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SDG Resources: A compilation of videos and resources to help understand each SDG

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SDG Resources: A compilation of videos and resources to help understand each SDG

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Find resources to help understand each SDG. Compiled for students, great for adults.

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Goal 1 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs

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Goal 2 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs

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End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

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Access to electricity and clean cooking fuels has improved in many parts of the world, but 675 million people are yet to be connected to the grids and 2.3 billion are still cooking with unsafe and polluting fuels. The war in Ukraine and global economic uncertainty continue to cause significant volatility in energy prices, leading some countries to raise investments in renewables and others to increase reliance on coal, putting the green transition at risk. If the current pace continues, about 660 million people will still lack access to electricity and close to 2 billion people will continue to rely on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking by 2030. To ensure access to energy for all by 2030, we must accelerate electrification, increase investments in renewable energy sources and invest in improving electricity grids.

* Target 7.1: The global population with access to electricity has increased from 87% in 2015 to 91% in 2021. The pace of electrification has rebounded between 2019 and 2021. However, the annual access growth of 0.6 percentage points in the recent period is lower than the 0.8 percentage points in 2015-19. As a result, 675 million people, majorly located in LDCs and sub-Saharan Africa, still lacked access in 2021.
* Target 7.1: In 2021, 71% of the global population had access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, up from 64% in 2015. In seven (all located in sub-Saharan Africa) of the 20 countries with the largest deficits, fewer than 10% of the population had access to clean fuels and technologies. The growing access deficit in sub-Saharan Africa, if not reversed, could dampen or undermine increasing trends in global access.
* Target 7.2: The share of renewable sources in total final energy consumption amounted to 19.1% globally in 2020, or 2.4 percentage points higher than in 2015. Part of this progression is due to lower final energy demand in 2020, as the pandemic disrupted social and economic activities worldwide. The electricity sector shows the largest share of renewables in total final energy consumption (28.2% in 2020) and has driven most of the growth in renewable energy use, while the heat and transport sectors have seen limited progress over the past decade.
* Target 7.3: The rate of improvement in primary energy intensity, which had already slowed in recent years, dropped to 0.6% in 2020. This makes it the worst year for energy intensity improvement since the global financial crisis. Annual improvement through 2030 must now average 3.4% to meet the target of SDG 7.3. This slowdown was influenced by a shift in the economic structure during Covid towards more energy-intensive industrial production, combined with only modest rates of technical efficiency improvements, in the context of low energy prices.
* Target 7.a: International public financial flows in support of clean energy in developing countries have a decreasing trend that started before the COVID-19 pandemic and continued through 2021. In 2021, they amounted to $10.8 billion- an 11% drop from 2020. This was 35% less than the 2010-19 decade-long average, and less than half the 2017 peak of $26.4 billion.
* Target 7.b: In 2021, there was a record-breaking installation of 268 Watts per capita of renewable capacity in developing countries, representing a year-on-year growth rate of 9.8%. However, even with this positive and accelerating growth, developing countries are not on track to meet SDG7 by 2030. Moreover, the positive global and regional trends hide the fact that the countries that are most in need of support are being left behind, even among developing countries.

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Goal 7 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs

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Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

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Having a diet which is both sufficient in terms of energy (caloric) requirements and diverse to meet additional nutritional needs is essential for good health. Undernourishment, especially in children and mothers, is a leading risk factor for death and other health consequences.

The UN has set a global target as part of the Sustainable Development Goals to "end hunger by 2030". Currently we are far from reaching this target.

In our research on Hunger and Undernourishment we look at how many people are undernourished; where they live; childhood undernourishment; and food insecurity across the world.

All our charts on Hunger and Undernourishment

The prevalence of undernourishment, as a share of the population, is the main hunger indicator used by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

It measures the share of the population which has a caloric (dietary energy) intake which is insufficient to meet the minimum energy requirements defined as necessary for a given population.

The global map of the prevalence of undernourishment is shown - this measures the share of the population that are defined as undernourished. Countries with a prevalence below 2.5% are not shown.

The visualisation shows the prevalence of undernourishment by world region.

Here we see that overall, and across most regions the prevalence of hunger has fallen since the millennium. Globally this has fallen from 13.3 percent in 2001 to 8.9 percent in the latest year.

How many people are undernourished?

The chart shows the total number of individuals across the world who are defined as undernourished.

Globally we see a falling - although variable - trend over the last few decades. The total number of undernourished has been steadily falling. However, over the last few years, the total number increased to around 663 million in 2017.

This increase in hunger levels are largely a result of increases in Sub-Saharan Africa (where rates have risen by several percentage points in recent years) and small increases in the Middle East & North Africa. The UN FAO have linked this increase in undernourishment in particular to the rising extent of conflict-affected countries (which is often a leading cause of famine), and compounded by climate-related factors such as the El Niño phenomenon (which can inflict both drought and flood conditions).¹,²

Depth of the food deficit

The prevalence of undernourishment provides the core indicator of hunger with FAO metrics. However, this measure does not give an indication of the average severity of undernourished; it tells us how many lie below the minimum energy requirements, but not how far they lie below this line.

