Spotlighting society’s most vulnerable is crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said the head of the United Nations’ (UN) sexual and reproductive health agency at an anti-racism event at Expo 2020 Dubai, which celebrated the heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent – particularly women – in societal development.
“Nothing can be changed until it is faced,” Dr Natalia Kanem, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UN Population Fund (UNFPA), quoted famous African American writer James Baldwin at the ‘See Us, Hear Us, Count Us in’ event at the UN Hub on Wednesday (9 March) afternoon.
“We won’t be able to close the gaps that the sustainable development goals refer to, in terms of leaving no one behind, if we don’t make the vulnerable visible. And ending racism is mission critical across the UN, led by Secretary-General António Guterres, who has asserted his pledge for the UN to make good on the promise to leave no one behind, and end racism, discrimination and any form of exclusion as part of our common goal through the 17 SDGs.”
The SDGs, adopted by UN Member States in 2015, are an action plan to end poverty, protect the planet, and improve the lives and prospects of people around the world. They’ve been highlighted at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Mission Possible – The Opportunity Pavilion, while underpinning the Programme for People and Planet – an exchange of inspiring new perspectives to address the greatest challenges and opportunities of our time.
“We can safely say we [young people] have been afforded opportunities, not at a grand scale but unlike the past, to be part of those conversations,” said broadcaster and youth activist Lunga Kupiso when asked about youth voices fostering change.
“But [in terms of] young people-led organisations and initiatives, we need to empower their ideas. And by empowering their ideas, we’re not just talking about monetary empowerment. We’re talking about empowerment that reassures the ideas they have are long lasting, ideas that are really going to affect change.”