UN SDG Action Campaign

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).

'我的世界'关注留守儿童－UMUNC Takes MY World Survey to “Left-Behind Children” in China

By UMUNC China Serene Lian

“优梦中国”在My World招募志愿者活动取得巨大成果之后，我们的团队进而开始思索：我们的调查结果真的能让世界知道中国真的需要什么吗？是否我们的调查能够真正覆盖多样化的中国青少年群体？我们怎样才能让处在更复杂环境中的人有机会表达自己的需求呢？

UMUNC China has worked towards made great strides in gaining support from volunteers to promote MY World in China. Our team was concerned with how to really use our data to let the world know what China really needs. Can our data really illustrate the multi-dimensions of China’s youth? How do we help those who are living in difficult situations have more opportunity to express their needs?

我们意识到这是我们的使命——优梦中国应该帮助更多需要被关注的人表达意愿，这也是这一代青年的使命。

We realized that this is our mission – for UMUNC to serve the most marginalized, bringing their voices to the forefront of development, this is also the mission of our generation of young people.

2015年3月，我们正式授命西南地区项目官员——来自重庆南开中学的周骏驰。她的到来，给了团队新的灵感。

March 2015, we are pleased to introduce the Project Officer for South Western China – her name is Junchi Zhou and she is a middle school student from Chongqing Nankai Middle School. Her arrival has brought new inspiration to the team.

在我们的身边，有这么一个群体，他们的父母为了生存，外出打工，用他们的勤劳和智慧努力改变自己和家里的命运。他们曾为社会经济的发展和稳定做出了贡献，然而他们却将自己的子女留在农村，而这些本应还是父母掌上明珠的儿童，集中起来，就组成了一个特殊的弱势群体——留守儿童。

There is a marginalized community living right beside us. Their parents have to migrate away from home to find work. For survival, these parents use their wisdom and strength to try to change the fate of their families for the better. They have also sacrificed so much to promote the sustainable and harmonious development of China’s economy and society. Yet, their sons and daughters stay behind in the village, and they have become a very unique marginalized community, called “left-behind children.”

2012年9月，教育部公布义务教育随迁子女超1260万，义务教育阶段留守儿童2200万。如此庞大的数字背后正是城镇化后城乡经济发展巨大差异的矛盾。

In September, 2012, the Ministry of Education announced the number of school-age children who migrated with their families to be over 12.6 million while the number of school-age children who are left behind is over 22 million. Behind this enormous number lies a tension that is a symptom of economic growth and the dramatic difference between urban-rural developments.

这是典型的中国式矛盾。This is a typical Chinese style tension.

项目官员周骏驰和孩子们）UMUNC team visiting children in rural areas

父母外出打工，把孩子留在乡村，这实在是一种痛苦和无奈的现实选择，即便被父母带入城市的孩子，在森严的城乡壁垒面前，也不得不面对与城市融合的困境。Parents work in the cities while children are left behind in the villages. This is really a painful decision for parents to improve the lives of their children for the future. The issue of adapting to life in the city also comes to mind when looking into whether rural children can quickly adapt to the pace of life in urban areas.

另外，面对连篇累牍的报道，有关部门虽然加强了农村留守儿童的保障措施，甚至成立了众多的专项基金，然而，对于这些孤独地像荒草一样生长的孩子，他们缺乏的，恐怕不单是物质的保障。

“我们近距离的走入农村，走到他们中间。很难想象他们有些人甚至几乎与我们同龄。”他们面临的可能将会是无法继续的学业、早婚甚至更容易受到人身侵害。这不光需要法律的保障，更多需要的是观念的转变及政策的侧重。这才是My World与优梦中国青年发展计划合作之初的信念，我们可以用自己的双手改变世界。

“As we go into the field, joining ‘left-behind’ children and learning form them, it is hard to imagine they are the same age as us but our future looks very different.” Left-behind children have a higher probability of entering the work force or getting married at an early age. Through MY World, UMUNC would like to work with multi-stakeholders to improve this situation and to deepen the impact young people have on the world, through the action from our own two hands.

所以，我们去做了。

This is our resolve.

