SDGs

Few people that didn't work in the charity and development sector had heard of the Milennium Development Goals, but hopefully after the events of the last few days, many more people will have heard about their successor, the Sustainable Development Goals, which also have 15-year targets. Holding concerts with celebrities, getting the pope to talk about them, and bringing 150+ heads of states to the UN tends to help get some attention.

Here in New York there were more than 150 side events related to different aspects of the 17 goals, and discussing how to implement them. I went to a couple focused on the role of businesses (attended by the UK Minister for International Aid amongst others) and on health (attended by the Minister of Health from Ethiopia for example) and also with the former Prime Minister of Norway listening. She led a UN Commission more than 30 years ago which was the first global recognition that we were leading an unsustainable lifestyle, using up too much of the earth's resources and needed a new approach to development that could be sustainable. She coined (and defined) the term "sustainable development" which these goals are aiming to achieve.

In some respect, and the media always forgets this, we have actually made tremendous progress in the last thirty years. Things have got worse in some areas, such as environmental degradation, but most people are living healthier, longer, more productive lives - and lives that they are in control of. And there are all kinds of things the world has prevented from happening or gettin worse which we just can't measure. In some respects it is a credit to the international community that it has taken this long until Europe faced such a dramatic migration crisis. One hopes that quickly attention will focus back on solving their plight in thei rhome countries than just resettling them all, which doesn't really help anyone.

You can read a lot about the goals and why they are meaningful; not just in the media but in the tons of special reports launched by companies, consultancies, charities, governemtns and everyone that has some angle on how to achieve the goals and what they mean. I was not in the UN as they held the vote but the side events were inspiring and well attended by a high level of participant which was very useful for my work. Unfortunately they were mostly the typical attendees, and the events were very much "preaching to the converted" but that's ago. These are just events in New York. One hopes that more people--including the public--will be involved in implementing and monitoring the goals across the world.

The Chinese President spent a while in the US before attending the meeting, he's much more engaged in the World nowadays compared to his predecessors (he has no choice), though very few Chinese companies are. Hopefully this will change somewhat. The Chinese President is also very active making committments which is great; he is not restricted by useless media or selfish politicians. It is great to see the Pope more involved in the agenda too; maybe he can help influence some of the critics and bring them around. Though at the rate the US is going at it might need to see how the goals matter to it more than the developing world (for example, by reducing information for women on contraception as well as restricting the availability of contraception methods and abortions -- something which is ludicrous and an insult to women, science and individual rights).

Despite the craziness of US politics, on the ground, the country is still a great place of course. And no better to see and enjoy the US than from the running track around Central Park, which is still the best place in New york: the lakes, playgrounds, fitness options, horse-drawn carriages, nature and role the Park plays in life.Shenzhen also has a Central Park, which is nicely designed but missing many of the elements that make a Central Park central to people's lives.