Tag: Act4SDGs

Why joining the #SDGActionFest is your best plan for 2020

The SDG Global Festival of Action is back in Bonn, Germany (1-3 April) and calling all SDG changemakers to become part of the program for 2020! Hosting sessions, workshops, organize partner meetings, strategic sit-downs or share expertise in panels and talks. The 4th edition of the Festival will be a milestone to raise the visibility and impact of the accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), creating the platform for changemakers to share ideas, strengthen partnerships across all sectors and lead transformative change.

2020will kick start the Decade of Action announced by the UN Secretary-General during the United Nations General Assembly in September, and also marks the UN75 Anniversary. For this super year of activism, more than 2,000 leaders and cutting edge thinkers from all sectors, from across the world, will unite at the SDG Global Festival of Action to transform local action into global impact For People and For Planet.

Do you or your organization…

👉 Excel in driving engagement for the SDGs?

👉Lead transformative change in your industry to tackle climate change or inequalities?

👉Aim to develop new partnerships to optimize your efforts for the SDGs?

Apply to help shape the most transformative and inclusive festival for the SDGs, or register to participate in this unique experience.

Don’t miss the chance to be there, in the company of leading SDG changemakers! Join us in 2020 to together find new ways to inspire individuals and organizations to take action For People and For Planet, while celebrating the diversity of incredible SDD action already taking place across the world.

Why should you be part of the next #SDGActionFest?

The SDG Global Festival of Action is designed by, and for the SDG Community – including anyone who transforms local action into global impact to advance the SDGs. Featuring a range of session, workshop and meeting formats, the festival provides a unique experience for each participant.

“The mobilization is done through knowledge, through understanding of this very complex Agenda, and through empowerment of everybody“

-Christina Gallach, High Commissioner for the Agenda 2030 Government Spain

Exchange your knowledge and perspectives with other experts, discover new ways to inspire SDG Action by building meaningful connections, and experience transformation taking place For People and For Planet.

We can’t continue business as usual if we want to make real progress towards the achievement of Agenda 2030! Let’s combine our expertise, find new partners from different disciplines and amplify joint actions for the SDGs.

Here are the top 5 reasons why YOU need to join the SDG Global Festival of Action.

1. Build Your Knowledge & Ideate New Solutions

How is your company excelling in combating climate change? Are you changing the narrative around Gender Inequalities? Is your organization’s mission to engage individuals in making clean water and energy accessible and affordable for all?

In the plenary hall speakers from all sectors share their expertise in panels on a wide range of different topics. Hear key lessons from experts, deepen your knowledge on policies related to the SDGs, and learn more about revolutionary ideas and actions changing the landscape of sustainable development

“Hold onto the vision, the vision that you have for communities, the vision that you have for the planet, and let’s get it done”

Eddie Ndopu, SDG Advocate

Are yo looking for deep dives and hands-on experiences to enhance your skills to advance the SDGs? In “how-to” sessions and a track if session dedicated to inspiring a new normal you can optimize your skills while meeting new people and strengthening partnerships with individuals and organizations who focus on the acceleration of the same goal — action on the SDGs won’t be completed by one institution or sector alone.

2. Discover & Share

The #SDGActionFest 2020 will boost creative thinking as you get the chance to meet, listen and present your ideas to like-minded people and experts of all industries, sectors and to a global audience, live-streamed on UN TV.

Join us at this dynamic to stage to learn more about the influencer behind the insights, or tell your own 10-min story to your peers, potential partner and our global audience. Apply and make the stage yours!

The 2020 edition will also provide the opportunity for you to boost your engagement at the dedicated Media Zone and, why not deliver your own pop-up presentation at one of the demo spaces?

3. Meet & Connect

Become part of the global SDG community that unites at the SDG Global Festival of Action. Coming together and collaborating with other creatives, activists, government and business leaders expands collective and individual impact.

“Disruptive change does not happen in meetings, but these meetings we can use to be inspired to raise the ambition and to connect with others knowing that we are not alone. Let’s not forget that there is so much more we all need to do.”

