Global Sustainable Development Goals in Education

In 2015 the UN General Assembly formally accepted a new set of 17 measurable Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ranging from ending world poverty to achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls by 2030. These were to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of eight measurable goals which were signed in September 2000. These goals are considered by world leaders and nations to be essential for the ongoing viability and wellbeing of all people and living things on Earth. Young people today will be inheriting the legacy of previous generations which in many cases have been marked by unsustainable, destructive and isolated practices that have adversely affected global ecosystems, inflicted harm upon people, and set in motion some ongoing challenges that will need to be faced by today’s young people. We have an obligation to alert and empower young people to address these challenges and create new ways of engaging with the world and its people. “We must foster Global Citizenship. Education is about more than literacy and numeracy. It is also about citizenry. Education must fully assume its essential role in helping people to forge more just, peaceful and tolerant societies.” Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General, 26 September 2014