Sustainable Development Goals
After coordinating their efforts in poverty reduction through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which primarily focused on developing countries, an important milestone was achieved to establish global goals that necessitate policy and behavioural changes in developed nations as well, and beyond governments also included civil society actors. In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a comprehensive set of goals aimed at eradicating poverty, protecting the environment, and ensuring prosperity for all by 2030. You can find the full list of SDGs here.
Each of the SDGs encompasses specific targets and indicators that aid in monitoring progress towards their achievement. The SDGs are considered universal, intended to apply to all countries regardless of their level of development. They represent a global effort to address international challenges and foster a more sustainable future.
In 2017, Kaleidos published a report on the awareness of the SDGs in the Netherlands. Two years after 193 countries agreed upon the SDGs, only 9% of Dutch people were familiar with them, and 17% thought they had heard something about them. When asked about their expectations for the goals, the top three priorities mentioned were ‘freedom and security,’ ‘universal health care,’ and ‘combatting climate change.’
SDG Nederland
In 2013, several organisations collaborated to launch the SDG Charter: a manifesto outlining how private companies and civil society can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. By 2016, it had developed into a foundation supporting a network with over 300 Dutch organisations that had endorsed the charter. In 2019, the organisation underwent a name change to SDG Netherlands. Since then, SDG Netherlands has not only worked with its own network but has also dedicated time and resources to reach a wider audience. Today, SDG Netherlands, exists to connect individuals and organisations and support actions aimed at achieving the SDGs.
