Would You Support SDGs?

Talking about the contribution to the achievement of SDGs can have many interpretations and questions. It could be a contribution of an individual. Or maybe it is a contribution of a family, a company, a city, or a country. Other things might be related to the purpose of the contribution and the way to ensure it is contributing to the achievements of SDGs because SDGs is a global movement and it belongs to the international society – global interests. Thus, it might sound simple, but it is not easy to answer because it needs deep introspection and willingness to make it happen.

As an individual, simple actions that I do related to SDGs are treating others, especially women and girls, without discrimination, violence, and exploitation (Goal 5: Target 5.1 and 5.2). Another action is giving donations to those who need it through child sponsorship programs, such as Pendekar Anak by UNICEF and CHOSEN by World Vision(Goal 2: Target 2.1 and Target 2.2). Thus, could I say that these simple actions contribute to SDGs? Or, maybe, managing a project with a budget of more than USD 1 million could make me be recognized as a true contributor to SDGs?

As SDGs is a global movement, commitment, and action, it means that everyone, despite their identity and background, has the same responsibility to promote and be contributors to SDGs. I found a good comparison about how we could contribute to the SDGs, whether as a person or a part of an organization. I believe that the important question to be answered by everyone is: would you commit to being a contributor to SDGs? It is not about how big the action is or how many people work on the action. But, it’s about commitment and willingness to contribute to SDGs.

Figure 1. The SDGs progress in Indonesia gets slower as the COVID-19 pandemic is still one big challenge and impacts every country around the world

Despite the scale of the action, the number of resources of the action, and the type of the actions, the important thing is that contribution to SDGs starts with everyone’s heart and dreams – what they feel, hope, and dream if one day the world achieves SDGs. That is similar to what I believe in. Even though as an individual what I do daily seems like simple actions, I am sure that the simple things bring significant impacts to my surroundings and promote a better world for me and everyone – people, planet, prosperity, partnership, and peace.

If someone cares for others, then he/she understands that providing a hand would be an expression of love and care to his/her counterparts. Similar to SDGs, setting a commitment to contribute to SDGs is a kind of expression of love and care to others who are living near us and others who are living outside of Indonesia, yet still on the same planet. In the end, as I care for my family, friends, Indonesia, and all people around the world, I am committed to promoting SDGs and have a will to contribute to SDGs whether as an individual or as a development worker.

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Featured Image belongs to Google Developer Student Class: UN 17 Goals.