AAWE Supports the Global Goals for Sustainable Development
AAWE members are raising awareness of the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development in order to help governments around the world achieve these ambitious goals by 2030!
In 2015, world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals (officially known as the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs).
These goals have the power to create a better world by 2030, by ending poverty, fighting inequality and addressing the urgency of climate change.
Guided by the goals, it is now up to all of us, governments, businesses, civil society and the general public to work together to build a better future for everyone.
I chose to show my support for No Poverty because I believe that every human being deserves to live in dignity and with the possibility for upward mobility. This “mobility” can be as basic as having access to clean water and adequate food sources or as complex as access to health services and education.
-AAWE member, Carol, supports Sustainable Development Goal #1 – No Poverty
I chose to support Zero Hunger because I believe that no human being should suffer from hunger or malnutrition. How can 820 million people (one out of nine) still be hungry and 150 million children stunted, when there is enough food produced to feed everyone? Improving public policies, agricultural productivity and sustainable food production in all regions of the world is needed to solve this challenge, and guarantee that every one of us has the same chance to develop healthily and be able to advance.
-AAWE member, Karen, supports Sustainable Development Goal #2 – Zero Hunger
Ensuring health for all begins before birth with a mother’s access to good medical care and continues throughout an individual’s whole life. Healthcare matters to me because it is the founding block which supports all other wants and needs. I work daily to keep myself and those close to me healthy. Work for global health is important as we have recently seen with the Covid-19 pandemic and the need for all countries to work together to collectively find a solution.
-AAWE member, Chantal, supports Sustainable Development Goal #3 – Good Health & Well-Being.
I chose to support Quality Education because I believe that every person no matter their socio-economic background should have access to quality education to improve their life and grant them better opportunities for the future. As a teacher I strive to empower the younger generation in France by teaching them English as a foreign language. However not everyone is fortunate enough to have this opportunity and it is unthinkable that 260 million children were not enrolled in school in 2018!
-AAWE member, Rebecca, supports Sustainable Development Goal #4 – Quality Education.
I believe that gender equality is a human right but worldwide the gaps are persistent for women. They have less access to education, less political representation, fewer opportunities for financial independence or equal pay. Women perform most unpaid domestic tasks and childcare, face greater health and safety risks from maternity, forced marriages in some places and gender violence. As a mother of two daughters, I believe that empowered girls have a sense of good worth and contribute to their families, communities, workplaces and nations, which creates a positive ripple effect for all.
-AAWE member, Jane, supports Sustainable Development Goal #5 – Gender Equality.
What precious resource do we squander without thinking about it? What essential requirement of life do we take for granted? CLEAN WATER sustains our existence, keeps us healthy, and enhances our lives. Let’s make sure there’s enough for everybody.
-AAWE member, Deborah, supports Sustainable Development Goal #6 – Clean Water & Sanitation.
I believe that everyone should have access to energy sources that are affordable, reliable and sustainable. Energy powers economies and permeates all aspects of our lives. Without it, access to clean water and safe fuels for cooking and heating is compromised, harming the environment and putting lives at risk.
Healthcare facilities cannot run effectively, preventing patients from receiving the care that they need. Students’ ability to do homework at night is impeded. Businesses cannot be competitive. Though nearly 90% of the global population has access to electricity, approximately 20% still lack access to modern energy.
For our collective well-being and the future of our planet, let’s support the transition to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy systems.
-AAWE member, Brooke, supports Sustainable Development Goal #7 – Affordable and Clean Energy.
May each of us be blessed with work that is both satisfying and allows us to live decently. Rejoué Solidaire collects used toys and books, repairs them in workshops that employ men and women who need training to get back into the job market, and then sells the items at their boutiques in Paris, and Ivry.
-AAWE member, Clara, supports Sustainable Development Goal #8 – Good Jobs & Economic Growth.
I chose SDG #9 “Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure” because I teach in a Masters program in DeVelopment of Innovative Biotechnologies (VIB) at the University of Caen in Normandy. The university conducts research in collaboration with industry in many areas.
Along the coast of Normandy and Brittany seaweed can be a nuisance. One particularly promising partnership is working on developing new uses for seaweed, in addition to current uses such as in food, fertilizers, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. A team is trying to create biologically derived plastic products or “bioplastics” that will reduce the need for fossil fuel. Now that’s innovation for you!
