In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly embarked on a bold project to build a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all - the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Agreed by 197 countries around the world, the goals set out a broad range of targets and focus areas for positive change in our world, and is a framework that can be used in developing countries as well as the developed nations to evaluate impact on a global metric.
And like all good goals, there was a target - 2030.
As Tasmania and the rest of the world explore what recovery from the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 restrictions look like, we are facing a recovery that will take more than a handful of months to get back to the way things were.
However, during that recovery, we are also chewing up precious time to help achieve the 2030 target for the Sustainable Development Goals.
So we cannot view these SDGs as an either/or agenda.
Tasmania needs to look at how we can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals within our own state by 2030, to not only align our achievements with this globally renowned framework, but also recover in a way that leads to sustainable opportunities for the future.
We cannot simply continue to just look at economic measures and get to these SDGs when we have time - the recovery for Tasmania and the world needs to have the SDGs interwoven into every step.
Back when we were allowed to travel, I had the privilege of being in cities around the world connecting with people who cared about global action, both being social entrepreneurs as well as Global Shapers from over 400 cities around the world.
In other parts of the world, their passion for and knowledge of the SDGs is so deep they only need to tell you the number of the SDG they are passionate about - not the name, or the targets - just the number.
And we cannot look at this framework being just for developing nations. In Tasmania, we have our challenges in health, education, sustainable consumption and much more - but we have means, creativity and island ingenuity that we can use to not only shape our future, but also influence other communities to overcome their local challenges too.
As we recover from COVID-19, let's focus our efforts and show the world how we can lead in a sustainable manner.
We want the state to do this, but the only way to really achieve it is to use a global framework like the Sustainable Development Goals to align our efforts to.
We need to play our part in achieving the goals for 2030, because if we can overcome some of our challenges that are limiting sustainable development for our future, not only will our state be better placed for the future, we can share the lessons and learnings with the rest of the world, continuing to ensure Tasmania leads as we know it can.
- Adam Mostogl is the founder and curator of the Launceston Global Shapers Hub - a network of young people working to address regional and global challenges.
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