也许有些残酷，但是问题的背后需要不是更多的同情、指责，需要的是关注和解决。这正是我们要做的。这也是为什么“MY WORLD 改变世界” 携手优梦中国青年发展计划为下一个联合国千年发展目标制定议题的意义。因为我们可以用我们的诉求，将世界改造成我们需要的样子，让这个世界真正与我有关。

Reality is difficult to face, but there is no need for criticism and kindness, what is needed is empathy and working toward finding solutions. This is what we must do, and what we would like to do by working on MY World, to find meaning that fits our needs in the next development agenda.

UN Belarus marks International Day of Disabilities by collecting MY World votes

(English below)

Originally posted on UN in Belarus— Written by Dasha Mironova, photos by Carolina Poliakova

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3 снежань 2014

Вчера, в Международный день инвалидов, команда ООН побывала в гостях в маленьком, но таком интересном мире – в Белорусском обществе глухих. Мы пришли поговорить с людьми, которых обычно не слышат, об их приоритетах и проблемах, которые их волнуют. Мы пришли рассказать о глобальном опросе ООН МОЙ Мир 2015 и попробовать сделать так, чтобы этих таких разных и удивительных людей услышали.

Белорусское общество глухих – это организация, которая объединяет людей с нарушением слуха, место, где они собираются вместе, общаются, узнают о том, что происходит вокруг, делятся переживаниями и просто проводят время вместе. Это, в первую очередь, очень активные люди, которые тоже являются частью общества.

На встрече было поднято множество важных и не всегда заметных обычным людям проблем. Пришедшие поделились с нами тем, как тяжело быть глухим при недостаточно высоко развитой безбарьерной среде: когда не всегда понятно, на какой станции метро выходить, потому что нет электронного табло, когда не можешь смотреть новости, интересные передачи и фильмы, потому что нет перевода на язык жестов или субтитров, когда не можешь объяснить доктору, что тебя беспокоит, и многие другие вещи, о которых здоровые люди, не сталкивающиеся с этой проблемой, могут и вовсе не знать.

“Я очень люблю смотреть биатлон, но я не слышу, когда объявляют результаты, а таблица с ними слишком быстро сменяется рекламой. Ведь это так просто – задержать ее на пару секунд”, -поделился с нами один из участников.

Вчера члены Белорусского общества глухих проголосовали за свой мир и свою Беларусь! Присоединяйтесь и вы, чтобы вместе сделать этот мир лучше!

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3 December 2014

Yesterday, on the International Day of People with Disabilities, the UN team has visited a small but incredibly interesting world – Belarusian Society of the Deaf. We came to talk to those who are often not heard about their priorities and problems they face. We came to tell about the ongoing UN global survey MY World 2015 and to try to make these wonderful people heard.Belarusian Society of the Deaf is an organization that unites people with hearing disorder. It’s a place where they gather to talk, to learn what is going on in the world around them, to share their thoughts and worries and just spend time together. It is, first of all, a group of active people who are also a part of our society.

During the meeting, a number of important and not always known for ordinary people issues have been raised. People have shared how hard it is to be deaf in the environment that is not yet barrier-free: when it’s not always clear what station it is in the subway as there is no electronic display, when you can’t watch news, interesting TV-programmes or movies because there’s no sign language translation or subtitles, when you can’t tell the doctor what is wrong with you, and many other things that healthy people might not even know about.

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“I love watching biathlon, but I can’t hear the results of the race and the table with them always disappears so fast followed by adds. It’s not so hard to let it stay a few seconds longer”, – mentioned one of the participants.

Yesterday members of the Belarusian Society of the Deaf voted for their world and their Belarus! Join and have your say at the United Nations to change the world together!

www.myworld2015.org

#MYWorld2015 #PublicConsultations #Belarus #UN #disability

Reaching out to the most marginalized in India

YASR, Youth Action for Social Responsibility, is one of the many MY World partners in India. This organization has distributed our survey across the nation, specifically in the district of Panna, a municipality in the state of Madhya Pradesh famous for it’s natural resources and wildlife reserves. Reaching out to over 1,000 individuals in this tribal community, YASR spent several days informing and engaging local families on the MY World initiative, and educating them on the Millennium Development Goals and Post-2015 process.

Continue reading “Reaching out to the most marginalized in India”

Vote for your favorite candidate to the MY World People’s Choice Award!

