On the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, following the release of the 2020 World Happiness Report, SDSN will conduct a 24 hour global webinar themed around happiness and sustainable development to link our global network and promote the concept of sustainable living to everyone. Every individual has a role to play in making a healthier, happier world, and this webinar will share concrete actions individuals can take for better health and education, fighting climate change, and promoting peace, equality, and justice.
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Why Happiness and Sustainable Development?
Happiness and wellbeing is something all humans experience, and is something most societies strive to achieve on a communal scale. In this age of convenience, we are living in an increasingly isolated society, with depression, loneliness, and anxiety running rampant in both high and low-income countries. According to the WHO, “depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease.” In the World Happiness Report, happiness is quantified with social well-being indicators, in addition to gross domestic product (GDP), demonstrating that using social well-being as a goal drives better public policy and progress. Thus, we have chosen the theme of happiness to link sustainable development experts, solutions, and stories from around the world in this unique first of its kind sustainable development global webinar.
Background and Challenge
On September 25, 2015, the 193 member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the aim of guiding the social, economic and environmental actions necessary to achieve a sustainable future by 2030. An essential component of the SDGs is to “Leave No One Behind,” an ethical baseline which gives every human the right to a fulfilling and healthy life. While the SDGs aim to better the world for all people, the challenge is creating awareness of the SDGs, as only 10% of the population know of them. While global support for sustainable development has increased, individual awareness as it pertains to the connection between the goals and their effects on our daily lives has not, which leads us to question why the public awareness surrounding the goals is still so low. One answer and new challenge is that there are very few efforts that tie all of this together. With only 10 years left to achieve the SDGs, we must work towards further encouraging support and understanding for the challenges and solutions ahead.
Who are we?
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) was set up in 2012 under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General. SDSN mobilizes global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development, including the implementation of the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement. SDSN works closely with United Nations agencies, multilateral financing institutions, the private sector, and civil society.