Marina Ponti, Director of UN SDG Action Campaign

The Festival hosts plenty of networking opportunities, and a platform to host your own network for a closed door strategy sit-down. Individuals hold private strategy meetings. Individuals, institutions, international and local NGOs, creatives, media, businesses and local and national governments representatives can leverage existing alliances while you are all in town, and build new meaningful connections.

4. Immerse Yourself in Tech and Arts for the SDGs

The Festival is a space, and moment created for far more than talking, listening, and networking. It’s the convening place where the SDGs come to life with immersive live performances, experiential content creation, original film screenings and the latest emerging technologies taking SDG Action to the next level.

The Exhibition Zone is where you can explore hands-on experiences related to transforming local action into global impact. Featuring art showcases, live performances and demonstrations, installations, Virtual and Augmented Reality journeys, this dedicated space will provide a feast for the eyes, the ears, and the mind to delve into the Decade of Action!

To give you a taste of the VR and AR Zone at the Festival, experience immersive media from MY World 360° young content creators. Applications are open for the next MY World 360° selection that will be premiered at the Festival.

5. Celebrate with the SDG Community

This festival would not be a festival without celebration! After full days of sessions, experiences and media moments, connect with old and new festival friends for two dedicated evenings of social and cultural experiences. Harness the energy and passion of this incredible community with art, music, performances and where we celebrate what has brought us all together — a passion for achieving the SDGs.

We can’t wait to meet all the creative and innovative minds that we share our commitment to this agenda with, and experience the transformation taking place in situ at the SDG Global Festival of Action.

Join the community 1–3 April 2020 in Bonn, Germany, and let’s celebrate each other’s achievements and get energized for the next 10 years — a Decade of Action.

You have until 1st March to register!

For more information follow #SDGActionFest or visit 👉https://globalfestivalofaction.org/

Finally… the SDG Global Festival of Action program is out!

We are only 6 weeks ahead of one of the most inspiring and energising SDG moments of the year! And thanks to the SDG community we’ve got a packed program full of workshops and interactive sessions with everything needed from learning new skills to connecting with partners and build the much-needed coalitions to advance action on the SDGs. Here’s a sample of the diversity of interactive sessions that awaits you each day…

DAY 1

Sound Impact: How music can lead in the delivery of the SDGs
UN SDG Action Awards Ceremony ABC for SDGs-preneurship Campaigns
Youth Movement 4 the SDGs
Harnessing Artistic Expression to Spur SDG Action and Awareness through Creativity, Empowering and Connecting people

DAY 2

The Power of Sport for Advancing on the Sustainable Development GoalsCommunicating the SDGs: The Food Forever StoryMulti-stakeholder Partnerships and Coalition BuildingYoga
Adaptive Intelligence of the Barefoot Solar MamasMunicipalities for Global Sustainability: Implementation of the 2030 Agenda at a Local Level

DAY 2

Social Entrepreneur Contest
SDG Campaign in Japan
Drumming workshop
Teaching SDGs around the world
Closing High-Level Plenary

See the daily program!

And this list is still growing! More sessions, innovations and exhibits, the SDG Action Studio program, the official Film selection and other exciting Festival experiences to come… stay tuned!

Plan your Festival experience

Download the Festival app, fill your profile and connect with the SDG community! Create your own agenda to map the experience that is right for your needs and stay up-to-date with the latest programme news!

Find all the information you need to know about public transport, accommodation and currency exchange in the city on the logistics page. and get ready to arrive in Bonn!

Volunteerism is driving SDG Action

By Hilary Ogbonna, UN SDG Action Campaign 

In the smouldering tropical heat in downtown Bamako, he has convened a group of volunteers to perform the daunting tasks of transmitting over 60,000 paper survey responses received from across Mali from citizens who have just informed their Government and the United Nations about their development priorities through MY World 2030 survey. For Sory Monekata, Executive Secretary of Forum of International NGOs in Mali, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in September 2015 is a major opportunity to advance transformative and inclusive development in which every Malian will have a voice and their priorities accommodated in national development planning.

