On Saturday 1 September, hundreds of people gathered at the port of Yokohama to say goodbye to the Peace Boat’s 99th Global Voyage, the first to sail in collaboration with the UN SDG Action Campaign. Departing from Yokohama, Japan, on September 1 and returning on December 17, 2018, Peace Boat will visit to 24 ports in 23 countries in 4 months, to mobilize people to take action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In collaboration with the UN SDG Action Campaign, Peace Boat’s Global Voyages will conduct education, advocacy, capacity building and awareness raising for the SDGs.
“Inspiring and engaging everyone to take action is the only way the SDGs will be achieved. Combining the expertise, tools, and creativity of the UN SDG Action Campaign with the reach and the innovative approach of the Peace Boat, will allow us to mobilize more individuals to step forward and join the global movement taking action for the SDGs.” said the Global Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign, Mitchell Toomey. Peace Boat Director and Founder, Yoshioka Tatsuya said “Peace Boat and the UN SDG Action Campaign share common goals. Working together, we will be able to engage more people to achieve the 2030 Agenda“.
Various related events will be held during the voyage, including an event together with the UNDP in Male, the capital of the Maldives, on September 17 and actions as part of the mass mobilization day on the SDGs anniversary o 25 September, the Global Day to #Act4SDGs.
Hundreds of people gathered to say goodbye to the Peace Boat in Yokohama, Japan, sailing to take the SDGs around the globe.
Both entities will join forces in the development of Peace Boat’s educational programming, including Global University and SDG Youth Programmes, through guest educators from the Campaign and partner networks, the global citizen platform MY World and the MY World photo and video stories.
Furthermore, the UN SDG Action Campaign and Peace Boat will collaborate to develop SDG educational and visual content, events and exhibitions to make the SDGs part of the Peace Boat’s Ecoship which will sail as the Flagship for the SDGs and be the platform for Peace Boat’s future voyages.
In an effort to strengthen the inclusivity and reach of their respective activities, Peace Boat and the UN SDG Action Campaign will continue to work together around the UN SDG Action Campaign flagship initiatives such as the Global day to Act for SDGs on September 25th, the SDG Action Awards, and the Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Development, and onboard Peace Boat’s ship and in ports visited on the voyages.
The United Nations SDG Action Campaign and Peace Boat announced their collaboration through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA, in July.
For the goals to be reached, everyone needs to do their part: governments, institutions, organizations, civil society and people like you.
On September 25th we’ll mark the 3rd anniversary of the historic adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by joining forces and challenging national & local governments, institutions & organizations of all kinds, influencers & citizens in every corner of the world to take action for the SDGs; to end poverty & inequalities, protect the planet & ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Will you join us?
Together, we’ll celebrate those who are making a real difference in their work, home and public life taking concrete actions; and to expand these actions to others; to ensure the SDGs deliver on their promise of a more just and sustainable world in which no one is left behind.
You are invited to join, share, and inspire even more people to #act4SDGs! Start planning your action and building momentum! Register here to become an #act4SDGs partner.
Thousands of high-level representatives from governments, civil society and the private sector will gather at the annual High-level Political Forum (HLPF) this month to take stock of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discuss successes, challenges and lessons learnt on the road to a fairer, more peaceful and prosperous world on a healthy planet by 2030.
Forty-seven countries will submit their Voluntary National Review (VNRs) – an important, evidence-based platform to highlight national implementation. Since the launch of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the number of countries presenting VNRs has more than doubled from 22 in 2016. With this year’s Forum, more than 120 countries would have submitted their reviews, showing commitment to tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time. The Forum also brings together leaders from all sectors of society, including the business community and civil society.
This year’s Forum will review in depth six out of the 17 SDGs under the theme, “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies.” The set of goals to be reviewed include:
Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development (reviewed yearly)
Cruise Terminal, Pier 90, 711 12th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Peace Boat will visit New York City this July 12-13, in the first of two visits in 2018 (next is October 29-30). This visit, during Peace Boat’s 98th Global Voyage, coincides with the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, and Peace Boat will hold an inaugural Partnership Expo onboard
This event will highlight the importance of partnerships for transformation toward resilient and sustainable societies and showcase various initiatives toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The UN SDG Action Campaign will be part of the exhibition area showcasing Humans of MY World, information on results coming from the MY World survey and providing UN Virtual Reality experiences to visitors.
