The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established in 2015 by the United Nations. The SDGs are a collection of 17 goals encompassing areas as far ranging as economic development and climate change, world hunger and gender equality, education and international cooperation, all of which are equally important parts of this global blueprint for global prosperity, and all of which have a consistent end date: 2030. 

 

Within 15 years, the UN and its member states made a commitment to eradicate suffering, advance equitable solutions, and preserve our planet. These were ambitious goals within an even more ambitious timeframe, but unique, once-in-a-lifetime solutions are required for unique, once-in-a-lifetime situations. Prior to the SDGs, the UN set the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 with an end date of 2015. One of the goals was "to ensure environmental sustainability". Global CO2 emissions in 2000 were 25 billion, yet they surged to 35 billion by 2015. That is just one example of the shortcomings of the MDGs. The whole world came to a collective agreement: the UN had gone to lengths it had never gone before, and still it failed. The SDGs were designed with this failure in mind, yet after trillions of dollars in spending, numerous awareness campaigns, and dozens of international crises, we already find ourselves at the halfway point of the SDGs, and the situation is not much different. Climate disasters remain a regular occurrence in some places, taking countless of lives with it. War has become an endemic reality for millions worldwide, with many of these conflicts having no end in sight. The year is 2024 and there are still girls being denied schooling because of their gender, newborns dying due to preventable diseases, and our planet is inching ever closer to a point of no return. 

 

In times like these, it is ultimately our character that will define how future generations will remember us. When they look at their world, will they want to see extinguished rainforests and crumbling cities or sustainable societies and thriving human and biodiversity? Do we want to be remembered as the bystanders or the change makers who acted so future generations would be spared of the suffering humanity has long been subject to? It’s important to remember that we are all one big community with one shared future. We may have our differences, but we remain bound by our shared hopes and dreams of a better world. As we reflect on the halfway point of the SDGs, take some time to take meaningful action of your own and encourage others to do the same. Remember that behind every tree planted or every dollar donated is a person who is better off because of it. No action is too big or too small. We all have the power to change others' lives for the better - it's just a matter of initiative and resolve. The first half may be over, but there's still a whole other long half to go. And through BISHMUN, we encourage you to come together to be that change.