With the global hunger index showing more than 800 million children in hunger and education reports saying over 400 million children out of schools, the situation for future of the children of under developed and many developing countries seems bleak. Though the Sustainable Development Goals appear promising with the world geared and experienced on the road to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (2000 – 2015), the higher rate of financial requirements; I.e. requiring finances in trillions of dollars annually, poses a greater threat to meeting the more focused and targeted goals for the 2030.
Aiming at creating understanding and requiring commitments for the SDGs, the UN SDGs Week was celebrated at the end of September 2015, with the Social good Summit as one part of the many events taking place in the course of educating and involving leaders and people from across the globe. The Social Good Summit, besides many other events focused as a matter of a fast-track approach, discussed at length the use of innovation and technology at the core of not only achieving the SDGs but development in general and as a whole. The use of technology to involve the youth directly would only be sensitizing them to understanding global humanitarian and social problems but proving platforms and opportunities to the more important brass of the society to lead the process with the aim to achieving at its best. Thus is the intension to more youth engagement in the sector.
Since major human development indicators are low in the underdeveloped and developing countries and that most of the population is hosted in these countries with a major proportion between 15 – 35 age bracket, engagement of the mentioned age bracket in development of these countries through trying to meet the SDGs stands imperative and have higher chances of reaching the goals and going beyond. Further, due to the interventions under the MDGs both by the governments and the civil society organizations have paved a way towards advancement in understanding the need for development on all frontiers; youth can play a pivotal role in making the SDGs a reality. Using the social media for interaction global factor in education as a plus, youth engagement in direction to meeting the global needs for development would be more streamlined and effective, creating a better educated society with understanding of the needs of the people in remotest areas of the world.
Jimmy Wales Founder & Chairman Wikipedia Foundation
The crux; the engagement of youth and the use of innovation and technology plays at the heart of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, not only creating ownership but using energies to synergize the efforts in meeting the high end stipulated challenge of making the world a better place to live.