To provide an estimate of the intensity of undernourishment in a population, the FAO used a metric called the 'depth of the food deficit'. This measure provides an estimate of the number of calories the average individual would need in order to balance their caloric intake with energy requirements.³ The average intensity of the food deficit is measured in kilocalories per person per day.

This food deficit is shown across the world in the interactive map.

There are three key physiological measures of undernourishment and undernutrition in children. The measures discussed and visualised in the sub-sections below are:

Stunting - being 'too short for one's age';

Wasting - being 'dangerously thin for one's height'; and

Underweight - low weight-for-age in children.

Too little height-for-age: Stunting

Children who are stunted are determined as having a height which falls two standard deviations below the median height-for-age of the World Health Organization's Child Growth Standards.

Stunting is an indicator of severe malnutrition. Unlike wasting and low weight-for-age, the impacts of stunting on child development are considered to be largely irreversible beyond the first 1000 days of a child's life. It can have severe impacts on both cognitive and physical development throughout an individual's life.⁴

Stunting can be caused by a range of compounding factors including nutritional intake of the child, as well as the mother during pregnancy, the recurrence of infectious diseases and infections from poor hygiene practices.

The global map of the prevalence of childhood stunting is shown as the share of the under-5 population who are defined as stunted. Note that many countries report stunting prevalence through periodic health and demographic surveys, meaning that this data is often not available on an annual basis. The year of the latest published estimates vary by country so you may have to use the time scrollbar to find the most up-to-date figure for a given country.

Too little weight-for-height: Wasting

Wasting is defined as being dangerously thin for one's height, and is generally a sign (especially in children) of rapid weight loss. A child is classified as wasted if his or her weight-for-height is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months. The factors which contribute to this weight loss are associated with measures related to both diet and nutrition, and infection. As a result, wasting is often compounded by conditions of poor nutrition, feeding practices as well as inadequate sanitary conditions.⁵

Unlike stunting, wasting can be treated through improved nutritional intakes, healthcare interventions and treatment of infection.

The global map of the prevalence of childhood wasting is shown as the share of the under-5 population. In 2015, South Sudan experienced the highest prevalence of wasting, with 22.7 percent of under-5s defined as wasted. The prevalence of wasting is typically highest across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Sudan and Niger recording some of the highest levels (greater than 15 percent).

The share of children suffering from wasting has been declining. If we compare our global map in the early 2000s to a decade later, we see the number of countries with a prevalence greater than 15 percent has fallen. However, the nature of wasting- exemplified often by rapid weight loss- means that particular short-term events which impact food supplies can disrupt long-term trends. This is particularly prevalent in countries with poor political stability; for example, we see a large spike in childhood wasting in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the late 1990s-early 2000s during the Second Congo War.

Underweight children

Undernourishment, or the incidence of being underweight for age, can include children who are stunted, wasted or suffering from insufficient energy intake over a longer period of time.

In the chart we see the share of children under-5 who are defined as underweight for their age across world regions since 1990. Overall, we see a steady decline at the global level, falling from around 25 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2015.

South Asia- despite having the highest regional prevalence- has made significant progress over the last few decades, reducing undernourishment by 20 percentage points from 1990-2017. The rate of undernourishment in Sub-Saharan Africa has also fallen notably, from 30 percent in 1990 to below 20 percent in 2017. Rates in East Asia, Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East are notably lower than South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, but have also seen significant declines, each more than halving the prevalence of undernourishment since 1990.

There are a number of indicators by which we can measure and track progress related to malnutrition. For example, the prevalence of undernourishment, childhood stunting, or wasting.

To try to capture and track progress on hunger within a single metric, researchers have defined a score system termed the ' Global Hunger Index' (GHI). The Global Hunger Index attempts to assess the multidimensional nature of hunger, by combining four key indicators of malnutrition into a single index score.⁶

These four indicators are:

Undernourishment: the proportion of undernourished people as a percentage of the population (reflecting the share of the population with insufficient caloric intake);

Child wasting: the proportion of children under the age of five who suffer from wasting (low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition);

Child stunting: the proportion of children under the age of five who suffer from stunting (low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition); and

Child mortality: the mortality rate of children under the age of five (partially reflecting the fatal synergy of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments).

The index reflects scoring by country on a 100-point scale where 0 is the best score (no hunger) and 100 the worst.

Scores are categorized in the following way:

Extremely alarming: 50 or higher

Alarming: 35 to 50

Serious: 20 to 35

Moderate: 10 to 20

Low: below 10

In the interactive chart we see GHI scores across the world.⁷

Long-term decline of undernourishment

Although it would be vital for our understanding of global development we are lacking historical data on hunger and malnourishment. The history of famines as the most extreme episodes of hunger gives some indication and is dealt with in a separate entry on Our World in Data.

Our most concrete and well-established sources of data on hunger and undernourishment begin in 1990. This is strongly related to the fact that our global progress indicators on hunger reduction are tracked based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the subsequent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have a baseline year of 1990. During this period, the standard FAO methodology for the estimation of malnourishment has been revised for improved accuracy (for the correction see here). To our best knowledge, estimates of prevalence prior to 1990 have not been updated and published based on the revised methodology.

However, to provide some sense of how malnutrition has changed over a longer timeframe, we have extended the latest data on undernourishment backwards with FAO estimates, using previous methodologies, for 1970 and 1980. This series that shows the prevalence of undernourishment (in %) in developing countries is shown in the chart.

