The United Nations (UN) has initiated a comprehensive global campaign, urging renewed global ambition and action to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In anticipation of a crucial UN Summit in September, the global campaign aims to amplify a pressing call for ambitious new initiatives, present the Goals as the guiding framework for sustainable progress worldwide, and mobilize global citizens around the collective agenda for a shared future.
This announcement was made by the UN as the SDGs reach the midway mark toward their 2030 deadline.
“At halftime toward the deadline of 2030, the promise of the SDGs is in peril. For the first time in decades, development progress is reversing under the combined impacts of climate disasters, conflict, economic downturn and lingering COVID-19 effects.
The 2023 SDG Summit will gather world leaders at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 18-19 September to reaffirm their collective commitments to the Goals and the promise to leave no one behind. This Summit is a defining moment to urgently put the world back on track to achieving the SDGs,” the statement read.
Through a major digital activation spanning various platforms and countries worldwide, the UN global campaign aims to reinvigorate discussions surrounding the Goals.
“We want to get everyone on board for the SDGs”, said Nanette Braun, Director of Campaigns in the UN Department for Global Communications.
“Our hope is that decision-makers and individual citizens alike will feel inspired to join the conversation and contribute to achieving the Goals with new resolve and ambition,” Braun added.
Leveraging the color wheel branding of the SDGs, the campaign adopts a dynamic new visual system to convey its message, generating momentum, enhancing awareness, and mobilising accelerated action for the SDGs.
One key aspect of the campaign involves urging individual citizens to take action on the SDGs through the UN’s ActNow initiative, which covers all 17 Goals. The platform provides a list of steps that individuals can take, such as using public transportation, fundraising for schools, or advocating for equality, to accelerate progress toward the SDGs and foster improved lives on a healthier planet for all.
“A curated group of high-profile influencers from entertainment, sports, and beyond, the Circle of Supporters, will galvanise their social media communities with a combined reach of more than 80 million globally to take individual action on the SDGs and to impress upon decision-makers the urgency to act now.”
The SDGs, adopted by world leaders in 2015, serve as a comprehensive roadmap for the betterment of people and the planet.
