From the Office of the President of the General Assembly — Engaging young minds at the Dwight School in New York on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 17 March 2017 – The Office of the President of the UN General Assembly engaged with the Dwight School in New York last week to teach a class on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 50 eighth grade students are learning about the SDGs in their leadership development class.
In November 2016, the President of the General Assembly H.E. Peter Thomson wrote a letter to 193 Heads of State and Government to emphasize the importance of teaching children and young people about the SDGs.
“Youth will be the inheritors of the success or failure of the Sustainable Development Goals,” he wrote in his letter to the leaders of all UN member states.
Drawing their attention to free tools and resources such as the World’s Largest Lesson and other materials developed by UNICEF, UNESCO, Global Partnership on Education and Project Everyone, the President requested that national efforts are made to educate young people on the vital importance of the SDGs.
“If every school curriculum in the world incorporates the Sustainable Development Goals, every school teaches them, and every young person on the planet is made aware of them as rights and responsibilities, the world will stand a very good chance of attaining the Goals by 2030.” he wrote.
By teaching the SDGs, progress is made towards the implementation of SDG 4.7 which states: “By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”
The Office was represented by Special Advisor Dessima Williams and the Education Team, Mohammed Al-Buainain and Naomi Parekh.
To learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals, visit https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
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