The FAO maintains a consistent definition for 'developing countries'.⁸

Data for 1970 and 1980 has been sourced from two FAO State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI) reports, for 2006 and 2010. Estimates of the prevalence of undernourishment differ between these two reports. The 2006 report estimates a prevalence of 37 percent in 1970, reducing to 28 percent in 1980;⁹ the 2010 report instead estimates a reduction from 32.5 percent to 25 percent, respectively.¹⁰

This reflects a considerable uncertainty of these estimates and this aspect has to be taken into account as indicated in the subtitle of this chart.

Given the uncertainty in these earlier estimates, what can we say about how undernourishment has changed through time? Whilst specific figures for the level of undernourishment differ between sources, they do agree on the direction of change. Both sources report a consistent downward trend, with similar rates of reduction. The share of undernourished people in the developing world has been declining over this longer timeframe, but there are no confident figures on how many people were undernourished at each point in time.

This gives us estimated trends dating back to 1970 for undernourishment in developing countries; but do we have even earlier estimates? FAO figures of undernourishment date back to 1945, the year of its first international summit. The first edition of its 'State of Food and Agriculture' report was published in 1947 and estimated the prevalence of undernourishment in 1945 to be 50 percent¹¹

This does give us some useful indication of the scale of malnutrition and how this has changed through time, however, we have not included this estimate in our current series for two key reasons.

Firstly, this figure is reported for the total global population, rather than specifically addressing prevalence in developing countries.¹²

In early editions, figures were not defined or categorised based on income level, meaning the countries included in 1945 estimates are not the same as boundaries defined in our 1970-2015 series.

Secondly, at its initiation in 1945, the FAO had only 34 member governments involved in its food security and agriculture programme.¹³

The small number of UN members involved in early FAO programmes may increase levels of uncertainty surrounding data collection and estimation. Poor geographical coverage of data collection on undernourishment is likely to make 1945 estimates less reliable. By 1961, the number of member countries had increased to more than 100. By the mid-1970s, the FAO's World Committee for Food Security had 136 members. Today, the FAO has 194 member states.¹⁴

Food insecurity is defined by the UN FAO as the "situation when people lack secure access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life."¹⁵

Food insecurity can be caused by a number of factors, including the unavailability of food, unaffordable food, and unequal distribution of food between household members. Food insecurity is one of the major causes of poor nutrition.

Food insecurity is measured by the FAO using its Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) global reference scale. Further details on the FIES global reference scale can be found in our Data Quality & Definition section. Food insecurity can be based on inadequate quality or quantity of food. Moderate food insecurity is generally associated with the inability to regularly eat healthy, nutritious diets. High prevalence of moderate food insecurity is therefore an important indicator of poor dietary quality, and the development of health outcomes such as micronutrient deficiencies. Severe food insecurity is more strongly related to insufficient quantity of food (energy) and therefore strongly related to undernourishment or hunger.

Severe food insecurity

In the chart we see the share of the total population defined as suffering from severe food insecurity (i.e. insufficient quantity of food).

In 2018, 9.2% of the world population were defined as severely food insecure. As a share of the population, food insecurity is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa where nearly one-third are defined as severely insecure.

In the charts we see the total number of people defined as severely food insecure. Globally, around 697 million were severely food insecure in 2018.

More than half of those living with severe food insecurity were in Asia; nearly 40% were in Africa. the remaining 10% were split between the Americas, Europe and Oceania.

Moderate food insecurity

Moderate food security includes those who struggle or worry about the ability to access or afford a healthy, nutritious balanced diet, not only those who struggle to meet their energy needs. In the chart we see the share of those defined as moderately or severely food insecure.

Globally, one-in-four suffered from moderate or severe food insecurity in 2017.

In the chart we see the total number of people defined as moderately or severely food insecure.

Globally, 1.9 billion people were food insecure in 2017. Whilst the greatest number are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, moderate food insecurity is a major issue across all regions, even high-income countries. Access and affordability of diverse, nutritious diets is therefore important for all countries.

Correlation of Poverty and Undernourishment

Definitions of food insecurity

Food insecurity is defined by the UN FAO as the "situation when people lack secure access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life."14 Food insecurity can be caused by a number of factors, including the unavailability of food, unaffordable food, and unequal distribution of food between household members. Food insecurity is one of the major causes of poor nutrition.

Food insecurity is measured by the FAO using its Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) global reference scale. The FEIS measures the percentage of individuals in the population who have experienced food insecurity at moderate or severe levels during the reference period. Data at the individual or household level is collected by applying an experience-based food security scale questionnaire within a survey. The food security survey module collects answers to questions asking respondents to report the occurrence of several typical experiences and conditions associated with food insecurity. The FEIS has been carried out across 140 countries to date, but in being one of the key indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is expected to be carried out across all countries.

The FEIS is based on eight questions, such as "During the last 12 MONTHS, was there a time when you (or any other adult in the household) were worried you would not have enough food to eat because of a lack of money or other resources?". The full list of questions can be found here. Food insecurity can be based on inadequate quality or quantity of food. Moderate food insecurity is generally associated with the inability to regularly eat healthy, nutritious diets. High prevalence of moderate food insecurity is therefore an important indicator of poor dietary quality, and the development of health outcomes such as micronutrient deficiencies. Severe food insecurity is more strongly related to insufficient quantity of food (energy) and therefore strongly related to undernourishment or hunger.

