Turning Statistics into Stories
When I think of the Sustainable Development Goals, I do not see large, scary statistics, like limiting global temperature increases to below two degrees Celsius, lowering the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births, and reducing by half the number of people living in poverty by 2030.
Instead images come to mind.
Penguins with their tiny chicks peeking out of the egg for the first time in the harsh frozen wonderland of Antarctica.
Disease-stricken infants at an orphanage in Haiti, their malnourished bodies heaving under the weight of inequality they should not have to bear.
Widowed women in Peru struggling to provide for their families and trying to turn their love of alpaca knitting into a viable business.
Over the past few years, I have traveled to 30+ countries, from reporting on social entrepreneurship at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, China and studying diaspora religions in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia to interning in microfinance in Chennai, India and learning about artificial intelligence and disruptive innovation at the World Business Dialogue in Cologne, Germany, the largest student-run business conference. Growing up in an ethnically homogenous town of 4000 people in rural Quebec, I had a very secluded and sheltered childhood. Attending the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and receiving so many opportunities to explore such diverse cultures introduced me to fears, dreams, problems, needs, and passions that were both strikingly different from and similar to my own. I suddenly felt responsible for the welfare of people halfway across the globe — people who had taken me in as their own, befriended me, helped me navigate new environments and transport systems, and shared their stories — stories that broke, warmed, and moved my heart. When I went to the mall on a shopping spree, I thought about how many people that money could feed in sub-Saharan Africa. When I left the house, I remembered to turn off the lights because of how my actions were suddenly part of a global ecosystem that connected back to the vivacious wildlife I met in Antarctica.
I am currently working for a startup in the Washington DC area and have volunteered with the UN in various research, ambassadorial, and advocacy roles. My current interest is in ICT in development and I dream of one day starting a social enterprise in the tech field. From the UN Global Pulse, which applies data visualizations to humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts, to MobileODT, an AI-based tool that integrates with EVA Scope and detects cervical cancer earlier in rural clinics, there are so many innovations that are applying advances in big data, machine learning, wearable technology, wireless connectivity, and mobile applications to reach underserved communities.
UNLEASH: A Global Innovation Lab for the Sustainable Development Goals brings together so many incredible, entrepreneurial young people from around the world who feel the call of global citizenship. There are countless and diverse problems to solve, from climate change and food security to educational disparities, and I believe that solutions require interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge from different sources: civil society, Fortune 500 companies, startups, academia, and government. In order to work together, we really need to break down statistics into stories that we can relate to and combine these with the skills and passions that we can most effectively share with the world.