Since the adoption of the SDGs, the UN SDG Action Campaign has worked with partners across the globe to inspire actions and multi-stakeholder engagement with the SDGs. Mr. Monekata belongs to a growing movement of partners nurtured by the UN SDG Action Campaign to mobilize citizens and volunteers at local levels to take SDG action through MY World survey. MY World is a unique framework which provides a platform for multi-level actors to interface to ensure inclusivity, participation and accountability in SDGs implementation, reporting and review.

When the Government of Mali and the UN Country Team agreed on the implementation of the MY World Survey as a citizen engagement tool in the report and review process for the SDGs in Mali, Mr. Monekata and other civil society actors seized the opportunity to mobilise hundreds of volunteers across the 10 regions to identify the priorities of the citizens and assess progress on SDGs implementation. The survey was aimed at generating citizens’ data which will bring peoples’ perspectives to the Voluntary National Review (VNR) for which Mali was a candidate country in 2018. The VNR is a process of self-appraisal by Member States in the implementation of the SDGs and presented at the annual High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York.

The MY World survey is an intensive exercise requiring huge human resources, commitment and passion. Volunteerism is at the heart of MY World survey. For instance, the first edition implemented between 2013-2015 saw over 5,000 volunteers working in Nigeria alone to reach 2.7 million people on what their priorities for a post MDGs agenda will be. The survey in Mali was not going to be any different. For two weeks, over 500 young volunteers were mobilized across the country to engage with communities, schools and markets, creating awareness on the SDGs and asking questions about their impact on the quality of life. The work of volunteers did not stop after the field work. For the first time in the implementation of the survey in any country, the UN SDG Action Campaign engaged online volunteers outside the project country to assist in the data entry of the responses from the survey. With the UN reporting deadline for fast approaching, the UN SDG Action Campaign put out a call to local volunteers in Bonn, Germany and to the Online UN Volunteers platform. More than 100 volunteers took up the call. Over 20 came in person and 35 more volunteered online to assist with the data entry over the next 5 days. From Nigeria alone, the Campaign and its local partners mobilized 50 volunteers from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for the MY World Mali data entry. In all there were volunteers from more than 24 countries from all the regions of the world.

The MY Wold survey in Mali is no doubt a best practice on the deployment of volunteers using online facilities. It is a clear indication that volunteerism is a huge asset in mobilizing for the SDGs as well as in building a global movement of actors holding governments accountable on their commitments to the SDGs through MY World survey. In the words of Marina Ponti, Acting Director of the SDG Action Campaign: “in MY World Survey, everyone is a volunteer – trainers, enumerators, respondents, data analysts, reporters, visualizers and many more. In all our work, from Nigeria to Morocco, Mexico to Bhutan, Cameroon to the Philippines nothing more expresses the cardinal role of volunteerism in driving campaigns and social change, than the MY World survey”.

As more Member States participate in the Voluntary National Review (VNR), the Campaign will be offering MY World 2030 survey as a ready tool and mechanism to create awareness, mobilise citizens’ participation in implementation and review and generate data for measuring progress and accountability.

Note:

The MY World survey was implemented in May and June 2018 in all the regions of Mali. The field work coordination and collation were conducted by the following Malian civil society organisations and coalitions: Conseil National de la Société Civile, Forum des ONG Internationales au Mali and Forum des Organisations de la Société Civile au Mali. The survey was supported by the UN Country Team and the Government of Mali. Technical assistance was provided by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the UN SDG Action Campaign.

 

UN Day 2018 in Bonn: Acting for sustainable development, leaving no one behind

Happy United Nations Day! Today marks the anniversary of the entry into force of the UN-Charter on 24 October 1945, which marks the creation of the United Nations.

This year’s UN Day celebration in the City of Bonn took place on 20 October. To celebrate the UN’s 73rd birthday, the UN SDG Action Campaign joined more than 20 UN and international entities from across Germany, numerous NGOs as well as Ministries came together with the City of Bonn last Saturday, to showcase their work towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, raise awareness for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and present various opportunities for visitors to be engaged to ensure a better future for everyone, everywhere.