The scale shows the definitions of food insecurity from mild to severe.¹⁶

Data: Many indicators - the full list is here.

Geographical coverage: Global - by country and world region (some indicators are only available for developing countries).

Time span: Since 1990.

Available at: Available for download here.

The whole dataset can be downloaded in one xls file.

Data: Underweight children

Geographical coverage: Global - by country and region.

Time span: Since 1990 - with projections to 2025.

Available at: Online here.

This data is presented in the context of the Millenium Development Goals (MDG). The UN's MDG website also presents data.

Data: Global Hunger Index and single dimensions (Prevalence of undernourishment in the population, prevalence of underweight in children under five years, under-five mortality rate)

Geographical coverage: Global - by country.

Time span: Since 1990.

Available at: Online here.

The Global Hunger Index is a multidimensional measure of hunger. It was first published by the 'Welthungerhilfe' but is now published by IFPR. Here is the Wikipedia entry.

Geographical coverage: Global - by country.

Time span: Since 1960 but not annual and for some countries very scattered.

Available at: Some of the data that are available:

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Having a diet which is both sufficient in terms of energy (caloric) requirements and diverse to meet additional nutritional needs is essential for good health. Undernourishment, especially in children and mothers, is a leading risk factor for death and other health consequences.

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「大学でSDGsに取り組む」日本語翻訳版

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「大学でSDGsに取り組む」日本語翻訳版

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＜日本語翻訳版＞

狩野光伸（岡山大学・日本学術会議）翻訳, SDSN Japan／蟹江憲史（慶応大学・SDSN Japan）監修：「大学でSDGsに取り組む」大学、高等教育機関、アカデミアセクターへのガイド ーオーストラリア、ニュージーランド、太平洋版ー, 2017.11.

日本語翻訳版はこちらから

※この日本語翻訳版は、多くの方に広くSDGsの活動を知って頂くために作成したものです。そのため、販売や有料講演会などの営利目的での使用は認めておりません。
また、翻訳版を使用される際は必ず出典の明記をお願いいたします。

＜原典（英語版）＞

題名： GETTING STARTED WITH THE SDGs IN UNIVERSITIES
作成：the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) - Australia/Pacific。The Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) およびthe global SDSN Secretariatとの協働。

原典（英語版）はこちらから

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「大学でSDGsに取り組む」日本語翻訳版 - 国立大学法人 岡山大学

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＜日本語翻訳版＞ 狩野光伸（岡山大学・日本学術会議）翻訳, SDSN Japan／蟹江憲史（慶応大学・SDSN Japan）監修：「大学でSDGsに取り組む」大学、高等教育機関、アカデミアセクターへのガイド ーオーストラリア、ニュージーランド、太平洋版ー, 2017.11. 日本語翻訳版はこちらから ※この日本語翻訳版は、多くの方に広くSDGsの活動を知って頂くために作成したものです。そのため、販売や有料講演会などの営利目的での使用は認めておりません。 また、翻訳版を使用される際は必ず出典の明記をお願いいたします。 ＜原典（英語版）＞ 題名： GETTING STARTED WITH THE SDGs IN UNIVERSITIES 作成：the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) - Australia/Pacific。The Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) およびthe global SDSN Secretariatとの協働。 原典（英語版）はこちらから

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AGENDA 2030 E OBIETTIVI DI SVILUPPO SOSTENIBILE:UNA GUIDA PER UNIVERSITÀE ISTITUTI DI ISTRUZIONE SUPERIORE

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AGENDA 2030 E OBIETTIVI DI SVILUPPO SOSTENIBILE:UNA GUIDA PER UNIVERSITÀE ISTITUTI DI ISTRUZIONE SUPERIORE

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Activities to support the global goals

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Earth Cubs provides edutainment through games, videos and teaching resources.

Fun and educational app for kids. Create your own Earth Cub and explore the world's most amazing environments. Meet fascinating characters and learn with puzzles, phonics, videos and comics.

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Global Goals Activity Pack | The World's Largest Lesson

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Earth Cubs provides edutainment through games, videos and teaching resources. Fun and educational app for kids. Create your own Earth Cub and explore the world's most amazing environments. Meet fascinating characters and learn with puzzles, phonics, videos and comics.

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A great book breaking down the goals for students

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Student Resources with games, articles, books, and action ideas

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UNESCO document with indicators teaching the SDGs

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UNESCO document with indicators teaching the SDGs

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170 Daily Actions to Transform the world

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170 Daily Actions to Transform the world

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Perception Change Project (PCP)Follow this publisher

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170 Daily actions to transform our world (English)

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Read 170 Daily actions to transform our world (English) by Perception Change Project (PCP) on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on o…

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High School Edition Transforming Words into Action Environmental Stewardship Through Service Learning With Common Core State Standards, Why Service Learning Matters Even More Greening the Curriculum Why Service Matters The Five Stages of Service Learning Service Learning Meaningful Reflection Engaging Teaching Engaging Teaching Styles Top 10 essentials for professional development Transforming Words into Action: Service Learning as a Teaching Strategy Service Learning Proposal Reimagining Service Learning and International Travel Guideposts to a Meaningful Service Learning Program The Five Stages of Service Learning Discussion Circle Going Blue Guide Service Learning Parent Guide Service and Learning Equals Service Learning IlASCD Poverty

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Every week, new creative activities and resources based on one of the 17 Good Life Goals will be released so that families can learn how sustainability is relevant to their everyday life. Activities will cover daily challenges, scavenger hunts in your community, and a do-it-yourself experience where you will imagine and create your own sustainable city at home.

