Global Goals Week to focus on accelerating SDGs progress

22 / 08 / 2020

By Marwa Nassar - -

Global Goals Week – which will be held virtually on 18-26 September, plus an expanded calendar throughout September and early October – will focus on accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – also known as the Global Goals – as COVID-19 threatens to reverse decades of progress.

The United Nations (UN) will bring together world leaders through a mix of virtual and in-person representation, for the 75th session of the UN General Assembly. This year’s historic General Assembly will not only mark the 75th anniversary of the UN but five years since the Global Goals were agreed to by 193 countries.

Organizers announced the 2020 Global Goals Week following UN reports highlighting the devastating impact that COVID-19 is having on SDG progress – particularly on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for renewed ambition, mobilization, leadership and collective action: to beat COVID-19 and recover better together in order to create more inclusive and equitable societies everywhere.

The week will include Global Goals Day on September 25 – the anniversary of the day the Goals were agreed. This will take place under the theme of ‘Factivism’ drawing attention to the state of the Goals’ progress and the actions needed from everyone during this Decade of Action to deliver the Goals by 2030. COVID-19 has underlined both the importance of timely data and the importance of consolidated action. ‘Factivists’ all over the world will shine a spotlight on critical data points.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said: “COVID-19 has wreaked havoc around the world, threatening peoples’ lives and livelihoods. People everywhere are rising in solidarity to demand the end to systemic inequalities, redesign broken economic models and urgent climate action. Our world has the expertise, tools, resources and young people to build on the gains of the past decade and to strive to achieve the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Global Goals Week can leverage the momentum of the UN General Assembly week through the SDG Moment and the SDG Action Zone, to deliver the Decade for the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”

SDG Advocate Edward Ndopu said: “The Goals include a commitment to leave no one behind, but we know that around the world too many people are being forgotten. Marginalized communities have been hit hard by the pandemic, climate change and inequality. This could be the most inclusive Global Goals Week yet, an opportunity to hear from and engage with people all around the world about how we can work together to turn around the world’s trajectory. Global Goals Week must be an opportunity for everyone – leaders, citizens and businesses – to commit to put the Goals at the center of the recovery.”

A number of events and activations will take place across September including the UN’s SDG Action Zone, the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit, a Global Week of Action coordinated by Action for Sustainable Development and the SDG Action Campaign, and Climate Week NYC. The first ‘SDG’ moment, as agreed by Member States in 2019, will also take place, putting a spotlight on the solutions needed to accelerate progress on the Goals.