Bonus- UN SDG
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Danielle E. Lanham
POLS 230 International Relations
3/08/2023
Sustainable Development Goals: United Nations
As we have learned, there are 17 sustainable development goals set forth by The United
Nations. These goals were proposed in 2015 with an anticipated goal of achieving them by 2030.
The 2030 sustainable development goal consists of the following:
eliminating poverty, ending
world hunger, providing quality healthcare/wellness for all, providing quality education,
gender equality for all, accessibility to clean water and sanitation, clean energy, economic
growth and overall increase in the global job market, industry innovation, reduction in
inequalities across countries as a whole, sustainable living opportunities, responsible
production, shift in focus to climate changes, improve quality of marine life, improve quality
for life on land, create peace, and partnerships
for all countries to achieve these goals. (
The 17
goals | sustainable development
) Each of the sustainable development goals above are a way to
increase the overall vitality and livability of our world. By working together on such a large-
scale initiative, we can help fix some of the problems we have created over the past 100 years. I
believe each of the goals above are ambitious, but I believe each goal plays an important role in
where we want to be globally.
The one sustainable development goal I am most interested in exploring is quality
education. Quality education creates a ripple effect in any functioning society. By ripple effect, I
am referring to the good that comes out of having a well-educated population. The chances of
someone pulling themselves out of poverty for example, is far greater for someone who is well-
educated compared to someone that has not been given the same educational opportunities. I
believe having access to quality education across the globe is one we can all agree is vital for the
future of the world. The foundation of any economy comes back to education, and we must
realize that without having the proper education there is only so far you can go. In addition, I
believe sustainable goal #8- Decent Work and Economic Growth can only be achieved by
shifting focus to education and the foundation we are giving our children to learn and grow so
that one day they will become part of the solution rather than the problem.
The country I will be representing in my speech is Finland. After extensive research,
Finland really piqued my interest due to the measures they’ve already taken to achieve the
sustainable development goals set forth by The United Nations. In addition, Finland is notorious
for being a happy and economically stable society, even being named happiest country in the
world. Due this, I was curious to learn what they do differently compared to other members of
the United Nations.
According to The Sustainable Development Report (
Sustainable
development report 2022
) Finland currently ranks the highest out of all 193 members of the
United Nations. The point of the sustainable development report is to rank the overall progress of
the 193 members in reaching all 17 sustainable development goals.
Though the 17 sustainable development goals are intimidating and overwhelming,
Finland has proven that it can be possible. With proper state specific initiatives, I believe many
of these goals can be met by many of the 193 countries that make up that of the United Nations
but no necessarily all of them. Ending poverty is not something that even a 15-year plan can
accomplish, due to the many factors that attribute to it and the people in these situations.
However, I believe preparation and execution of well thought out plans can help significantly
decrease issues of this caliber.
From my research, and as mentioned above, Finland been
proactive in creating a stronger foundation as a state and I believe this has attributed to why they
are leaps and bounds ahead of some of the other members of the United Nations. With Finland
taking a proactive approach to these goals as well as having initiatives in place for decades it
begs the question, why are more countries not following int their footsteps? From my research
thus far it seems countries, and more specifically the United States should be analyzing their
policies to see how America could make more swift changes as we attempt to meet all 17
sustainable development goals by 2030.
One of Finland’s most impressive qualities is their ability to provide a quality education
for all, the Finnish people have set forth standards for education that do not follow typical
educational standards we’re used to in the United States. For example, children do not attend
school until the age of 7 years old. The people of Finland believe it is imperative for children to
lean into their early formative year and that children should be allowed the right to have a
“freeing” time to grow as humans outside of a traditional classroom. The people of Finland also
believe that school should be optional after 16 years of age and have implemented non-
traditional pathways as an option for those who are not interested in the traditional college route.
As I’ve found in my research, the standard education system we have adopted here in the United
States of America can feel restrictive, and monotonous for many students. The longer this goes
on you will have many students wishing their educational experience away rather than
embracing it which can and does contribute to higher high school dropout rates as well as fewer
collegiate graduates. Finland believes that the stress should be taken out of the equation, and they
have implemented an educational system that fosters learning when children are ready. By the
time a child can go to school, and by waiting until age 7 they are more prepared to learn and
grow as a student. It’s less forced compared to the education system in the United States.
Furthermore, Finland gives more authority to the teachers compared to other civilized
educational systems worldwide. According to the Smithsonian Magazine research conducted on
Finland’s education system, teachers in Finland spent less time confined to their classrooms on a
daily basis compared to teachers in America. Teachers in Finland are encouraged to use their
time outside of their classroom to formulate plans for their students and how each individual can
have a successful schooling experience. (Smithsonian Magazine
Why are Finland's schools
successful?
) Can you imagine what teachers in America could accomplish if given the free reign
and trust to create curriculums based on the student rather than having each child follow the
same standards/guidelines? It’s an important topic that I feel needs to be looked into further by
the United States Department of Education.
Due to the wide range of issues that the 17 sustainable development goals have set out to
conquer it’s no surprise that the success of one goal could hinder the success of another goal. For
example, the sustainable and development goal that is responsible for creating sustainable cities
and communities will negativity impact the clean/quality water sustainably goal. Urban
sustainable cities have also been proven to negatively impact climate change due to urban
sprawl.
Fenoglio, M.S. et al. (2020) Forsythe Library Peer Reviewed
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References
Fenoglio, M.S. et al. (2020) “Negative effects of urbanization on terrestrial arthropod
communities: A meta‐analysis,” Global ecology and biogeography, 29(8), pp. 1412–1429.
Cecchini, Massimo, Ilaria Zambon, Antonella Pontrandolfi, Rosario Turco, Andrea
Colantoni, Anastasios Mavrakis, and Luca Salvati. "Urban Sprawl and the ‘olive’
Landscape." GeoJournal 84.1 (2019): 237-55. Web.
“The 17 Goals | Sustainable Development.”
United Nations
, United Nations,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals#.
“Sustainable Development Report 2022.”
Sustainable Development Report 2022
,
https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/rankings.
Magazine, Smithsonian. “Why Are Finland's Schools Successful?”
Smithsonian.com
,
Smithsonian Institution, 1 Sept. 2011, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-
are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/#:~:text=Teachers%20in%20Finland%20spend
%20fewer,in%20the%20depths%20of%20winter.
“Challenges to Urban Sustainability.”
StudySmarter US
,
https://www.studysmarter.us/explanations/human-geography/urban-geography/challenges-
to-urban-sustainability/#:~:text=The%20six%20main%20challenges%20to,%2C%20waste
%20management%2C%20and%20overpopulation.