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LESSON PLANS ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

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Every week, new creative activities and resources based on one of the 17 Good Life Goals will be released so that families can learn how sustainability is relevant to their everyday life. Activities will cover daily challenges, scavenger hunts in your community, and a do-it-yourself experience where you will imagine and create your own sustainable city at home.

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Podcasts to Develop Empathy - Design for Change USA

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Podcasts help your students become empathic about a specific social issue, aligned with the UN Global Goals. Find out how to get started here!

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Support Students to Build Empathy!

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Free Resources for Educators and Parents | Design for Change USA

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Support Students to Build Empathy! RACIALJUSTICE Racism exists. The impact and the history of racism is complex. Join the movement for racial justice and make a real difference. Time Commitment: 5+ hours Learn more EDUCATIONALEQUITY Differences in educational experiences have major consequences. Explore the many factors. Disrupt the inequity.

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Powered by the principles of design thinking, Design for Change offers a simple 4 step framework FIDS (Feel-Imagine-Do-Share)- to unleash the I CAN superpower in every child.

Using this framework, children are encouraged to 'FEEL' (observe and identify any situation that bothers them), 'IMAGINE' (brainstorm a way to make it better), 'DO' (work in teams to implement their solution) and finally, 'SHARE' (their solution of change with the world) to inspire others to say, 'I CAN'!

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Powered by the principles of design thinking, Design for Change offers a simple 4 step framework FIDS (Feel-Imagine-Do-Share)- to unleash the I CAN superpower in every child.

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Kiran Bir Sethi shows how her groundbreaking Riverside School in India teaches kids life's most valuable lesson: "I can." Watch her students take local issues into their own hands, lead other young people, even educate their parents.

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Copy of PYP Exhibition Challenge Passport template

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The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 ambitious goals for 2030 that provide a blueprint for peace and prosperity for society and the planet. To achieve the SDGs, we need to break down the unhelpful silos that exist between government, business, and civil society. Companies that embrace systemic change and disruption to address the world's urgent challenges will also create huge opportunities for innovation, investment, greater relevance and market share.

At IMD, we develop responsible leaders who contribute to society by including social and environmental impacts in their decision making. This is the kind of leadership the world needs now.

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IMD business school- Sustainable development goals campaign

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The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 ambitious goals for 2030 that provide a blueprint for peace and prosperity for society and the planet. To achieve the SDGs, we need to break down the unhelpful silos that exist between government, business, and civil society.

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By Hannah Graham at UK Youth, around the UK Youth 'Building a culture of youth engagement' members event on 15th March 2018 at Bolton Lads & Girls Club.
'Youth voice' and 'youth participation' has been a growing movement in a number of sectors for a long time. But the phrase 'youth engagement' is often overused and misunderstood. Effective youth engagement is one of the most critical priorities for organisations working with young people. With everyone keen to 'do it', many are considering how to ensure youth engagement practices are valuable across their organisation.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child applies to all young people aged 17 and under. Adopted by the UN in 1989, it gives children and young people a set of comprehensive civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It includes specific rights to guarantee children's participation in all matters affecting them.

What we do

In the UK Youth network, we aim to achieve a bright future for all young people, regardless of their background or circumstance. In order to do this, it is so important to constantly remind ourselves of the fundamental principles of youth participation. Youth participation is about young people having a say and influencing change in decisions that affect their lives, organisations and communities.

In particular it means that:

young people have an important contribution to make in decisions that impact on their lives, organisations and communities;

young people have the skills, knowledge and confidence to get involved with decision making; and

a culture exists within which young people's opinions and contributions are recognised, valued and acted upon by wider society.

These principles must be built on the foundations of positive relationships between young people and trusted adults, equality of opportunity and effective safeguarding. Young people must voluntarily participate in purposeful roles and be empowered to share views influencing real, visible and tangible outcomes.

So what does good youth engagement look and feel like?

Valuable youth engagement is not without challenges. But with a few small changes you can make a big difference to your organisation.

Rather than have young people attend, speak and fundraise at events, why not give them an equal stake in pitching proposals for funding, allowing them to make financial decisions about your organisation? Placements or shadowing opportunities within the finance team? Technical, managerial work experience, learning and practicing essential life skills is absolutely invaluable to today's young people.

When planning activities or programmes, are young people an afterthought or are they really driving the need for programme development and design? Youth advisory groups setting the agenda, becoming empowered advocates and owning the ideas are an essential tool to inspire the next generation of young people. The same applies to policy and campaigns. Rather than surveying young people or taking them along to meetings, youth participation workers should facilitate structured dialogue in accessible, creative and valuable ways between young people, stakeholders and policy makers.

