Who Really Owns the UN17 SDGs? Without Doing Will The World Achieve in the Total Implementation of Our 17 Sustainable Development Goals!

Everyone serious about protecting our planet, the sustainable use of our natural resources and maintaining the liveability of our planet for the sake of our future generation must contribute in a significant way towards the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Many people involved with implementation of the sustainable development activities including the sustainable development goals believe that all what is needed is funding for implementing sustainable development programs, initiatives and goals is all that is required. In truth, there is more that is required if we are to achieve our goals.

First, while the United Nations is very clear that the 17 UN goals do not operate in isolation, but they are integrated and operate as a system, the current implementation of the goals lacks the integrated approach, with each goal being tackled in isolation from the other goals. This produces some results, but the best results come from a different geospatial integrated implementation of the goals as a system produces the best result. This different approach is both systemic and strategic. ?For example, a city level planning and implementation of all the goals produces far better than where a city randomly selects a few goals and lives out the rest.

Ironically, the goal of Sustainable Cities and Communications seems to me a central goal that provides for the integrated implementation of the rest of the 16 goals, providing the geospatial content I am talking about. I am not sure how on earth the world seems to be missing this syntactical element that is so critical for the successful of attainment of all the goals. It seems to me that making this goal central and the one around which implementation of the remain 16 goals evolve provide the best strategic framework for better implementation of the goals.

Surprisingly even many decision-makers in companies, organisations and even urban leaders and managers as well as city and town authorities lack sound awareness, appreciation and understanding of the 17SDGs and how important it is for their institutions and organisations to assume full and unconditional responsibility for the integration and embedding of the SDGs in their plans and operations. The theory and implementation of sustainable development goals is still between non-existent and peripheral in many cities, towns and communities especially in Africa and other parts of the middle and low income regions of the world.

Second, awareness, embracement and ownership of the goals at grassroots and personal levels remains pathetically low in many paths of the world. Many people have little to no appreciation of the goals including their importance and how they can play a part. In many countries, there seems to be a very palpable theoretical discontinuities between central government, local government and the grass roots when it comes to sustainable development, sustainability and the knowledge, awareness and implementation of the goals.

The most powerful traction in pursuing sustainability and achieving the ideals of the 17UNSGDs can only happen when the majority of the grassroots are fully aware of the goals, their significance and how they must play their part and when sustainable living is their default way of living. These means the grassroots have taken full ownership of the goals down to the individual level. But for this to happen, there must be a clear process ?as well as serious and intense education and awareness for domestication and personalisation of the goals. It means changing the people’s paradigm. A process such as the following may help’

Level one: Globalisation of the awareness and ownership of the goals

Level 2. ?Continentalisation of the awareness? and ownership of the goals

Level 3. Regionalisation of the awareness? and ownership of the goals

Level 4 Nationalisation of the awareness? and ownership of the goals

Level 5.. Subnationalisation of the awareness? and ownership of the goals

Level 6. Communitisation of the awareness? and ownership of the goals

Level 7 Family-level awareness? and ownership of the goals

Level 8. Individual level awareness? and ownership of the goals

Here is my point!

Sustainability, sustainable development and the sustainable development goals must become a complete and total integral part of our psyche, default lifestyles at individual, family, community, society, organisational, national, regional and continental levels. This is the only way of achieving sustainability and to make sustainable development a reality.

One report has already pointed out that lack of skills and capacity is a major, but often ignored handicap in the sustainable development solutions mix. I also observe that the 17UN Goals need additional goals to catalyse their implementation. To this I propose the following additional goals.

Goal 18: Effective Leadership for the Goals

Goal 19: Strategy, Strategic Thinking ?and Systems Thinking for the Goals

Goal 20: Research and Development for Successful Goals Implementation

Goal 21: Education and Awareness on the Goals

Goal 22: Training and Capacity Building for the Goals

Goal 23: Sustainable Global and Local Politics for the Goals

Goal 24: Sustainable Governance for the Goals

Goal 25: Sustainable and Just Resourcing and Funding or the Goals

Goal 26: Experience Sharing? for the Goals

Goal 27: Mandatorisation of ?the Goals

Goal 28: Business and Entrepreneurship for the Goals

These additional goals can be called catalytic or driver goals because they are meant to enhance the implementation of the 17 UN Goals.

I will state why each of the these goals is important in my next instalment.

Feedback [email protected] +263-77-444-74-38

?Simon Bere, 2024