Colleagues and volunteers recently came together to learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during a ‘Coffee + Learn’ session led by Jenny Foster of the Global Goals Centre.
Jenny is Project Lead at Global Goals Centre, an education charity based in Bristol inspiring learning and action on the SDGs. She shared an update on progress, which has sadly been hampered by factors including the pandemic and the impact of climate change. One example shared was that progress towards SDG1 (No Poverty) had been set back as much as four years with 93 million more people being pushed into extreme poverty in 2020.*
Helping us recognise the role individuals and communities can play in contributing towards the SDGs, Jenny shared some examples of activity carried out by the Global Goals Centre. This included an interactive game to show the impact of fast fashion on people and planet, and an art project to celebrate the local migrant and refugee community in Bristol, where the Centre is based. These examples helped us see that progress is possible and that we all have a part to play.
The role of finance in achieving the SDGs is widely acknowledged and Jenny referenced the recent SDG progress report which states that ‘a comprehensive transformation of the international financial and debt architecture will be required to accomplish these aims and to avoid a two-track recovery, with developing countries left behind.’
The SDGs provide an internationally recognised context for our work at Shared Interest and illustrate how our work relates to this global agenda. Overall, we believe that seven of the SDGs are embedded in Shared Interest’s mission and values:
1. No Poverty
5. Gender Equality
8. Decent work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
17. Partnership for the Goals.
You can read more about the SDGs in our Social Accounts and you can learn which of the SDGs Shared Interest Foundation projects are contributing to in their latest Annual Review.
*https://desapublications.un.org/publications/sustainable-development-goals-report-2022
