What is Youth 4 Global Goals and why does it matter?
You have probably been following our page for a while, hopefully liking and sharing our posts (hehe), but do you actually know what Youth 4 Global Goals is and where it came from? Well, there is no best week than the Global Goals week to tell you all about it — you will see why. Let’s go?
As you may or may not know, in September 2015 193 world leaders gathered and agreed on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals aimed — and still do — to end poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030. The SDGs are often referred to as Global Goals or Agenda 2030.
AIESEC is an international youth movement that fights for peace and fulfillment of humankind’s potential through leadership development. Of course we wanted to be part of the fight to achieve the Global Goals as well. So, in December 2015, AIESEC’s young global leaders and its representatives from over 120 countries and territories gathered at the United Nations’ headquarters to promote and drive youth in the implementation of the SDGs — and so Youth 4 Global Goals was born, making AIESEC the first youth-led organization to align its operations with the Agenda 2030. This initiative aims to educate youth about the SDGs and provide practical volunteering opportunities to unleash their potential while being active world citizens.
Wanting to go a bit beyond its day-to-day operations, AIESEC created the Young Person’s Guide: Changing the World Edition in 2016. Created by young people for young people, it consist of daily actions and projects that youth can organise with friends to help achieve the SDGs. In collaboration with UN volunteers, it was translated to various languages to make it more accessible to young people around the world. You can find the english version here.
In 2017, AIESEC and its Youth 4 Global Goals initiative partnered up with Project Everyone and UNICEF’s World’s Largest Lesson initiative. It aims to teach young people and children about the SDGs, and encourages them to become the generation that changes the world. The first World Largest Lesson by AIESEC happened in Cartagena, Colombia, that same year and taught almost 3000 children about the SDGs. As of today over 40 lessons have been delivered around the world, with 35.000+ children and youth engaged in workshops on sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles.
In 2017, there were almost 40.000 young people taking action and going abroad to volunteer for the SDGs. You could be the next one living this experience by simply clicking here.
In AIESEC we believe that the Global Goals can be achieved and that young people will play a special role. What do you think?