Trusteeship Council Chamber in the UN Conference Building
During the side event the UN SDG Action Campaign will join the panel jointly with one of our key partners, Paragon –a network of marketing research groups- who conducted a representative research using My World 2030 survey in Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Romania. The research aims at collecting citizen’s perception data on the status of SDG’s progress in these countries, with focus on the SDG that will be reviewed during this HLPF . The results and analysis will be presented at the event to assist decision-makers in SDG review activities and planning.
Side Event: Role of ODA for Sustaining Peace and SDGs
Fri 13 July 2018 , 4-6 pm
Venue : Conference room (2/F.) Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea (RoK) to the UN
Peace is one of the core values and principles in SDGs and it need to be translated into strategies and program on the ground. Official development assistance (ODA) is one of the important means of implementation and it need to be maximized for transformative impact. The Panel aims at developing nexus approach by linking ODA to peacebuilding and sustaining peace as a way to preventing violent conflicts which is a necessary precondition for full achievement of the SDGs, and proposals for the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) future role and strategies.
The UN SDG Action Campaign will be speaking at the panel and share its experience on how youth engagement and activation to advance the SDGs can contribute to creating a solid foundation for local peace and sustainable development.
Join the United Nations Sustainable Development Group in a discussion on how cities are accelerating SDG progress, tackling urban poverty, climate change & inequality.
Speakers:
Amina J Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General and UN Sustainable Development Group Chair
Achim Steiner, Vice Chair, UN Development Group, and Administrator, United Nations Development Programme – UNDP
The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI), a partnership between several UN entities, was created in 2012 in the run-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). With commitments from over 300 universities from around the world, HESI accounted for more than one-third of all the voluntary commitments that were launched at Rio+20. The initiative provides higher education institutions with a unique interface between higher education, science, and policy-making. More information: https://www.sdgbusinessforum.org/
SDG Media Zone (16 to 17 July)
The SDG Media Zone at HLPF will feature a diversity of speakers, including business, civil society and United Nations leaders and influencers, who will discuss a range of topics, including sustainable fashion, biodiversity, data and technology, and clean energy. More information: http://www.un.org/sdgmediazone/
Ministerial Segment of HLPF (16-18 July)
More than 80 Ministers are expected to attend the three-day Ministerial Segment, including to present their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). The 47 countries presenting VNRs are Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Benin, Bhutan, Cabo Verde, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Namibia, Niger, Paraguay, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Congo, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, State of Palestine, Sudan, Switzerland, Togo, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, and Viet Nam. More information: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/vnrs/
Local and Regional Governments’ Forum (16 July)
At the first-ever Local and Regional Governments’ Forum, Mayors from the world’s major cities will come together to discuss the importance of localizing the 2030 Agenda. The forum is co-organized by the United Nations and its partners, including Local2030. More information: https://www.global-taskforce.org/high-level-political-forum
SDG Business Forum (18 July)
Co-hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), UN DESA and the UN Global Compact, and organized in collaboration with the Global Business Alliance (GBA) for 2030, the third SDG Business Forum will bring together leaders from businesses, governments, UN agencies, key international organizations, and civil society to discuss the private sector’s role in delivering the 2030 Agenda. More information: https://www.sdgbusinessforum.org/
Ms. Marina Ponti (Italy) has been appointed Head of the Global Campaign Center of the UN SDG Action Campaign in Bonn (Germany).
As one of the main architects of the UN Millennium Campaign -the predecessor of the UN SDG Action Campaign- Ms. Ponti served as Global Deputy Director and Regional Director for Europe for over a decade and was at the vanguard of innovative campaign initiatives, building multi-stakeholder coalitions, mobilizing resources and forging long-term partnerships between civil society organizations, Local Government, parliamentarians, media, the private sector and the UN.
Prior, Ms. Ponti was an advocacy and resource mobilization specialist with UNICEF and the UN Secretariat. She also served as Chief Operating Officer of Catapult -a girls and women’s right crowdfunding platform and as Special Advisor on post-2015 during the final negotiations of the Agenda 2030 for the global network Social Watch.
Ms. Ponti started her career with the Italian NGO Mani Tese as Head of Campaigning and External Relations, leading global campaigns and movements on debt, trade, human rights and development assistance.
She has published several articles for newspapers, magazines, online publications and blogs on the Millennium Development Goals, on the Sustainable Development Goals, on aid effectiveness, financial speculation, gender equality, social development, local development, debt-relief, human rights, and trade. Ms. Ponti holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Milan and has completed an executive education programme from INSEAD in Global Management, Finance and Partnerships. She speaks English, French, Italian and Spanish.