Do you have young people on all recruitment panels? Young trustees? Young people driving the questioning or work experience with HR? Think also about your marketing and communications strategies. Youth takeover days on social media have become increasingly popular, but why not give young people the freedom to live report events: tweeting, live streaming, blogging, vlogging? Creative, original content gets noticed. And who better to engage young people than young people themselves.

There are of course, things that get in the way. Addressing the culture change is tough when staff continue to have ingrained beliefs and cycles such as 'it'll never work'. Policies and procedures can also be a barrier, alongside comments like 'we've always done it this way'. You may also battle tight targets and deadlines and systems such as stringent sign off procedures.

Youth engagement is everyone's responsibility

A useful mapping tool is Roger Hart's Ladder of Young People's Participation where he explains youth engagement in levels. Think about engagement as power structures, where does the power sit in your organisation? At UK Youth, we believe Roger missed a ladder rung. One where young people are empowered to lead, guided to set the agenda and allowed to make mistakes. The notion of learning by doing is an essential part of development and critical in building confidence in young people. Always include contingency planning during activities to allow young people to try, and try again.

Changing the culture is sometimes institutional and systematic. However, implementing youth engagement champions in each team with regular training and a tailored framework for staff to follow, will result in more valuable youth engagement practices across all areas of your organisation. Individually, we can make a small change. Collectively, we can make a huge difference to young people's lives and continue to provide high quality youth services for all young people.

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Tips on engaging young people in your organisation | UK Youth

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Want help engaging young people in the work you do? Read our blog on building a culture of youth engagement within your organisation.

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Author and activist Colin Beavan on why leading a sustainable lifestyle can make you happier

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Author and activist Colin Beavan on why leading a sustainable lifestyle can make you happier

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In 2009, Colin Beavan redesigned his entire lifestyle for one year to reduce his carbon footprint. He documented his experiment in his book No Impact Man. Since then, he has been an advocate for sustainability issues and consults regularly with businesses and other organizations on improving their eco-friendly and people-centred measures.

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TEDxMission: Sustainable Happiness at Randy Taran

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Truly sustainable economic development: Ernesto Sirolli at TEDxEQChCh

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To help reach our goal of actively supporting and enhancing the work of the United Nations' efforts within K-12 classrooms, our TeachSDGs organization contributes to the 2030 Agenda in the following...

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UN Sustainable Development Goals Project

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What is this project about?
This project is designed to give you an opportunity to explore one (or more) of the seventeen UN Sustainabale Development Goals . You will conduct long-term research in the form of a series of Challenges around that goal to gain insight and understanding about what the key issues and problems are, and what is being done to try and alleviate the issue / problem. Use the Workbook (right) to help you document your journey through the Challenges.

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What is this project about? This project is designed to give you an opportunity to explore one (or more) of the seventeen UN Sustainabale Development Goals . You will conduct long-term research in the form of a series of Challenges around that goal to gain insight and understanding about what the key issues and problems are, and what is being done to try and alleviate the issue / problem.

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Italy requires all public schools to teach about the SDGs!

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Italy has already been seeing the effects of climate change. Extreme weather (including early spring frost and a summer drought) was responsible for a 57% drop in Italy's olive harvest. Now, Italian children will see lessons in climate change, as Italy becomes the first country to make climate change education mandatory.

Italy's education minister, Lorenzo Fioramonti, is requiring climate change education for all students. Beginning in September 2020, all students will receive 33 hours a year of lessons on climate change and environmental sustainability, which is about one hour per school week. But that's just to start. Fioramonti's goal is to bring climate change education into other subjects, such as geography and math, where students would look at traditional subjects from a sustainable perspective.

The curriculum, which will be folded into current civic classes, will be created with the help of environmental experts and will teach students the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The educational style will vary depending on their age group. Fioramonti is considering a "fairy-tale" model to teach children aged 6 to 11, meaning stories from various cultures will be taught, emphasizing their environmental connection. Middle school children will be taught more technical information, and high schoolers will get an in-depth education on the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"The entire ministry is being changed to make sustainability and climate the centre of the education model," Fioramonti told Reuters. "I want to make the Italian education system the first education system that puts the environment and society at the core of everything we learn in school."

Last September, Fioramonti encouraged Italian students to skip school and participate in the global climate strikes. Fioramonti believed the absences were reasonable because students' lives are "threatened by environmental devastation and an unsustainable economic development."

Some environmentalists worry Fioramonti's curriculum might be "too dogmatic." Chicco Testa, president of the environmental group Assombiente, urged officials to look at a variety of sources. "To listen to people who say different things is good," Chicco told the New York Times. "What the U.N. says is not gospel."

Others laud the decision, but warn that the burden shouldn't be placed only on children. Adults still have the responsibility to act now. Fioramonti says the goal is to create intergenerational understanding, rather than leave the problem for one generation to solve. He plans to "build a strong bridge between old and new generations around sustainable development as a social glue."

A recent NPR poll found that there is considerable support for climate change education in the United States, with 80% of parents in favor of having their kids learn about the issue. Support for climate change education is growing less partisan. The same poll found that two thirds of Republicans and nine out of 10 Democrats were supportive of the idea, regardless of whether or not they had kids.

