Hong Kong’s first blog for SDG education news and announcements
SDG action is incredibly important, the wide range of issues that they cover are becoming increasingly more prominent in the world. The youth of today are the next cohort of individuals to combat these issues. Collectively, these open-minded individuals are able to cultivate brilliant innovative ideas that could drastically change the world. Youth action is not only important but empowering. Seeing other youth initiatives being implemented all around the world creates a sense of urgency and nudges other youth to engage in sustainable development, creating an environment in which the youth are more equipped to tackle these issues when they grow older. Furthermore, being able to display these youth initiatives on a global platform to a wide range of global leaders and stakeholders shows that we are capable of making a difference and highlights that we deserve a say for the future of this planet. . . .
“This International Day is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples. In accordance with the goals of the intercultural project "The Slave Route", it should offer an opportunity for collective consideration of the historic causes, the methods and the consequences of this tragedy, and for an analysis of the interactions to which it has given rise between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.” The lessons of the past and the eradication of all modern slavery is integral to SDGs 10 & 16. . . .
Yesterday was World Humanitarian Day. 2021 saw the focus placed on the most vulnerable people who will suffer most from the fallout created by the climate crisis. Using the hashtag #TheHumanRace, the UN recognizes that those in poverty and/or threatened by the immediate reality of their location (think wild fires or Pacific Island atolls) need our help right now. With COP26 in just 10 weeks’ time, the plight of the most vulnerable needs to be front and centre of the consideration and agreed actions that the conference needs to deliver. . . .
The urgency of SDG action is dictated by the status quo and what it signifies for our future. With the status quo being increasingly prominent waves of social, economic, political and environmental issues which erode the prospect of a habitable future, it is more crucial than ever to hasten international efforts to work towards ameliorating them. Youth action and empowerment is especially essential as we are the ones who will have to encounter this future. Thus, society needs to perpetually incubate a generation of ambitious, responsible, action-oriented global citizens in order to ensure that our methods of ensuring sustainability are sustainable themselves. Exposure obtained from global events will grant youth such as myself the opportunity to network with like-minded peers and cultivate a wide array of skills that will aid their future endeavours. More importantly, it will also destigmatize us from mere pawns who should comply with established and negligent systems to truly formid . . .
In a world where the climate crisis is exacerbating societal inequality and causing supply shortages, sustainable development can no longer be sidelined. The youth, arguably the most important stakeholder in the coming few decades, recognize the urgency for sustainable development and hence must act accordingly to speak up and bring attention to issues facing their community. In order for youth initiatives to scale up in impact, exposure and recognition at global events will be integral in our quest to bring forth sustainable development to a wider platform while alerting our cause to a wider range of influential audiences. Therefore, the involvement and presence of youth in future global events should be implemented to expedite the pace of sustainable development. . . .
What We Need To Now by Chris Goodall is a short book that offers a set of solutions to each of the main challenges posed by global heating - energy supply, housing, food, clothing and the main manufacturing problem areas, such as cement and steel. It finishes by looking briefly at the opportunities for direct capture of CO2 from air and the possible benefits and costs of tinkering with the reflectivity of the Earth’s atmosphere. It makes 3 broad calls to action. 1. We need action right now across all elements of consumption not just energy. 2. We need to use relatively easy energy solutions to fix other problems, basically by overproducing renewable electricity to produce hydrogen fuel which can solve these other issues. 3. Action requires political consensus because we are organized nationally but this is a global problem. From an education point of view this is a fantastic book to use for senior secondary or undergraduate reading and for case study examples in subjects such . . .
Tomorrow is International Youth Day. The resolution to adopt 12th August as IYD was in 1998 but the UN has a much longer history of celebrating youth and bringing youth issues to the forefront of international attention. In 1965, the General Assembly endorsed the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples. From 1965 to 75 the UN promoted participation, development and peace. The need for an international policy on youth was emphasized as well. 1979 was International Youth Year and this was repeated in 2010. In 2021 the emphasis will be on Youth innovation for human and planetary health. . . .
Reuters reports a sad outcome from the latest G20 summit – a failure to agree common language for their final communique before COP26 which will take place in less than 100 days. The biggest issues were commitments to phase out coal power and an affirmation of the Paris agreement targets aiming to limit heating to 1.5 deg C. with the world’s biggest and richest economies being responsible for the majority of the emissions and global heating, we really need them to take the lead on meeting this crisis head on. . . .