Marina Ponti, Head of the Global Campaign Center, meets with UN SDG Action Campaign team members
The Sustainable Development Goals took center stage at the BMZ Open Day in Bonn.
Over 14,000 visitors gathered at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) premises on June 24th, 2018 for a day of music, experiences and activities with the SDGs at its heart. Participants had the opportunity to visit the Hammerschmidt Villa, the official residence of the German President in Bonn, and to learn about sustainability through the many German and international institutions presenting their work.
The UN SDG Action Campaign shared the stage with Mr. Martin Jägger, BMZ State Secretary, and the Lord Mayor of Bonn Ashok Sridharan, to discuss the importance of communicating the SDGs and inspiring collective action to support their implementation.
Mr. Martin Jägger, BMZ State Secretary, visits the UN SDG Action Campaign stand
An interactive space featured some of the Campaign’s flagship advocacy and citizen participation tools on the SDGs, as well as virtual reality screenings designed to build empathy on issues related to the Goals.
“This is great! What can I do? How can I contribute?” was the most shared response of the many visitors at the stand, when hearing about the 17 Goals and hearing people’s stories from around the world. The Campaign team had the honor of welcoming State Secretary Jägger, who recognized the importance of the Campaign’s work and committed to continuing to support the Campaign going forward. “You’ve got a very difficult job to do, and a very important one,” he said to the Campaign team members.
Mr. Martin Jägger, BMZ State Secretary, retweets the UN SDG Action Campaign Marta Rojas, Media and Communications Specialist at the UN SDG Action Campaign, and Journalist Katie Gallus
The partnership reflects a shared commitment to the idea that immersive technologies like virtual reality hold potential for experiential storytelling that spurs learning and action. MY World 360° invites young people worldwide to develop digital skills and create 360° media as a way to share their perspectives and advance positive action toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
MY World 360° ultimately aims to increase participation through a new expressive and immersive medium by young people and marginalized groups, and promote awareness and understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Engaging young people through a powerful learning experience to help them build new digital skills for a purpose, the program is open to global submissions, with additional activity planned in Germany, India, and the United States.
“The Sustainable Development Goals are an open call for all people to join together to create a more sustainable and equitable world,” said Mitchell Toomey, Director of the United Nations SDG Action Campaign. “MY World 360° will empower young people with the language to describe challenges, the skills to document the SDGs in a local context and the knowledge to influence and make change. This will equip young people with the tools to have an open dialogue with decision-makers in their communities, hopefully inspiring the collaborative action needed to achieve the goals.”
PILOT COUNTRIES
Oculus, Digital Promise Global, and the UN SDG Action Campaign also announced today that MY World 360° will launch national pilot programs in Germany and India. A limited number of German and Indian schools and youth organizations will receive 360° video production equipment from Oculus, as well as targeted support from local media mentors.
In Germany, implementing partners for the national pilot include schools and youth organizations affiliated with the UNESCO Associated Schools Network and UNICEF. The implementing partner for the national pilot in India will be UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace.
PROGRAM ORIGIN
Since 2016, Oculus, the virtual reality company, has partnered with Digital Promise Global, a non-profit organization working to spur innovation in education, through the 360 Filmmakers Challenge. Bringing virtual reality production tools to classrooms and youth organizations across the United States, the program has engaged more than two thousand students and over 20 awarded youth-produced films.
From 2012 through 2015, the UN SDG Action Campaign coordinated the MY World 2015, the UN Global survey that ensured 9.7 million people’s sustainable development priorities were included in the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The MY World 2030 project will continue to shine a light on people’s personal experiences around the world, ensuring they have a platform to have their say. MY World 360° will join a suite of storytelling projects which include the Humans of MY World, as well as immersive films promoted through UNVR.
The MY World campaign, the success of UNVR, and the youth-produced media from the 360 Filmmakers Challenge caused Oculus, Digital Promise Global, and the UN SDG Action Campaign to develop the idea for a global campaign for youth-produced 360° media for SDG awareness and action.
“Giving people the resources they need to highlight the issues they care about has been a goal of our partnership with Digital Promise Global, and we’re thrilled to be working with the UN SDG Action Campaign this year,” said Parisa Zagat, Head of Oculus Policy Programs. “By expanding this work internationally through this new initiative we hope to encourage even more young people to think about how technology can help them raise awareness for causes they believe in.”
“We are excited to partner with Oculus and the UN SDG Action Campaign to help young people around the world develop their digital skills,” said Karen Cator, President and CEO of Digital Promise Global. “By using emerging technology, more learners can bring their ideas and experiences to life in new and powerful ways.”