To recognize all the great works of our partners around the world, we will be holding a MY World Partner Recognition Event in New York on 25 September 2013. During the event, we will award the most popular candidate according to your votes!

Check out the candidates at http://bit.ly/1d2PEFe and vote for your favorite story! Everybody is invited to participate!

25 Sept. MY World Partner Recognition Event and Award Ceremony

When: 25 September 2013, 6:15 pm (EST)
Where: Danny Kaye Center. UNICEF House, 3 UN Plaza, New York

Thanks to the support of over 700 partners worldwide, MY World, the United Nations survey for a better world, has mobilized over 850,000 participants in 194 countries.

By September 2013, we will have reached 1 million votes and this turning point provides the perfect backdrop for a MY World Partner Recognition Event and MY World Award Ceremony.

The MY World Awards will recognize the work of those partners who have stood out for their performance in the promotion of the MY World survey at the national or international level.

Continue reading “25 Sept. MY World Partner Recognition Event and Award Ceremony”

Inclusiveness marks the MY World campaign in Jordan

Building on the enthusiasm of several thousands of Jordanians and 190 organizations mobilized during the Post-2015 agenda national consultations, in May the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team in Jordan launched the “Mark A Difference” campaign. Expectations are rising high as more than 300 volunteers are already on board to disseminate the MY World survey in schools and universities across the country, through popular fairs, shopping malls, public events, and approaching people in central avenues. “Of course I want to vote, but I also would like to help you make other Jordanians vote” (Mark A Difference volunteer, July 2013).

While almost 20,000 off-line ballots are travelling across the Kingdom ready to be filled, the top interaction is happening on the UN newly launched social media accounts. Twitter and Facebook captured the attention of prominent people as well as youth, in a total of 8,000 users from all over the country. No surprise then, that the campaign brought us new partners! Jordan’s number one hit music station, Play 99.6 FM, broadcasted 180 times spots on the MY World survey in one month, while 25,000 SMS-ads hit mobile phones screens across the nation. The highlight of this month is the announcement of an Instagram competition on the theme “The Future We Want”.

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MY World in Sudan

In Sudan, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is holding a number of workshops in 6 states: White Nile, Kassala, Gadarif, Blue Nile, Genina, Sinnar. The participants are coming from various national universities, such as the University of Khartoum, Jazeera University, Sudan University, Ahfad University, but also volunteer groups, NGOs, the Scouts and the Y Peer Networks. During the workshops, students and youth activists are lead through interactive sessions for raising awareness, youth empowerment, discussion on the new development agenda and promotion of the offline roll out of the MY World survey.

So far more than 1000 votes were collected; the volunteers were present in a national radio show and visited more than 4 universities. The MYWorld engagement will continue in the future, since they are planning to keep spreading the offline roll out and to engage national celebrities for the “Mark the Difference” Campaign.

College freshmen give added boost to MY World campaign in Thailand

Thailand’s Dhurakij Pundit University (DPU) held a kickoff event for incoming freshmen on July 4 and 5, bringing together new students and offering them to participate in a range of team-building activities. It was also a way of introducing students to the university’s involvement in MY World, the United Nations Global Survey.

DPU’s International College (DPUIC) gave a presentation about the MY World campaign and invited more than 1,500 new students to hear about the United Nations and many of the post-2015 development challenges facing Thailand and the rest of the world. “The beginning of a new academic year is always an exciting time for both faculty and students. This year is no exception as DPUIC has the opportunity to continue our successful partnership with MY World,” said Dominic Bone, DPUIC Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.

Continue reading “College freshmen give added boost to MY World campaign in Thailand”

Volunteerism as implementing actor for the new development agenda in Viet Nam

In Viet Nam, the United Nations Volunteers engaged in the translation of all contents of the My World website into Vietnamese and are promoting the survey through UN channels and social media. UNV Viet Nam is also engaging its partners and stakeholders to disseminate the survey.

For example, during the Conference on Volunteerism and the New Development Agenda, held in Ha Noi on July 6, UNV promoted the MY World online roll out among all the participants through volunteer networks, especially through social media in compliance with the efforts of One UN Communication Team. Two other major events are planned for July 20 and 27, which will aim to collect up to 20,000 votes.

More pictures at https://www.facebook.com/uninvietnam