In September 2015, world leaders adopted the world’s first ever Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS), also known as the Global Goals consisting of 17 goals that are designed to end poverty, halt climate change and fight injustice and inequality. The Global Goals are the biggest attempt in the history of mankind to make the world a better place. We all have a role to play in making these SDGs a reality. From governments to business and policymakers and youth, we must work together to ensure that we understand what the SDGs are and how we can contribute towards paving the way for more sustainable development worldwide, and especially in our own continent (Africa) and country (Togo).
African Youth for the Sustainable Development Goals is a new project that aims to engage youth aged 15-24 across Africa to better understand the SDGs and how they can contribute to the achievements of the SDGs. Africa is the youngest continent in the world, with the most youth than any other continent. We must tap into this resource and ensure that youth take their rightful place in leading change, creating innovative solutions and paving the way for a sustainable Africa.
In essence, this project aims to:
- Explain what the SDGs are and why they are important, particularly for Africa;
- Encourage African youth to develop their own ways of contributing to sustainable development at the local, national and regional levels;
- To raise awareness of, and create a platform for information sharing among youth on the SDGs;
- Engage youth on the SDGs through leadership training activities where youth will learn how to develop and lead their own sustainable development projects that address their city, country or region’s contexts, priorities, and needs
The added bonus of this project is that it is implemented in various countries in local languages so that youth can truly understand the message and importance of the SDGs.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Credit: UN/Project Everyone
Target Audience
The United Nations defines people between the ages of 15 and 24 as the youth. This project focuses on this age group as the main target audience. Youth are creative and intelligent individuals who want to contribute towards making their society a better place for all, but they need information and knowledge to do so. This project aims to focus on this target audience, as there is a lot of potential in engaging youth who are deciding what to do with their future. Through this project, youth will be exposed to the world of sustainable development and this may lead to their engagement in this field as a career.
Project partners
This project was created in July 2015 by the Climate-Smart Agriculture Youth Network (CSAYN), with the in-kind support of United Nations Information Centre of U.N. Department Public Information (DPI), and in collaboration with various organizations, including World We Want 2030, Connect4Climate, Global Alliance on Climate-smart Agriculture (GACSA), Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN), the Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Climate and Agriculture Network for Africa (CANA), Environmental Protection and Development (EPDA), CSAYN Togo, Collectif des OSC pour la Sécurité Alimentaire et le Développement Rural (COSADER).
Banner Photo Credits: Dominic Chavez/World Bank
Training Session 1: Introducing SDGs in a local language
Ensuring youth is equipped to address sustainable development requires a solid understanding of what this is and how the world is collectively addressing sustainable development through the SDGs. This understanding can be accomplished through training of youth on the SDGs. The first training is scheduled for:
Date: April 27th, 2017
Time: 9 am - 4 pm
Country: Togo
Location: Vogan
Participants: This training will involve 150 young people (the main target is people with disabilities) from rural and urban communities in a specific country of interest
Training structure
The training day is organized into two parts: Part I focus on background information about the SDGs in a local language (EWE) including Braille and Sign Language - what they are and why they are important, and the role of youth; and Part II guides young people through developing activities that can contribute to the SDGs.
Part I: Information sharing (Duration: 3 hours)
- Icebreaker: What does sustainable development mean to you? Share two words that describe sustainable development to you;
- Introduction to the SDGs: Watch Bringing the SDGs to life: real change for real people video;
- Breakdown of the 17 SDGs – quick overview of the themes that they tackle;
- Why are the SDGs important for the country in question.
Part II: SDGs for our community and for Togo
- What are the key topics of the SDGs relevant to Togo? Select five, e.g. poverty, hunger, education, clean water, affordable energy, and provide context about why the country needs to address these challenges;
- Group work: Each group tackles one of the five challenges. Each group must consist of at least five people. Ask each group to:
- Develop one main activity they could implement to address their particular SDG issue;
- Develop key messages (to share with both traditional and social media) about their particular SDG issue;
- Write a letter to their political leaders (local, national and/or regional) about the importance of implementing the SDGs, particularly their SDG issue that affects Togo;
- Sharing findings, conclusions, and follow-up activities.
Expected outputs
- A solid understanding of what the SDGs are and what they mean for Togo;
- Proposal for activities that can be implemented nationally to contribute to sustainable development;
- Engaged youth that can use the media (social and traditional media) to engage their peers on sustainable development; and
- Key messages for youth to share with policymakers on the need for the implementation of the SDGs on a national level.
Follow up activities
The participants must be encouraged to take all the information that is presented and use it to develop sustainable development projects or activities that they can implement on a daily basis. The training leaders must act as peer advisors and guide the participants after the training so that the young people feel empowered to take action. Participants are encouraged to further develop their projects, implement them and share their progress with the training leaders from three to six months after the project. Follow-up activities can include: raising awareness about the SDGs for social media and outreach to policymakers, among others.
Flyer (in French)