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
MY World 360° offers tools and resources to help participants learn about the SDGs, and to develop the skills needed to capture, edit, and share 360° media to represent their perspectives and their communities in an immersive and compelling way. Youth participants from around the world are eligible to contribute immersive media, including photography and film, to the open call for submissions to MY World 360°. Further details about tools, methods, and submission guidelines are available on the MY World 360° program page.
Given the high interest among Member States to include youth and citizens voices in their SDG implementation strategies, the UN SDG Action Campaign, the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth and the Regional UN Issue Based Coalition on Adolescents and Youth joined hands to organise a side-event during the UNECE Regional Forum on Sustainable Development on the 1st to 2nd of March.
The program opened with a word of welcome by Jayathma Wickramanayake (UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth) who among others emphasised the crucial role young people have to play in implementing and reviewing the 2030 Agenda:
“I have one thing to say to all the young people in the room. We are the SDG
generation and we are critical in implementing and reviewing the Agenda. Demand to have a seat at the table, don’t wait for an invitation. Act now, speak up and believe in your power to change the world.”
Moreover, the event provided a platform for young advocates who have led their own SDG monitoring and accountability processes inside and outside of formal Government structures. Digital innovations offer new possibilities and a powerful example was shared by Richard Herts, Ukrainian U-Reporter, who on a weekly basis engages and consults over 15.000 young Ukrainians via text messages on issues such as water and sanitation, healthcare and democratic freedoms.
During the panel discussion government representatives shared the processes they have used to meaningfully engage young people in the SDGs, and within their Voluntary National Review (VNR) process. A powerful example was shared by Franc Matjaž Zupančič (Slovenian State Secretary) and Sabina Carl (Slovenian UN Youth Delegate) who drafted a special youth section in Slovenia’s 2017 report to the High-Level Political Forum (HLFP).
The side-event was moderated by the Swedish UN Youth Delegate Henrietta Flodell, who aimed at identifying good practices and developing replicable tools, so as to “move from the why to the how”. She wrapped up emphasising the importance ofensuring that youth involvement is institutionalised and that the consultation and follow-up mechanisms for youth are long-term, transparent and democratic.
We thank all participants and look forward to increased youth engagement in implementation and review processes and in specific at the High-Level Political Forum taking place in July 2018.
SDG branded football serves as a reminder of the cooperative action needed to achieve the SDGs
GANGWON-DO, February 16, 2018
On the 16th of February, high-level dignitaries brought together the messages of the Olympic spirit, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the importance of providing a quality education for all to a classroom in Gangwon Province, South Korea, showing the intersection of these important ideals through a recognizable and beloved object: the football.
In a ceremony led by the United Nations SDG Advocacy Group’s Co-Chair, H.E. Mrs. Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, and fellow SDG Advocate Ambassador Dho Young-Shim delegates spoke of the connection between these three ideals with 100 school children at the Musan Community Children’s Center Primary School, stressing their foundational importance to understanding an individual’s responsibility of global citizenship, and the collective responsibility of working together to build a more peaceful and equal world by the year 2030.
The students had the chance to ask the delegation questions. Following the short ceremony, they were gifted a reminder they could keep: an SDG branded football.
“The Olympic Movement and the SDGs promote world cooperation and the lesson that with hard work you can excel. Sport and education prepare children for life as global citizens and future contributors of society. As part of that, we all have a responsibility to do what we can to make sure that all children in all countries can have a quality education and enjoy good health. In the context of the new goals, we are all developing countries with work to do at home.”
The Olympic ideals promote the importance of excellence, friendship, and respect. The SDGs similarly promote profound collaboration, an equal sense of responsibility for all countries, and a focus on helping the most vulnerable communities in an effort to leave no one behind.
A quality education (SDG 4) entails a comprehensive approach to life-long learning, not only in the classroom, that will capacitate students with values and skills that allow them to become global citizens who contribute towards a better world. In addition to the health benefits, sport can motivate children and teach values of camaraderie and inclusion. With UNICEF estimates of 61 million children of primary school age not enrolled in school, sport can also help reach the most vulnerable children who may be outside of formal education settings.
“The world [these students] will enter as grown-ups will be full of challenges and uncertainties. In the years to come, the children from this school will be key players in the global quest to achieve the SDGs,” said Solberg. “With a quality education, they will have the universal currency they need in life to take action for sustainable development.”
The SDG Advocates were joined by Mr. Choi Moon Soon, Governor of Gangwon Province; Ms. Kristin Kloster Aasen, International Olympic Committee Representative to Norway and Ms. Soohyun Kim, Head of Office, UNICEF Seoul Office .