As we head into the future, we need to prepare children for what's to come. Climate change education might be a start.

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Italy will require kids learn about climate change in school starting in 2020

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Italy has already been seeing the effects of climate change. Extreme weather (including early spring frost and a summer drought) was responsible for a 57% drop in Italy's olive harvest. Now, Italian children will see lessons in climate change, as Italy becomes the first country to make climate chang...

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AGENDA 2030, with its SDGs, is the most important global development framework for the coming 14 years. This agenda succeeds the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expired on 31 December 2015. With regard to the MDGs, many countries of the world had agreed upon eight development goals which were meant to eradicate poverty in developing countries. Interventions exclusively took place in developing countries because it was believed that that is where the problems and their causes were based.

However, with the SDGs, there is the realisation that there are also issues in developed countries that need to be eradicated in order to realise shared growth and equality at the global level. It is a task for all countries of the world to consider their values, perspectives and behaviour in order to achieve an equitable world and mitigate negative consequences for all.

Working on the SDGs over the 15-year period is meant to realise a transformative shift in the way we view the world, deal with one another and steer development. The conviction is that the way we have been doing this all along has led to gross polarisation, inequality and misery, and is not sustainable.

Youth: the crux for achieving a transformative shift

Developing a sense of one's own role in sustainable and inclusive global development can best be taught at the primary education level. Young children are generally open minded and receptive to taking on new knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. It is actually not the adults of today who desperately need the transformative shift, but the adults of tomorrow who today need to acquire the competences that will make them create a better day than what we have done. This is the most sustainable approach.

Due to their very young age, pupils in primary education can rarely partake in international mobility within the context of their education. Fortunately, global citizenship skills cannot only be acquired through a visit outside one's own national borders. There are enough possibilities in the local environment to achieve intercultural socialisation. Most societies worldwide are culturally diverse and can serve as a practical context for forming the global citizenship competences of pupils. Internationalisation at home is, therefore, a perfect form of internationalisation at the primary school level. Pupils can become interculturally competent without even leaving their school or home environment.

When designing Internationalisation at home activities, the primary school teachers can ask themselves " How can I deploy the cultural diversity that is present in the classroom, school, neighbourhood and city to achieve intercultural awareness and socialisation?" The greatest problem in a globalised society is not how to deal with unknown cultures outside your national borders, but how to deal with the global dimension in the local. Both voluntary and involuntary migration as part of globalisation are increasingly changing the cultural composition of host societies worldwide. This means that pupils, even those in remote regions, are increasingly growing up with diversity. It is the duty of educators to provide pupils with constructive tools for dealing with this reality. Education would be short-changing pupils by not giving them these tools.

In order to contribute to the positive principles of the SDGs it is important that activities also focus on the opportunities and positives of globalisation, diversity and inclusiveness instead of only focussing on the dilemmas. This way, pupils receive a balanced view of what it means to be a global citizen and what one's own role and responsibilities are in creating a sustainable and inclusive world.

The role of international higher education

The European Commission has recently published a renewed agenda for higher education where they plead that universities should have a role that has more societal relevance. They specifically mention the role of contributing to reducing inequalities in societies. They have also recently published a report that pleads for internationalisation of initial teacher training so that future teachers are better equipped to deal with the diversity resulting from globalisation. Within higher education institutions, initial teacher education programmes are best poised to take on this role of dealing with societal challenges. They are the ones who produce teachers that can teach future generations how to play fair and take responsibility for the world in which they live.

Teachers have a key role in creating internationally competent pupils. In fact, they are the key variable in achieving this transfer of competences since they are directly responsible for forming young minds. Children of primary school age are not able to organise their own learning experience and rely on the initiative of their teachers. Teachers have a critical role indeed and an internationally competent society and labour population - as well as the achievement of a population with a sustainable mind set - rest almost entirely on them.

It is within the teacher's education that teachers can explore effective ways of integrating the principles of the SDGs into the primary school curriculum. This may in turn mean an update of the teacher training curricula within higher education institutions to incorporate the new ways of thinking embodied in the SDGs. Tomorrow's society should not be the society we are today with regard to sustainability issues.

A call to action

The focus on the young generation is the best way to ensure the adults of tomorrow perform better than we ourselves have. In addition to imparting subject knowledge and skills, education also has a socialisation role. By creating links to the values underpinning Agenda 2030, this socialisation can be achieved within the international dimension.

Teaching the priorities of the SDGs in the primary school is the most effective, sustainable approach to delivering to the labour market in 2030 the first cohort of global citizens that actively worked with the SDGs and thinks differently - A cohort that embraces inclusiveness and prosperity for all.

Mtinkheni Gondwe is Strategic Policy Advisor at Nuffic, the Netherlands.

This is the final blog post in Forum Week on the EAIE blog, where we post articles not included in the magazine. Be sure to check in all week for great content on the Sustainable Development Goals. Download your magazine now and be on the lookout for your printed copy in the mail soon. Not yet a member but want to see what the magazine is all about? Download the editor's pick then join us today!

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Start them young: primary school teachers should teach SDGs

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While our Winter issue of Forum focuses much on how international higher education can make an impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the final blog of Forum Week makes the case that we must start much earlier than university level. Implemented in 2015, we now have only 13 years to achieve Agenda 2030.

