The entire world is facing one of the biggest health crisis’ in modern time. Covid-19 has proved the interconnectedness of everything in between nature, human beings, economy and each of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). If there was any delay in achieving these Global Goals by 2030, the pandemic has presented a greater challenge before the world and exposed more areas of concern such as health care. Poverty has long been a critical issue for the entire world. It is estimated that around half a billion people will fall into poverty due to Covid-19 and its aftermaths. Achieving health care, zero hunger, decent work, quality education and other related goals on time have been pushed back in the efforts to beat the virus. However, Covid-19 is a wakeup call to re-focus on SDGs and be better prepared for future challenges.
In this background, the Road to Rights International youth organization, who have been at the forefront of community support initiatives, will be launching the #ActionToImpact national campaign in August to help localize SDGs in Sri Lanka and drive the country towards sustainability. The campaign is launched in the wake of not only Sri Lanka, but the entire world is grappling with humanity’s greatest challenges. While the Covid-19 outbreak has wreaked havoc around the world, the effects of climate change is haunting just around the corner. Therefore, the need of implementing SDGs is visible more than ever and there is no any apt time like present to take action.
The 9-year long campaign will be mobilizing all sectors including the government, stakeholders, businesses, civil society and youth to help in the process of localizing SDGs. All these sectors will be integrated with the launch of www.srilanka2030.lk website, which is the first ever multi-stakeholder platform in Sri Lanka that focuses on sustainable development. This online platform will be a portal to share knowledge and resources, sustainability practices and research data, and track the progress of the long-term campaign. In line with the campaign launch, a series of discussions featuring distinguished speakers will be held to explain the role of the long-term campaign and the importance of focusing on SDGs.
The core objective of the #ActionToImpact campaign is to create a platform where stakeholders, businesses, civil society, youth and the government can collaborate in achieving SDGs. It is widely observed that most people are unaware of SDGs and for what exactly these goals stand for. The ActionToImpact campaign will be instrumental in creating awareness on SDGs through various activities such as forums, discussions, social media, etc. Especially social media will be used to create awareness on SDGs, engage with the youth and get them involved in achieving SDGs. At present, there is much hype around the world about research on Sustainable Development, but local resources are hardly available. ActionToImpact campaign will lay the foundation to begin research on SDGs, so that those researches can be used to implement development measures in the long run. Empowering the youth to take action in achieving SDGs is another key objective of this initiative.
When it comes to the long-term plans of ActionToImpact, the campaign will collaborate with provincial and district level institutions to identify local issues from the grassroots level and address them with the support of stakeholders and volunteers. 17 celebrity ambassadors have already been appointed for each SDG to raise awareness, educate and encourage people to contribute in achieving the SDGs. These ambassadors will engage with communities through meaningful campaigns and promote the designated SDGs. Addressing the lack of adequate research materials on SDGs, the organizers expect to conduct a National Research Symposium on Sustainability Development in 2022 with the aim of accelerating the research capacity on SDGs.
ActionToImpact campaign will also see the inauguration of the largest undergraduate network focused on SDGs. The G17 University Ambassadors Consortium expects to foster the next generation of young professionals for achieving SDGs. The campaign will also mobilize kids via #KIDS4SDGs national platform in an effort to familiarize them with SDGs and to make sure that they contribute towards sustainability practices in future. Moreover, businesses, youth organizations, government organizations, and academia will avail an opportunity to pledge for the ActionToImpact campaign and attest their commitment towards SDGs.
Await the country’ biggest multi-stakeholder campaign that will pioneer in driving the sustainable development forward.