Month: January 2021

This exciting opportunity has allowed the Goals to be inserted into another truly global event with, helping raise awareness about why they are so important for both people and planet.

With the world still fighting to tackle Covid and its impacts, we understand that not everyone would be able to be in Dubai to see the Global Goals in all its glory. That’s why, this week, we will be sharing some of our live updates from Dubai with you.

WHAT IS EXPO 2020?

Dubai is currently hosting Expo 2020 and aims to use sustainability to connect minds and create a brighter future. Anticipating 25 million visitors throughout its six-month duration (October 2021 – March 2022), Expo 2020 offers visitors a chance to meet people from around the world by visiting 192 country pavilions.

Expo 2020 was built with sustainability in mind. from using reusable construction materials to build its infrastructure through to generating half of its electricity from renewable sources. So it’s only fitting that the Global Goals take centre stage at Expo, shining a light on why sustainability is not just possible but vital.

WHAT’S HAPPENING DURING GLOBAL GOALS WEEK?

On Saturday 15th January, the colourful Global Goals lit up the world’s largest 360 degree projection screen, the Al Wasl dome. This was followed by a procession of Global Goals flags, carried by UN SDG advocates such as physician Dr Alaa Murabit and poet Emi Mahmoud. Before hearing from the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General Amina J Mohammed.

While the world has a long way to go to achieve these Goals, in her speech, the Deputy Secretary-General spoke of our individual and collective responsibility to make these 17 Goals a reality for everyone, everywhere and that the work that’s left to be done, cannot wait.

“It is up to each and every one of us, individually and collectively, to turn this engagement into partnerships and investments that tangibly improve people’s lives everywhere. With the Global Goals woven into the fabric of Expo 2020, I cannot think of a more appropriate place for us to renew our shared commitment to keep the promises that we made in 2015.” – Amina J Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

On Sunday 16th January, the flagship event of the week took place – titled Global Goals for All – with the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J Mohammed and HE Reem Al Hashimy joining an array of experts, changemakers and performers. At this event, they discussed how, together, we can accelerate progress on the Goals during the Decade of Action and how we can get the World’s To-Do List for people and planet, done.

Project Everyone’s Co-Founder, Gail Galle spoke to an incredible group of thinkers, changemakers and advocates, reflecting on how we can reignite a sense of urgency and drive accelerated action at scale to deliver these 17 Goals. This event was followed by a week-long schedule of fantastic Global Goals themed events and you can live stream all of them here:

On Sunday 17th January, the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed was joined by UAE Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri along with others including UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake and Founder of Project17 and Co-founder of Project Everyone, Gail Gallie to open the Expo Portals.

Click here if you would like to learn more about Global Goals Week events.

COVID-19 has put a spotlight on education like never before. With over a billion students facing some kind of disruption to their learning, the virus has exposed the depths of pre-existing educational inequalities as well as sparking growing calls for a re-imagination of our education systems.

At World’s Largest Lesson we have always believed in the power of education and its ability to transform lives and equip children with the skills and values to tackle global challenges. Education systems should benefit children everywhere, providing them with the opportunity for real-life learning and the prioritisation of collective wellbeing.

That is why the World’s Largest Lesson is calling for climate and environmental education to be implemented in national curriculums around the world. Not only is there a dire need for it and for the transformation to a green economy and jobs, but we also know it is what teachers and crucially, students want.

Research by EARTHDAY.ORG shows that even in the countries where climate and environmental education is included in curriculums, it is often lacking in implementation and too focused on the understanding of the cognitive science aspects rather than taking a holistic view at the emotional, social and economic pillars of climate and environmental education.

Although recent news from New Zealand, Italy and the US state of New Jersey is encouraging, the need to ensure consistent and broad implementation across nations is acute.

OUR SOLUTION

In 2021 World’s Largest Lesson will launch a child-led campaign, facilitating students in their call for universal climate and environmental education. We will create a fun and interactive toolkit, leading children through activities that culminate in producing a written call to action for climate and environmental education that they can share with decision makers. It will be a creative literacy and civic activity that can work in any learning setting.

In launching this campaign, we hope every child, everywhere will have the opportunity to have climate and environmental education which seeks to:

• Be inclusive and interconnected – An education that looks at the economic, social as well as environmental issues of the climate and ecological crisis, looking at and drawing upon the knowledge and practices of indigenous peoples and the need for nature-based solutions.
• Action focused – provide students with the opportunity to implement their learning through inquiry and project-based learning that they can replicate in the real world.
• Connect students to nature – helping them foster a sense of wonder in the natural world and build a positive relationship with it, for we cannot ask students to protect something they have no positive experience of.

OUR AMBITION

In order to achieve the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement and the Global Goals by 2030, we have to see education as the key to accelerating progress and action. By giving children and young people the opportunity, skills and values to be a climate and environmentally literate generation, we increase our chances of success.

We will work with educators, climate campaigners and most importantly children themselves. Our shared aim will be that when the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) finally happens, in November 2021, world leaders stand up and tell us how they will meet their commitments to provide climate education. If you can support this work, we’d love to hear from you.

World’s Largest Lesson will be launching their Climate and Environmental Educational Advocacy ask in early 2021. For more information and if you would like to be involved please email: kinvara@project-everyone.org