By: The Honorable Barbara E. Talley, Founder, The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Task Force, Inc., Southfield, Michigan, USA; Designated “Mother of Southfield”
What Kind of World do You Want?
What kind of world do you want? And, most importantly, what are you going to do to help our world? If we truly want to change our world, EVERYONE must do their part: governments, the private sector, civil society, and people like YOU!
The United Nations Has 17 Specific Goals and Targets to Achieve by 2030
To improve our world, the United Nations General Assembly issued specific goals and targets for us to achieve by the year 2030. To sustain the development of our world, we must first look at the world as a system—a system that connects space and time.
To sustain the development of our world, we must look at the world as a system that connects space and time.
The United Nations set 17 Sustainable Development Goals that will stimulate action over the upcoming years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet:
PEOPLE: We must work to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and ensure that all human beings can fulfill their potential in dignity and equality, and in a healthy environment.
PLANET: We must work to protect the planet from degradation, including sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources, and taking urgent action on climate change so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.
PROSPERITY: We must work to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social, and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.
PEACE: We must work to foster peaceful, just, and inclusive societies that are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace, and no peace without sustainable development.
To mobilize the means required to implement this Agenda, we must work to revitalize global partnerships for sustainable development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focused in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable, and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders, and all people.
The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals through 2030
It’s your world. It’s your choice.
*About the Author: The Honorable Barbara E. Talley, MPA, is a former City Councilwoman of Southfield, Michigan, USA. She was the former director of the Peace Center in Southfield and is the founder of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Task Force in that city. Back in 2010, she visited Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and inspired the development of the area’s peace education program.
