On 19 September, SDG Advocate Forest Whitaker participated in the Southern California Grantmakers annual conference in Los Angeles.
In his keynote address “Peace, Justice and Inclusive Societies”, Forest emphasized that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals—both at home and abroad—requires the participation of ordinary citizens, as well as engaging the philanthropy leaders who already play a vital role in this global movement through their local grantmaking. After his remarks, he was joined by Berit Ashla, Vice President at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, for an in-depth conversation about the SDGs. They discussed how this inclusive movement—which leaves no one behind—requires innovative and groundbreaking approaches to address the economic, environmental, and social challenges facing our interconnected world.
This year’s edition of the annual conference focused on the theme “Be the Change!” The purpose was to identify how philanthropists can act locally and have global impact on major issues like poverty, economic inequality, environmental injustice, education inequity, and health disparities.