform hosting documentation, and data visualizations including those from online, national and thematic civil society consultations
Humans of MY World – a photo exhibition telling the stories of MY World voters around the world
Virtual Reality – immerse yourself in the life of some of the world’s most vulnerable using high-tech 3D VR headset

Action to Engagement Arena

The action and engagement arena allows visitors to “get their hands dirty” and take action for furthering the SDGs: right here, right now! These are some of the ways to take action:

MY World Survey2030 – Modeled after the first phase of MY World, this citizen satisfaction survey will monitor Global Goal progress and allow further specialization at a local level
Women’s Economic Empowerment– tell us what you think would help to empower women economically by filling out our survey
Own Your Voice– Virtually “Meet” six young women from around the world who are using their voice to change the world, they are the Youtube Change Ambassadors!
Commitment Corner – How will you help achieve the SDGs by 2030? Make your commitment on our SDGs blackboard and take a selfie, tag us @SDGAction

There’s more, but you’ll have to come see for yourself. Visit the SDGs Exhibition before September 7^th 2016 and see what actions you can take for the SDGs!

UN SDG Action Campaign at P368K school in Brooklyn: NYC Junior Ambassadors experience UN Virtual Reality

On Monday 27th of June the UN SDG Action Campaign visited the PS 368 Star Academy in East New York, Brooklyn to introduce them to the Sustainable Development Goals and Clouds Over Sidra, a film that is part of the UN Virtual Reality Series. The visit was on invitation of the NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, and part of pilot testing the two entities have been engaged in to offer theses types of immersive experiences and create a lasting partnership for second year of the NYC Junior Ambassadors Program for students in NYC.

For the past year, the NYC Junior Ambassadors Program, a partnership between the NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs and the UN, gave seventh graders in all five boroughs of New York City the opportunity to actively engage with today’s global challenges by looking closely at issues, such as Human Rights, and the refugees crisis.

The UN SDG Action Campaign began the workshop with some context about the Sustainable Development Goals, introducing the MY World 2030 survey. They then spoke with the students about their priorities for a better world and other opportunities and platforms for expressing their opinions.

The Campaign then gave a brief about the Syrian refugee crisis, followed by the opportunity to experience the consequences of the Syrian crisis through the eyes of a young Syrian refugee girl in the film, Clouds Over Sidra, part of the United Nations Virtual Reality Series. Students were excited about wearing the virtual reality headsets and using the innovative technology to enhance their classroom learning experience.

Several students were emotional when experiencing the story of a young Syrian refugee in the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan up close. Being from a similar age group emphasized the daily struggles faced by Sidra and her life’s story marred by conflict. They were surprised about the conditions she lived in, and thoughtful about the extracurricular activities shown in the film.

When asked to describe what they would tell Sidra if they had the opportunity, the students said:

“If I could talk to her I would say that she is still young, and she still has a great future ahead.”
“I would tell her that she has been through so much and that she is very strong.”
“I wish I could do something so she wasn’t in that situation. I didn’t like where she lived.”

The NYC Mayor’s Office and the UN SDG Action Campaign are encouraged by these types of reactions and hope to expand their relationship to offer it to more students in the upcoming school year.

Special thanks to Aissata Camara from the NYC Mayor’s Office for her continuous dedication to ensuring young people across the city have opportunities to learn about global affairs and the UN. Also a special thanks to P368 school, especially Ms. Alice Browne and her students for inviting the Campaign to their classroom with open arms.

African Youth SDGs Training launch report: Mainstreaming youth in the implementation of the SDGs in Cameroon & Nigeria

On February 10th as a followup activity after inception, trainers from AFPAFAM and COSADER trained thirty participants to become Ambassadors for the SDGs in the community of Pouma, Cameroon.

Sans titre — *Trainers along with the administrative and trade personnel*

Ntiokam Divine, who initiated the training program, briefly outlined the objectives of the training. The training purpose was to explain the meaning of the SDGs and why they are important specifically for their community, to encourage the African youth to develop their own outreach strategies for achieving the SDGs locally, nationally and regionally, and also to engage youth in the SDGs by organizing leadership training and by focusing on their own local needs and priorities.

All participants joined five working groups to brainstorm on what SDGs means to them and equally to identify their priority areas as well as design concrete activities to address them as the main objective. The purpose of the working groups was for each team to identify 5 priority SDGs according to their own local realities such as in MY World 2030 global survey. It emerged from these workshops that the five SDGs that were prioritized by these ambassadors of Pouma were: 1. access to health, 2. poverty eradication, 3. the fight against hunger, 4. quality education, and 5. gender equality.

Today, 67, 038 people in Cameroon voted on MY World. Education, health care and clean water and sanitation are the top three key priorities.

Capture d’écran 2016-06-28 à 17.49.39 — *MY World 2015 Analytics for Cameroon*

In parallel, on June 6th, 85 participants took part of the African Youth for SDGs Training Program in Anambra State, in Nigeria on “mainstreaming youth in the means of implementation of the SDGs in Igbo language”.