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Discover how businesses (your school community!) can get involved

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The 17 SDGs (sometimes called 'The GlobalGoals') is a collection of independent but interconnected goals carefully designed to give all of us on our planet a better future, with hundreds of targets and measurement indicators geared toward a date of 2030. The goals were created with businesses in mind, providing a path - what some people refer to as a "Pathway for Humanity" - for any business to harness their power by directing their efforts toward specific global objectives.

The goals themselves to be simple and direct, but powerful, ranging from ending poverty to building sustainable cities. Any individual can find something on the diverse list of SustainableDevelopment Goals to work toward. Small and medium-sized businesses, however, are uniquely positioned to make significant impacts on the SDG targets.

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Sustainable Development Goals - A Guide For Businesses

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The 17 SDGs (sometimes called 'The GlobalGoals') is a collection of independent but interconnected goals carefully designed to give all of us on our planet a better future, with hundreds of targets and measurement indicators geared toward a date of 2030.

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Oxfam Education offers a huge range of ideas, resources and support for developing global learning in the classroom and the whole school.

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Tools to educate and engage children and youth on the SDGs

Bring the SDGs to the classroom! Through a set of free and translated lessons, animations and activities, students can participate in the World's Largest Lesson to learn about the SDGs and identify actions they can take to make the goals a reality in their own lives and communities.

Comics Uniting Nations works with world-renown comic book artists and storytellers to bring the SDGs to life through comics.Co-founded by PCI Media Impact, Reading with Pictures and UNICEF, the current library of comics has reached 20 books and counting.

Youth Activate Talks bring young change-makers to the stage both to inspire young people to take action and to showcase to decision-makers the ways that young people are already supporting the Goals. This how-to guide explores ways to engage children and young people with an 'Activate Talk' format.

A child-friendly overview of all the SDGs.

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Resources on the Sustainable Development Goals

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Tools to educate and engage children and youth on the SDGs Bring the SDGs to the classroom! Through a set of free and translated lessons, animations and activities, students can participate in the World's Largest Lesson to learn about the SDGs and identify actions they can take to make the goals a reality in their own lives and communities.

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It's time for an adventure with Global Goals Explorers!

Introducing a new set of activities for parents and educators of children aged 4-8.

These activities are flexible and fun. They are designed to take learning off-screen, introducing big ideas while developing social and emotional skills through play.

Enjoy!

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The Goals for Younger Children | The World's Largest Lesson

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Introducing a new set of activities for parents and educators of children aged 4-8. These activities are flexible and fun. They are designed to take learning off-screen, introducing big ideas while developing social and emotional skills through play. Enjoy!

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Teaching resources to promote the SDGs

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We promote use of the Sustainable Development Goals in learning so that children can contribute to a better future for all. From citizenship and justice to climate change and the environment, inspire children to make a difference!

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YDC-Relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals
Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards

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Take a deep dive into understanding the Global Goals.

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The BioSTEAM Curriculum Tool designs to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which address current global challenges.

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The BioSTEAM Curriculum Tool designs to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which address current global challenges. Through this partnership students know that they are working on meaningful solutions toward building a sustainable future for all. The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. The 17 Goals were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals. The BioSTEAM program addresses the following sustainable development goals.

Goal #17 PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

Goal #15 LIFE ON LAND: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Goal #13 CLIMATE ACTION: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Goal # 12 RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Goal #11 SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

GOAL #4: QUALITY EDUCATION: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

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The BioSTEAM Curriculum Tool designs to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which address current global challenges. Through this partnership students know that they are working on meaningful solutions toward building a sustainable future for all. The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.

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A booklet for children.

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Quality Forest School is delivery which holds to all six key principles that shape and govern the Forest School ethos. There are many forms of outdoor education and all have enormous value, however, Forest School is unique in its reach, delivery and effect. These six principles are:

1. Forest School is a long-term process of regular sessions, rather than one-off or infrequent visits; the cycle of planning, observation, adaptation and review links each session.

2. Forest School takes place in a woodland or natural environment to support the development of a lifelong relationship between the learner and the natural world.

3. Forest School uses a range of learner-centred processes to create a community for being, development and learning.

4. Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners.

5. Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.

6. Forest School is run by qualified Forest School practitioners, who continuously maintain and develop their professional practice.

See the full principles and criteria for good practice
It is only when we see the 6 principles working together do we truly see the value of Forest School. Underpinning our principles are some positive core beliefs. These can be summarised as, learners are all:

* equal, unique and valuable
* competent to explore & discover
* entitled to experience appropriate risk and challenge
* entitled to choose, and to initiate and drive their own learning and development
* entitled to experience regular success
* entitled to develop positive relationships with themselves and other people
* entitled to develop a strong, positive relationship with their natural world

Forest School's learner-centred approach interweaves with the ever-changing moods and marvels, potential and challenges of the natural world through the seasons to fill every Forest School session and programme with discovery and difference. Making each session and every experience a valuable one.

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Quality Forest School is delivery which holds to all six key principles that shape and govern the Forest School ethos. There are many forms of outdoor education and all have enormous value, however, Forest School is unique in its reach, delivery and effect.