Thousands of visitors were warmly welcomed by the current chair of the heads of UN agencies in Germany, Prof. Dr. Jakob Rhyner, and the Lord Mayor of Bonn, Ashok Sridharan, who encouraged Bonners to take this opportunity and learn more about the organizations’ work towards global sustainable development as well as the importance of SDG Action in Bonn, in Germany and across the world.

Tania Freiin von Uslar-Gleichen, Director for Human Rights, International Development and Social Affairs at the German Federal Foreign Office

 

Lord Mayor of Bonn, Ashok Sridharan, spreads the SDGs at the UN SDG Action Campaign stand

Like the wings? Get your own SDG wings and soar to new heights

The overall theme of the festivities was “Leaving no one behind”, which is one of the fundamental principles of the 2030 Agenda. What does this actually mean? How does the international community follow through? How does it affect us? – These were some of the question visitors asked UN Staff and other exhibitors while they visited the many information booths and displays in front of the city’s Old Town Hall and collected information material. The event was accompanied by a musical stage programme.

Marina Ponti, Head of the UN SDG Action Campaign’s Global Campaign Center, spreads the SDGs
Visitors at the UN SDG Action Campaign stand
Tania Freiin von Uslar-Gleichen, Director for Human Rights, International Development and Social Affairs at the German Federal Foreign Office

United Nations Bonn

UN Day in Bonn

A million people in every corner of the world mobilizing to #act4SDGs at the UN General Assembly

On 25 September 2018, a million people in over 1300 cities in 165 countries in actions led by 1800 individuals and organizations took part in a worldwide mass mobilization for the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Mangrove restoration in Brazil, top chefs competing to re-discover forgotten foods in New York, or beach clean ups in the Maldives are some of the SDG actions organisations and individuals organized, encouraging a global movement for the achievement of the SDGs.

View highlights



The Global Day to #act4SDGs coincided with the opening of the UN General Assembly, which presented a unique opportunity to amplify the actions being taken across the world and bring them to the attention of world leaders. See the Global Action Hour which was broadcast live at the SDG Action Zone.http://act4sdgs.org 

Speakers: 

  • Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations via video message
  • HE Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria, via video message
  • Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice President of the EU Commission via video message
  • Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC
  • Mitchell Toomey, Director, UN SDG Action Campaign
  • Cristina Gallach, High Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda of Spain
  • Oli Henman, Global Coordinator, Action for Sustainable Development

Introducing:

PROGRAMME:

