World Council for Curriculum and Instruction (WCCI)

April 1, 2019

UN DESA Voice April 2019

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Monthly Newsletter, Vol 23, No. 4 – April 2019

Innovation and technology for more effective government spending and financing

India is pursuing ambitious, technology-driven reform that is making financial services and social protection payments accessible to underserved people, while also reducing leakage of public funds. This reflects part of one government’s effort to more effectively plan and fund its sustainable development strategy, the main theme of the “Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2019”, the latest assessment of the progress that countries are making in mobilizing financing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Highlights

Young people are changing the world

Across countries and continents, our world is witnessing a rise in youth engagement and even a ‘youth quake’ as one news outlet described the recent Global Climate Strike. Inspired by 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, some 1.6 million young people in 125 countries took to the streets, demanding world leaders to take climate action – now. To navigate our planet out of harms way, there is already a plan of action in place; the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This April, young leaders from different corners of the world, will join the 2019 ECOSOC Youth Forum with a mission: to put this plan into action.

Countries to examine population mega-trends and their impact on realizing the Sustainable Development Goals

The world’s population is growing larger and older. Currently at 7.7 billion, the global population is projected to increase to around 9.7 billion by 2050. At the same time, more people are on the move and more people are settling down in urban areas. How will these demographic “mega-trends” impact global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals? Assessing the interlinkages between demographic change, population programmes and sustainable development will be one of the tasks at hand when the Commission on Population and Development convenes at UN Headquarters in New York for its 52nd session on 1-5 April.

Get involved

Be part of something greater than the sum of its parts

Partnership is more than simple cooperation towards a common goal. Partnership is about building shared values and capitalizing on comparative strengths and sharing risks to achieve goals that would be impossible to accomplish alone. Every year, the ECOSOC Partnership Forum provides an opportunity to interact with the world’s most influential thinkers and actors. The Forum engages high-profile representatives from governments and non-state actors for dynamic discussions on how to define and promote effective partnerships and how partnerships can best advance the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Expert voices

Traditional knowledge – an answer to the most pressing global problems?

Traditional knowledge is the foundation of indigenous peoples’ identities, cultural heritage, civilizations, livelihoods and coping strategies over several centuries. Its promotion, protection and preservation is fundamental for the sustainability of the livelihoods of indigenous peoples, their resilience to human-made and natural disasters and the development of their communities. It is also at the core of the rights of indigenous peoples.

In case you missed it

“Inherent power in data and statistics has never been more important”

Better data has the potential to improve our lives in many ways. From delivering better education, improving gender equality, to promoting inclusive societies where everyone is counted. Better data can even save our lives. Striving to deliver better data to improve the lives of people everywhere, the UN Statistical Commission recently concluded its 50th session.