The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to transform our world: GOAL 1: No Poverty GOAL 2: Zero Hunger GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being GOAL 4: Quality Education GOAL 5: Gender Equality GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production GOAL 13: Climate Action GOAL 14: Life Below Water GOAL 15: Life on Land GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Action Awards acknowledge initiatives demonstrating significant impact, creativity, innovation, and replicability. In December of 2020, the UN SDG Action Award finalists were announced after over 800 projects were submitted. In January of 2021, those also making notable contributions, but ineligible for the award due to Government and/or United Nation affiliations, receive ‘Honourable Mentions’. Watch Video
Honourable Mentions of the 2020 UN SDG Action Awards, which salute some of the “most transformative and impactful initiatives of 2020”, include:
Mobilizing youth to report on climate through the power of film
The Youth Climate Report mobilizes under-represented youth to share their stories about climate using film and digital mapping technology. Over 450 films have been produced, of which 60 have been screened at several COP’s. Dr. Mark Terry first created and introduced this GIS Map project to the United Nations Environment Programme in 2011. It is an evolving, multilinear, data delivery system to which students from around the world have contributed three-minute videos highlighting environmental issues in their community or country. Dr. Terry and the UNEP curate each video to ensure it meets the criteria of tackling that year’s one of two choices of environmental subjects on which to base their mini film. Dr. Terry is the first Canadian to receive such an honour from the SDG Action Awards and we hope to see more spotlighted for their efforts. See the ‘Happening To Us’ Trailer
Utilizing the latest app technology to increase SDG awareness and accelerate progress through individual acts of change
Samsung’s Global Goals app highlights how simple actions can build a more sustainable future for all. This app helps to increase awareness of the 17 Global Goals and their progress through individuals doing their part. The education and donation-based app connects millions of users to critical information about each of the Goals and how to easily make a difference. It is innovation and inspiration and a supportive atmosphere at your fingertips and has been downloaded to over 80 million Galaxy smartphones worldwide.
Making the Goals more accessible and relatable to people everywhere through creative media campaigns
The hit song ‘Let Me Be The One’ attached to the Be the One Campaign has reached over 21 million people. The leadership training program has been delivered to over 9,500 change-makers in 156 countries. “Making the Sustainable Development Goals more accessible, easy to understand, and relatable to people and organizations around the world has been a priority since their conception. Be The One campaign leverages creative media and partners up with artists and celebrities, in under-represented parts of the world, to shift the narrative and inspire localized ownership of the SDGs, globally.”
Driving SDG action through global sequential storytelling campaigns on YouTube
YouTube partnered with Tribeca Enterprises, the UN, creative agencies and filmmakers to develop Change the Sequence, raising awareness and action for the Global Goals by building impactful sequential storytelling campaigns on YouTube. With over 37 million views, this initiative demonstrates how brands are able to use creativity to build more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive societies. These effective global campaigns helped increase new visits to the site by 80% and traffic to the United Nations’ Global Goals website by 120% year-over-year.
UN SDG Action Campaign, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube
The 2020 SDG Global Festival of Action awards ceremony will be available on a virtual basis from March 25th to 26th, 2021.
We can all do our part to MOBILIZE, CONNECT and INSPIRE!
Dr. Mark Terry is a filmmaker, writer, teacher, and professor who has created an international collection of documentary films on a GIS map. He has pinned feature-length, award-winning, social issue documentaries according to the cities, countries, or regions in which they take place. Dr. Terry selected films that primarily represent these areas, visually, and culturally. The films also represent artistic excellence, having won major international awards and critical acclaim. He chose films from each area to represent, as much as possible due to availability, a temporal spectrum dating back to 1895. Not only does the map provide an overview of current issues, but it also reveals the evolvement of the documentary film over the years which has benefitted from the affordances provided by new digital technology and methodology.