AAWE member, Michelle, supports Sustainable Development Goal #9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
I believe that the disparities separating the developing countries and other countries are already creating such injustices amongst opportunities for people living in these countries. Most prominently I think that this gap grows more and more in the context of unplanned externalities such as today’s global pandemic or economic crisis’ making older people, migrants, and refugees some of the most vulnerable groups to this deadly virus. This should motivate us to bridge the gap between and among countries to create more equality.
-Chiara, the daughter of AAWE member Jane MacDonald, supports Sustainable Development Goal #10: Reduced Inequalities.
In 2018 I earned a master’s degree in Sustainable Development through Smart Cities, because I would like to contribute to solving the urgent problems the global urban population is facing. “In 1960, the global urban population was 34% of the total; however, by 2014 the urban population accounted for 54% of the total and continues to grow. By 2050 the proportion living in urban areas is expected to reach 66%” (UNDESA, 2014).
Urban living used to mean higher levels of education; improved health; enhanced opportunities; longer life expectancy; access to government and social services. We now have overloaded infrastructures; inadequate housing; poor air quality; overcrowded transportation; and a lack of health care; water and sanitation services.
The time has come to take urgent action to reverse the current situation which is clearly unsustainable as urban population numbers continue to rise.
-AAWE member, Suzanne, supports Sustainable Development Goal #11 – Sustainable Cities & Communities.
I believe this is a goal to which each of us can contribute on an individual basis, by simply making responsible choices as consumers. One third of food produced every year is wasted, while food security is a concern. Extraction of primary materials has tripled in the past four decades, leading to environmental damage and depletion of natural resources, while inequalities continue to grow, within and between countries. By making better consumer choices: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Re-purpose, Recycle. Refuse to make impulse or unsustainable purchases. Investigate your purchases: where, how, and by whom were they made? Do you need it? What is the impact? By questioning ourselves and consuming more responsibly, we will ultimately put pressure on businesses to produce more responsibly.
– AAWE member, Mary Ellen, supports Sustainable Development Goal #12 – Responsible Consumption and Production.
We can each make a difference in reducing our use of fossil fuels, from large and small choices in our daily lives. And each action will help reduce the amount of fossil fuels burned, which causes the greenhouse effect, warming our planet to unsustainable temperatures. By switching to renewable energy, eliminating the consumption of meat and dairy, buying locally produced and in-season produce, flying less (or not at all), driving less or not at all, and buying less stuff, we are able to reduce our carbon footprints. It seems overwhelming, but the alternative is dire. Rising temperatures are already creating extreme weather events in all parts of the world. This will get worse and crop failures will become common, causing local conflicts in areas where people go hungry. Severe political and social turmoil is around the corner, and will eek into our lives just as the pandemic has. Climate action is necessary right now.
– AAWE member, Tammy, supports Sustainable Development Goal #13 – Climate Action.
I chose Life Below Water as I am constantly shocked to see the amount of plastic that ends up in our oceans as micro-plastics. I can remember in 6th grade learning about pollution, and have never been able to accept that people just “leave” their trash. The pictures of the Pacific Garbage Patches are stomach-churning. NOAA’s National Ocean Service explains “Garbage patches are large areas of the ocean where litter, fishing gear, and other debris – known as marine debris – collects. They are formed by rotating ocean currents called “gyres.” You can think of them as big whirlpools that pull objects in.
It is vital that we reduce our consumption of single-use plastic and containers, but also that we make sure that all our trash and plastic gets disposed of correctly to keep additional marine debris out of our oceans.
-AAWE’s President, Beth, supports Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Life Below Water.
I chose SDG #15 Life on Land, because without the land we wouldn’t exist. Biodiversity is something to celebrate. Life on land comprises our habitat, our food supply and availability of freshwater. Billions of people rely on the land economically through agriculture or forest resources. Being good stewards of the land is a no-brainer.
– AAWE member, Eilean, supports Sustainable Development Goal #15 – Life on Land.
I support SDG 16 because peace, justice and strong institutions are essential for implementation of all the other SDGs. Conflict, corruption and weak institutions all are obstacles to achieving the global goals. The rule of law, peaceful and transparent governments, as well as strong civil society organizations are necessary to ensure sustainable development in all areas. Responsive and responsible governments that respect the rights of all are vital to a more just world.
– AAWE member, Sallie, supports Sustainable Development Goal 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
I support SDG 17 because I believe that we can be more effective as a group than as individuals. With partnerships, countries can achieve global macroeconomic stability, remove trade barriers for the least developed countries, and increase exports from developing countries, for example. In a world so interconnected as ours, it behooves us to work collectively.
-AAWE member, Beatrice, supports Sustainable Development Goal 17 – Partnerships for the Goals.