Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for the invitation.
Today’s event marks the launch of the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals at Tsinghua University. This is a landmark initiative and it is my great honour to celebrate this historic moment with all of you here today.
The 2030 Agenda is a transformative platform. For the implementation of the SDGs, we will need much more cross-disciplinary research to guide our decision-making processes, to change our mind-set, to encourage us to think outside the box. I am deeply inspired by this initiative - not only because the new research institute is dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goals but also because it is a testimony to the global vision and perspective of Tsinghua University.
We need more such global vision.
As some of you know very well, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals – the so-called SDGs – were adopted by Heads of State and Government in September 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda. The SDGs, and the 169 accompanying targets, aim to complete the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals, and are far more ambitious in many areas.
The SDGs address core human development themes such as poverty, hunger, health, education, water and sanitation.
The SDGs put people at the centre of development, fostering human well-being, prosperity, peace and justice on a healthy planet.
The SDGs pursue respect for the human rights of all people and gender equality, with the aim of leaving no one behind.
They also aspire to advance sustainable and inclusive industrialisation and urbanization, to fight inequalities and injustices, to change our consumption and production patterns, to combat climate change, to care for oceans and terrestrial ecosystems, and to secure a sustainable future for people, as well as the planet.The agreement on the SDGs was a triumph of multilateralism. The three years of negotiations ensured that all countries are on-board and have a stake in achieving the Agenda. It has opened a new era for global sustainable development – it is an era of inclusiveness and integration. And for the first time, our global agenda truly incorporates the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development in a balanced manner.
The SDGs are interlinked and provide a framework for countries to elaborate integrated policies that act on various goals simultaneously.
To that end, we need to adopt an integrated perspective in policy-making. But that is easier said than done.
In order to guide policy-making, we need first to understand the synergies better.
This is where you come in.
We need to break silos in academia too, to explore ways to work across disciplines and to work with policy-makers closely to understand what is needed to change mind-set, and to think horizontally.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals,
Today, you have taken on an important and historic responsibility. Let me share with you my expectations.
First, you will need to be independent thinkers, inspiring and informing policymakers in their decision-making processes, which will have a huge impact on the lives of millions of people.
Second, you will be the voice of reason, advising policymakers especially when their plans are not working. They will rely on you to look beyond one dimension and understand all the synergies and negative externalities of their plans.
Third, you will be a reliable partner of policymakers; you will be the champions who always adopt a systemic view and a long-term perspective, to guide future plans strategically and to speak truth to power.
I trust that you would deliver on all these with excellence, as Tsinghua always do.
I thank you!
Thank you for the invitation.
Today’s event marks the launch of the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals at Tsinghua University. This is a landmark initiative and it is my great honour to celebrate this historic moment with all of you here today.
The 2030 Agenda is a transformative platform. For the implementation of the SDGs, we will need much more cross-disciplinary research to guide our decision-making processes, to change our mind-set, to encourage us to think outside the box. I am deeply inspired by this initiative - not only because the new research institute is dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goals but also because it is a testimony to the global vision and perspective of Tsinghua University.
We need more such global vision.
As some of you know very well, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals – the so-called SDGs – were adopted by Heads of State and Government in September 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda. The SDGs, and the 169 accompanying targets, aim to complete the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals, and are far more ambitious in many areas.
The SDGs address core human development themes such as poverty, hunger, health, education, water and sanitation.
The SDGs put people at the centre of development, fostering human well-being, prosperity, peace and justice on a healthy planet.
The SDGs pursue respect for the human rights of all people and gender equality, with the aim of leaving no one behind.
They also aspire to advance sustainable and inclusive industrialisation and urbanization, to fight inequalities and injustices, to change our consumption and production patterns, to combat climate change, to care for oceans and terrestrial ecosystems, and to secure a sustainable future for people, as well as the planet.The agreement on the SDGs was a triumph of multilateralism. The three years of negotiations ensured that all countries are on-board and have a stake in achieving the Agenda. It has opened a new era for global sustainable development – it is an era of inclusiveness and integration. And for the first time, our global agenda truly incorporates the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development in a balanced manner.
The SDGs are interlinked and provide a framework for countries to elaborate integrated policies that act on various goals simultaneously.
To that end, we need to adopt an integrated perspective in policy-making. But that is easier said than done.
In order to guide policy-making, we need first to understand the synergies better.
This is where you come in.
We need to break silos in academia too, to explore ways to work across disciplines and to work with policy-makers closely to understand what is needed to change mind-set, and to think horizontally.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals,
Today, you have taken on an important and historic responsibility. Let me share with you my expectations.
First, you will need to be independent thinkers, inspiring and informing policymakers in their decision-making processes, which will have a huge impact on the lives of millions of people.
Second, you will be the voice of reason, advising policymakers especially when their plans are not working. They will rely on you to look beyond one dimension and understand all the synergies and negative externalities of their plans.
Third, you will be a reliable partner of policymakers; you will be the champions who always adopt a systemic view and a long-term perspective, to guide future plans strategically and to speak truth to power.
I trust that you would deliver on all these with excellence, as Tsinghua always do.
I thank you!
File date:
Sunday, Mayo 14, 2017