The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 seek to alleviate various crises and problems which threaten human rights. So, what is the role of education in achieving the SDGs, establishing sustainability and transforming our world?
While SDGs serve as benchmarks for a more sustainable society, there is still no clear vision for what that sustainable global society will ultimately look like. In fact, it is the consensus building and cooperation among different cultures and communities across the world – skills that education helps to develop – that will help us define what and how such a sustainable society can be achieved.
For this reason, it is important to integrate the ideas and increase the participation of various stakeholders in a discussion on how we can transform our world into a sustainable one towards 2030.
In particular, increasing the participation of young people who shoulder our future is critical for achieving sustainable development. Although today’s globalized world has in many ways made the world feel smaller, many young people feel isolated from their communities, and disconnected from the immediate environment around them. Education can play an important role in these situations – by fostering and nurturing youth who can actively participate and contribute to the betterment of their local communities.
Education plays a pivotal role in helping young people make the connection between global issues and local communities. Cultivating our imaginative capacity through education enhances our motivation for change and for taking action to make the world a sustainable place.
In his 2016 Peace Proposal, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, an educator and a 2015 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, identifies two important functions of learning:
- To enable people to accurately assess the impact of their actions and to empower them to effect positive change for themselves and those around them; and
- To bring forth the courage to persevere in the face of adversity. [1]
In his proposal, Dr. Ikeda emphasizes the importance of education in building youth solidarity – a united group of young people – to encourage citizens to take courageous action to achieve a sustainable global community.
We hope that as many youth as possible join the activities organized by the Education Commission’s Youth Panel. The Education Youth Video Challenge is a great opportunity for young people to express their thoughts about local and global issues through video. We can transform our world in our own respective ways in our local communities based on the solidarity of youth!
Please share your ideas and opinions about the future of education and participate in the Education Youth Video Challenge!
Shizuka Nishimura is on the Education Commission’s Youth Panel. You can read more about her work here.
[1] Daisaku Ikeda, 2016, “2016 Peace Proposal, Universal Respect for Human Dignity: The Great Path to Peace.” January 26. Retrieved from http://www.sgi.org/content/files/about-us/president-ikedas-proposals/peaceproposal2016.pdf (Accessed March 16, 2016).