  • Welcome and Introduction to the Global Day to Act4SDGs
    Mitchell Toomey, Director, United Nations SDG Action Campaign
  • Taking Engagement Forward
    Video message from Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy & Vice President of the EU Commission
  • Global Day as it happens
    Moderator – Yusuf Omar, Founder of Hashtag Our Stories
  • Cleaning up polluted beaches and building cultural bridges in the Maldives
    Where: Malé, Maldives,
    By: Peace Boat, JCI Kaafu
    Presented by Yoskihoka Tatsuya, Co-Founder and Director, Peace Boat
  • 450 SDG Changemakers turn ideas into daily practice in Amsterdam
    Where: Amsterdam, Netherlands
    By: SDG Charter, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, Municipality of Amsterdam and NCDO
    Presented by Jilt Van Schayik, UN SDG Action Campaign and former Dutch Youth Delegate
  • Climate question from Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC Executive Secretary
  • 200 organisations in Italy join forces to viralize sustainable development
    Where: Italy
    By Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS)
    Video
  • Empowering Youth to tackle Health and Peace through Creativity
    Where: Nigeria
    By: Creative Youth, Covenant University
    Presented by Foluke Michael from Creative Youth Development Initiative and UN SDG Action Award Winner
  • World’s Largest Photo Book to capture youth stories from Nigeria’s Informal Settlements
    Where: Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria
    Canon, Slum- Art Project
    Video
  • Reducing Carbon Emissions through Mangrove Restoration in Rio
    Where: Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
    By: Instituto Mar Urbano, UNDP RIO+Centre
    Video
  • Top chefs compete to highlight forgotten foods
    Where: New York City, United States
    By: Food Forever Experience NYC, Crop Trust
    Presented by Erik Oberholtzer, Chef and Founder of Tender Greens
  • Government, civil society and local fisherfolk join forces to tackling ocean pollution
    Where: Philippines
    By: GCAP Philippines
    Presented by Becky Malay, GCAP Philippines on Video
  • 26 youth advocates capture citizens views on the SDGs in Asia
    Where: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam
    By: ASEAN MY World 2030 Initiative, UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub and UNV Asia-Pacific
    Video
  • Building spaces for Orphans to Play
    Where: Morocco
    By: Bloom Charity
    Video
  • Hashtag Our Stories
    Yusuf Omar, Founder
  • Guatemalan students from indigenous communities show that big SDG changes can come in small sizes
    Where: Guatemala city
    By: Education for Sharing
    Video
  • Week of Action for SDGs Brings people together across Mexico
    Where: México
    By: MY World México
    Presented by Karol Arambula, Founder, MYWorld Mexico
  • 200 Youth Discuss citizen engagement and open democracies in Peru
    Where: Lima, Perú
    By: Millennials Movement
    Video
  • Young people share their SDG 360° videos from Brazil, Kenya, Germany & the United States
    By: Digital Promise, Oculus, MY World 360
    Presented by Dimitri Moore, Digital Promise and Christina Jackson, Oculus
  • Promoting fair food and fashion in Bonn
    Where: Bonn, Germany
    By: City of Bonn
    Video
  • Good Life Goals find sustainable development actions for everyone to take
    Where: Worldwide
    By: Futerra
    Presented by Solitaire Townsend, Co-Founder, Futerra
  • From Local to Global Action
    Oli Henman, Global Coordinator, Action for Sustainable Development
  • Young Leaders for the SDGs: powered by the Office of the Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Youth
    Ezequiel Vedana Da Rosa (Brazil)
    Amelie Jezabel Mariage (Spain)
  • Video message from HE Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria
  • The Way Ahead
    Cristina Gallach
    High Commissioner for Agenda 2030, Government of Spain
  • Thank you for taking action
    Video message from Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary General

Every year on the September 25th anniversary of the SDGs, the UN SDG Action Campaign joins forces with Action for Sustainable Development, GCAP and thousands of partners to mobilize the UN, national and local governments, youth groups, civil-society organizations, the media, and institutions from every corner of the world with a global call to Act for the SDGs.

Learn about this and other thousands of actions taking place across the world on 25 September and join the movement.

The event can be watched LIVE at http://act4sdgs.org 

Or follow the SDG Action live on #Act4SDGS,

Follow us and #Act4SDGs on:

Twitter: @SDGAction Facebook: @SDGAction Instagram: @SDGAction 

 

Choices and Habits-Reducing Food Waste in Singapore

According to the World Food Programme, (WFP), 108 Million People in the World face severe food insecurity. And yet, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that one-third of the world’s food production (1,300 tonnes) is lost or wasted. Despite having a population of 5.7 million, the small island state of Singapore wasted about 810 million kilograms of food in 2017.

Goal 12 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, aims to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 2030. In the spirit of Goal 12, here is a humble effort I made to raise awareness about the food waste issue in Singapore and the simple steps all of us can take to reduce food waste.

Please share the video with the hashtags #act4sdgs #reducefoodwaste #sdg12 #responsibleconsumption #singapore

SDGs take center stage at the NOS Alive Music Festival in Lisbon July 12-14, 2018

The Portuguese Desk of the UN Regional Information Center (UNRIC) partnered with the NOS Alive Festival, one of the main cultural events in Portugal, to promote the SDGs and raise awareness and visibility of the 2030 Agenda.

Pearl Jam, Artic Monkeys, The National, The Queens of the Stone Age, Franz Ferdinand were some of the bands that performed at the Festival which attracts more than 165,000 people over three days.

In the SDG Action Zone, Festival-goers could take a picture with a frame or a cube of their favourite SDG and post it on social media. The Secretary of State for Tourism and several digital influencers visited the stand!