Capture d’écran 2016-06-29 à 14.55.18 — *A cross section of participants with Mr. Ejeguo Ogheneovo and Dr. Ejeatuluchukwu Obi*

The strategy and rollout of the training was to ensure youths are well informed and own the 17 SDGs, which has been translated into local languages to enhance communication effectiveness, to establish SDGs Clubs in schools (nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions) in order to reach a broader target audience, and to endorse all trainees as SDGs Ambassadors within their respective communities, using tools such as MY World Survey and World We Want Platform.

More than 2,735,000 Nigerians has voted on MY World Survey! The top three priorities are education, healthcare and job opportunities.

Capture d’écran 2016-07-01 à 10.54.42 — *My World Analytics for Nigeria*

The first lecture was on “What are the SDGS? What they stand for? And why they are important to us”. Dr Roland Okoli, Deputy Director Center for Sustainable Development, Nnamdi Azikiwe University defined the SDGs as “a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs.” The second lecture was on “Engaging Youths in Achieving SDG 3: Eradication of ;HIV/AIDS.”

After the training, all participants shared their comments and contributions. As a conclusion, Mr. Ejeguo said they can become part of the SDGs advocacy and to accept the SDGs as the mile stone to transforming our world.

Future Tour "Zukunftstour" in Bonn

Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia Hannelore Kraft, Bonn Mayor Ashok-Alexander Sridharan, BMZ Minister Gerd Müller & SDG Action Campaign's Xavier Longan support the SDGs at the "ZukunftsTour" at World Conference Center Bonn — Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia Hannelore Kraft, Bonn Mayor Ashok-Alexander Sridharan, BMZ Minister Gerd Müller & SDG Action Campaign’s Xavier Longan support the SDGs at the “ZukunftsTour” at World Conference Center Bonn

Today (30 June 2016) the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) invited the United Nations Organizations in Bonn to the World Conference Center Bonn as part of the “ZukunftsTour” – “Future Tour – One World – One Responsibility”, promoting the BMZ Charter of the Future and Sustainable Development Goals.

The UN hosted a #UNBonn20 exhibit featuring Humans of MY World, virtual reality #UNVR, the new website www.unbonn.org and information about the UN in Bonn.

Over 1300 participants and 550 students (from 9th grade upwards), as well as 50 representatives from Africa attended.

BMZ Minister Dr. Gerd Müller & Minister President of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Hannelore Kraft launched the German-African Youth Initiative and discussed the implementation of #Agenda2030 with high-level representatives of the African Union, German and African civil society.

View event photo gallery

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Heute (30. Juni 2016) lud das Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) die Organisationen der Vereinten Nationen in Bonn zum World Conference Center Bonn im Rahmen der #ZukunftsTour “EINE WELT – eine Verantwortung” ein, um die Themen der BMZ Zukunftscharta und der globalen Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung der Vereinten Nationen #SDGs zu diskutieren und mit Leben zu füllen.

Die Vereinten Nationen veranstalteten eine #UNBonn20 Ausstellung mit Humans of MY World, virtuellem Realitätserlebnis #UNVR, der neuen Website www.unbonn.org und Informationsangeboten über die Vereinten Nationen in Bonn.

Über 1300 Besucher und 550 Schüler (ab 9. Klasse), sowie 50 Vertreter von dem afrikanischen Kontinent nahmen teil.

Bundesminister für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, Dr. Gerd Müller, und Ministerpräsidentin des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hannelore Kraft, stellten ein neues Austauschprogramm für afrikanische und deutsche Jugendliche vor, die “Deutsch-Afrikanische Jugendinitiative” (DAJ), und diskutierten mit hochrangigen Vertretern der Afrikanischen Union, sowie Vertretern der deutschen und afrikanischen Zivilgesellschaft über die Umsetzung der von den Vereinten Nationen beschlossenen #Agenda2030.

Is Women's Economic Empowerment important to you?

The United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment has teamed up with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Action Campaign to roll out a global MY World 2030 thematic survey called Empower Women 24_7. This survey aims to find out, from people around the world, what are the best ways to support women to get better jobs, earn more money and start or run a business?

The survey results will be guide the High-Level Panel for Women’s Economic Empowerment who will release a report in September 2016 containing key recommendations on how to accelerate women’s economic empowerment. The results will inform world leaders of what people think are the barriers to progress, what could help accelerate change, and HOW to address these challenges.

Justine Greening – High Level Panel Member and Secretary of State for International Development, UK – explains how unlocking the economic potential of women can help beat poverty.

Women’s economic empowerment is about unlocking the potential of women to earn more, gain better jobs and achieve financial independence. It’s about economic equality: such as closing the gender pay gap, increasing job opportunities, or access to loans. It’s also about breaking down barriers that hold women back: from discriminatory laws to an unfair share of unpaid home and family care. It’s a game-changer for development: because when more women get the chance to work, it makes their families, communities & countries wealthier.

The UN is carrying out this survey now because this year sees the start of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development: 17 targets to build a better world for everyone by 2030. Goal 5 is Gender Equality, which recognises that women’s empowerment – particularly economic empowerment – is critical in ending extreme poverty. The High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment is gathering evidence and ideas now to publish a report in March 2017.

Please take our short survey and help us to spread the word!

The survey is available in English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese at: http://empowerwomen.myworld2030.org