Handout - Info Sheet SDGs
ALHFAM Conference June 10, 2021
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- 17 Goals with 169 targets with the general target of making life and practices on the planet more sustainable
- Adopted by the UN in 2015 and implemented from the beginning of 2016 by virtually all countries on the planet. A remarkable feat to get all countries to agree to these goals. Non-binding, but provide a frame for all countries - acknowledging that each part of the world has its own unique situation, so how they address the 17 goals will differ.
- An important acknowledgment is that what happens in one country will have impacts in other parts of the world - often unrealized by citizens how these impacts take place. → Example: carbon emissions and pollution in one place heats up the earth and consequently leads to ice melting and oceans rising → Maldives expected to be underwater
- A universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity
- Targets have become more inclusive and largely focus on preserving the natural environments for humans and animals alike, with a push for developing alternative practices in order to live more sustainably.
- 17 Goals are highly interlinked and interdependent - reducing emissions/pollution, etc. is more than a technical problem to be solved - it also likely requires our entire system of economics that revolves around consumption, continuous growth, planned obsolescence and minimizing costs to maximize profits, etc.
- With such a variety of targets it can be very overwhelming to find a starting point but to simplify this and make the goals seem more approachable EXARC and their members have come up with Ten Simple Actions to consider as a way of being sustainable. + Jasper Visser has created a concise summary as well as guiding points as to where and how museums can act to support the SDGs
Source for further information on Jasper Visser’s approach
