Global Goals Week is September 17-26.
Global Goals Week is intended to bring awareness, energy and attention to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals launched by the United Nations Foundation, UNDP and Project Everyone. This year marks the fifth year since the goals were agreed to by 193 countries. With a target date of 2030 for implementing and making serious inroads on these 17 SDGs, time is ticking away.
The global pandemic has set many of the goals back further than anyone could have anticipated. Issues of poverty, gender inequality and equal pay are among those brought to the forefront by the pandemic. Migration, climate change and poverty have also seen unprecedented changes.
How do you start? Where do you start? Square one, literally. Take a minute and print out the 17 SDGs and put them in a place where you will see them often, like the refrigerator. Now you have a daily reminder of what you can do to help.
Think you can’t do much about climate change? Maybe you start riding your bike to work and that leads you down the road to be on your community transportation committee. Stranger things have happened. The school milk reclamation program started because a mom was appalled to see how many children threw unopened milk away after lunch when there were hungry children in her community and now it has spread all over America, reducing waste and feeding the poor.
Last year 63 million people joined Global Goals Week online events and 17,500 joined in-person events. The UN Foundation offers online opportunities to educate people through the website www.globalgoalsweek.org.
FAWCO is inviting members around the world to meet for a SDG Social Hour on September 21 to hear from innovators who have come up with everyday solutions to global problems. The three speakers each experienced a problem in their community and developed a method to turn it around and create a positive impact.
“The Goals include a commitment to leave no one behind, but we know that around the world too many people are being forgotten. Marginalised communities have been hit hard by the pandemic, climate change and inequality. This could be the most inclusive Global Goals Week yet, an opportunity to hear from and engage with people all around the world about how we can work together to turn around the world’s trajectory. Global Goals Week must be an opportunity for everyone — leaders, citizens and businesses — to commit to put the Goals at the center of recovery.” - SDG Advocate Edward Ndopu
Everyday actions take SDGs out of the sphere of policy and into conversation and action. The small things you can do and learn will collectively add up to action for a healthier planet. You don't have to be an Eco Warrior who does everything perfectly. Small actions, taken collectively, can make a big impact. That’s what Global Goals Week is about — reminding people of their ability to create change.
Dedicate yourself to making an impact this year.
Sources:
https://www.usda.gov/foodlossandwaste/schools
https://patch.com/virginia/herndon/bp--dranesville-elementary-begins-food-rescue-program