The SDG video “We the people” was screened at all the stages, during all concert breaks, impacting thousands of people.

Ten thousand reusable bags with the SDGs were distributed to promote the #FightPlasticPollution Campaign.

The United Nations presence at the Festival was the subject of much interest in the media, and was covered on prime time national TV. The SDG Action Zone at NOS Alive was inspired by the UN SDG Action Campaign.

SDGs at NOS Alive
SDGs at NOS Alive
SDGs at NOS Alive
SDGs at NOS Alive
SDGs at NOS Alive
SDGs at NOS Alive
SDGs at NOS Alive

Photos & Videos: UNRIC Portugal

We need YOU! Join the Global Day to #act4SDGs!

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? 

Become a partner & register your action at ACT4SDGs.org
Learn more about the Global Day to #act4SDGs

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.

See the Global Day to #act4SDGs Toolkit

To learn more and start your planning for the Global Day to #Act4SDGs we invite you to join our webinar series:

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch the webinars

YouTube will send you notifications when the webinars start.

Date

Time

Language

Tuesday 24 July  

14:00 CEST/8:00 EST

English

Wednesday 25 July
miércoles 25 de julio

17:00 CEST/11:00 EST

Spanish
Español

Thursday 26 July
Donnerstag, 26. Juli

11:00 CEST/5:00 EST

German
Deutsch

Thursday 26 July
Jeudi 26 juillet

15:00 CEST/9:00 EST

French
Français

Youth Leaders Engage with UN SDG Action Campaign during ECOSOC Youth Forum

The 2018 ECOSOC Youth Forum took 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!

All questions related to our youth engagement portfolio may be directed to jilt.vanschayik@sdgactioncampaign.org

SDGs clearly present at World Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha, Qatar

Doha, Qatar: 14-16 November, 2017

The SDGs were a key focus for global education actors when they gathered at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha.

Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser, Chairperson of the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation and one of seventeen United Nations Secretary-General SDG Advocates, hosted and attended the Summit where world leaders called for urgent action to help young refugees and internally displaced youths. With more than 260 million children and young people out of school today, and only one per cent of young refugees able to access higher education, there were warnings that the SDGs will not be achieved if young people are denied quality education.

The EAA Foundation signed several new partnerships at the event, part of its commitment to address the global education crisis and enroll 10 million out-of-school children.

© WISE/ NigelDownes –
HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana

During the high-level plenary (watch here), the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is Co-Chair of SDG Advocates, told the WISE audience: “The spectre of tens and tens of millions of young refugees growing up without the needed skills to create a meaningful life for themselves is a dangerous one. What do we expect them to do? What opportunities are available to them? How competitive can they be in this global economy? These are questions that must elicit a concerted and calculated response from the world’s leaders.”

 

Mr. Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management said: “Tens of millions of children are deprived of education. We cannot afford lost generations. No single child should be left behind. It is our moral duty to do more.”

The SDGs were also visible at the UN SDG Action Campaign booth, located in the EAA Foundation exhibition space. Visitors could learn more about the Campaign’s work and could show their commitment to the SDGs by obtaining stickers and taking selfies with the goals. By taking the MY World 2030 survey, which polls top SDG priorities and citizen perceptions on implementation progress, they could consider the SDGs in relation to their own lives. Through the use of virtual reality, attendees of the Summit were also able to step into the shoes of children affected by emergencies, seeing first-hand the ways an interruption to education can stymie young people’s progress. The Campaign showed the 360’ films, Ground Beneath Her and Clouds Over Sidra, which showcase young girls affected by the earthquake in Nepal, and the Syrian Crisis respectively.

“MY World and UNVR are not only tools to use with young people in education settings to capture the realities of young people though data and storytelling, but also amazing tools for use in the classroom,” said Ms. Kristin Gutekunst, who represented the UN SDG Action Campaign at the forum. “MY World helps young people learn the language of the SDGs and understand how they manifest in their own lives. UNVR helps them understand the complex interaction of the SDGs in different settings, and also inspires a connection to people across the world, sponsoring a sense of global connection.”