“By studying the icons, the children can learn about the different goals and be reminded that they too should take action to make the world a better place” said Solberg.
The dignitaries then broke down the formalities of the ceremony and effectively passed the torch onto the next generation, learning from the children what they know best: how to play.
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More Information:
This event was organized by the United Nations SDG Advocacy Group and the UN SDG Action Campaign.
Media Contacts:
Kristin Gutekunst (kristin@sdgactioncampaign.org) +1 914 330 3774
Benjamin Schaare (benjamin.shaare@un.org) +1 202 341 4956
Tor Borgersen (tor.borgersen@smk.dep.no) +47 909 38 987
About The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by 193 Heads of State and Government on the 25th of September 2015, represent an unprecedented leap forward in the fight against poverty, inequalities, and climate change. They 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. The realization of this agenda by 2030 will require the cooperation of international actors as well as bold individual and collective action by all.
About the United Nations Secretary-General’s SDG Advocacy Group:
The Secretary-General nominated 17 eminent individuals to generate momentum and commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030 by working to promote the universal sustainable development agenda, raising awareness of the integrated nature of the SDGs, and fostering engagement with new stakeholders in the implementation of these Goals.
About the United Nations SDG Action Campaign:
A special initiative of UN Secretary-General mandated to support the UN system and UN Member States on advocacy and citizen engagement in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The Campaign empowers and inspires people across the world to take action by building multi-stakeholder partnerships and leveraging cutting-edge communication technologies to bridge the gap and ensure a transparent dialogue between world leaders and their constituencies, especially the most marginalized and vulnerable populations.
The2018 ECOSOC Youth Forumtook place on 30 – 31 January 2018 at the UN HQ in New York City. The Youth Forum brought together hundreds of young leaders, ministers, civil society organisations and UN agencies to discuss the role of youth in building sustainable and resilient urban and rural communities.
The Forum presented the UN SDG Action Campaign with the opportunity to bring the SDGs to the forefront of the discussions, to re-connect with some of our longstanding partners, as well as to inspire young leaders to #Act4SDGs and to foster new partnerships.
Highlights
Campaign workshop for Youth Leaders from Northern Africa & Arab States:
A workshop was organized to inform and train twenty young change-makers from the UNDP Youth Leadership Program on SDG Action campaigning. Stories from the Humans of MY World Campaign (now in Nigeria!) were shared, MY World 2030 was introduced as both a data collection and advocacy tool, and a brainstorm took place about possible activities to be carried out during the Global Day of Action.
Youth Leaders from Northern Africa and Arab States explain how to #Act4SDGs during the ECOSOC Youth Forum. #Youth2030
Side-event on the importance of mainstreaming the SDGs in Education:
Organized by UN Youth Delegates and hosted at the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations, a discussion took place on how to better integrate the SDGs in our education systems. Rosario Gravito shared best practices from the Millennials Movement in Peru, while other campaigns and toolkits such as the World Largest Lesson (Project Everyone), MY World 2030 and MY Campus (UN SDG Action Campaign) were shared.
More information can be found here!
UN Virtual Reality (UNVR) experience during DPI NGO Youth Representatives Event
During DPI’s youth event Virtual Reality Screening was used to transport viewers into real life crisis situations in both urban and rural areas. The concept has proven it’s impact, and also this time around youth leaders were both touched and inspired by the immersive storytelling portfolio of UNVR.
Important: Youth Leaders, Civil Society organisations, and others, can still register for the Global Festival of Action on Sustainable Development taking place in Bonn on 21-23 March. Register here!
The United Nations SDG Action Campaign is proud to be part of the growing United Nations family in Bonn, Germany.
The UN is currently represented in Bonn with about 20 organizations. UN Bonn supports targeted efforts by governments for a sustainable future in the fields of climate change, land degradation, biodiversity and ecosystem services, wildlife conservation, volunteerism, health, human security, disaster risk reduction, tourism, as well as education and training.
This not only includes the sustainable use of natural resources and their precautionary preservation for future generations, but also the global fight against poverty.
The United Nations has had offices in Bonn since 1951. In 2006, the UN Campus was officially inaugurated by the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, with the “Langer Eugen” as the main building.
The UN presence in Bonn has grown steadily, from a handful of staff in 1996 to what has become a UN family with an international staff of almost 1,000 colleagues. Furthermore, the United Nations are represented in Germany with institutions and liaison offices in Dresden, Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt and Nuremberg.
