SDG 17: The last, but definitely not the least of the Goals
It is pretty intuitive that the Sustainable Development Goals require strong collaboration between countries and people. But what is ‘Partnerships for the Goals’ really about? We break it down for you in 4 simple questions:
- Wait, who is partnering?
The actors involved are governments, the private sector and civil society, on different levels: global, national, regional and local. This means partnerships as big as ones between countries, and as small (in size but certainly not in impact) as ones between local NGOs.
2. Ok. So, what kind of partnerships?
You can understand the type of partnerships included in this Goal by taking a look at its targets. They are 19 in total, organized in areas such as:
- Financial: namely, financial support given by developed countries to developing and least developed countries;
- Technological: improving access to technology and knowledge as an important way to share ideas and foster innovation;
- Trade: promoting international trade and helping developing countries increase their exports as a way to achieve a universal, equitable trading system that benefits all;
- Multi-stakeholder: involving all sectors and parts of society to collaborate in achieving the other 16 Goals.
3. That’s nice, but how will we measure it?
The United Nations and other stakeholders are keeping track of this super important targets through indicators, 25 in total for this SDG. We picked some examples for you:
- [Financial] Development assistance to least-developed countries: defined as the net Official Development Assistance (ODA) as a share of total gross national income (GNI) by OECD-DAC countries (Indicator 17.2.1.)
- [Technological] Internet usage: defined as the proportion of individuals using the internet (Indicator 17.8.1)
- [Trade] Participation of developing countries in international trade: defined as developing countries’ and least developed countries’ share of global exports (Indicator 17.11.1)
4. Got it. Can I just have an example?
EKOenergy — the ecolabel for energy
EKOenergy is a non-profit focusing on fighting climate change and alleviating energy poverty. They created The Ecolabel, a tool for people to find energy produced through highly sustainable means and contribute to financing renewable energy projects in remote areas of developing nations.
They are a great example of a multi-stakeholder partnership since EKOenergy itself is a network of 40 environmental NGOs who form the board and oversee the project. More, they cooperate with over 55 energy sellers to sell eco-labelled energy; the projects they finance through their Climate Fund involve local organizations; and they also involve volunteers in their work through the Erasmus+ programme.
> Awesome! I’m ready to speak up for SDG 17.
Did we pique your curiosity? Want to become an expert on SDG 17? Here are more resources to explore:
- Detailed information on targets and indicators: https://sdg-tracker.org/global-partnerships
- Facts about progress on Goal 17: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg17
- SDG Good Practices: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/partnerships/goodpractices
- More on EKOenergy: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/partnership/?p=29804
You can also find action on SDG 17 by visiting aiesec.org.
