The United Nations poses 17 interconnected goals to reach by the year 2030 as a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future” (United Nations). While people working towards this may focus primarily on one goal all the goals are connected. Meaning if someone works to support goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production they are also helping with goal 13: Climate Action, though it may not be the goal they intended. All the goals work together to reach a world of peace and prosperity.

As an educator Goal 4: Ensure Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Promote Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All, piqued my interest. As with every other aspect of life, this goal was greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to gain back the progress in improving education lost to the pandemic, 2021’s Higher Education Sustainability Special Event (an annual) focused on getting the 17 SDGs back on route to their 2030 timeline. While Goal 4 wasn’t the primary goal under the spotlight in 2021, as all SDGs are interlinked, it plays a key role in assisting with the others getting back on track.

Like the HESI Special Event, multiple sessions are arranged throughout the year in order to update progress and raise awareness for supporting the 17 SDGs. Other ways to meet this goal are:

1. Promoting an inclusive and equal world for neurodiverse people
2. Demand government to support improving education through funding
3. Meet with policy makers to share opinions on what should change
4. Implementing the SDGs into school curriculum
5. Supporting non-hierarchal educational systems
6. Work to become educated yourself and share your knowledge
7. Spread the word about the SDGs

Reaching these 17 goals is vital to ensuring a peaceful and successful life for future generations. All of the goals, though their own separate entity, are interlinked and help to reach the others. The best way to reach these goals is to spread the word, many people are still unaware of these priorities for the future. In order to take further action we must first shine a light on the SDGs themself.

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