World Council for Curriculum and Instruction (WCCI)

March 1, 2019

UN DESA Voice March 2019

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Monthly Newsletter, Vol 23, No. 3 – March 2019

How data improves our lives? Let us count the ways

When asked about data, our first thought will usually jump to the Internet, mobile phones, computers and to the endless possibilities these technologies bring about. But we rarely spare a thought for other kinds of data, which accompany us throughout our lives and which we often take for granted. So much so that they have almost become invisible. From life-saving healthcare, to education, poverty and gender equality, data underpins every aspect of a modern human existence.

Highlights

Climate action and the SDGs: Interlinked and indivisible

Last year’s landmark “Global Warming of 1.5°C” report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that global warming is an urgent worldwide problem that requires an urgent response to prevent its worst effects. Fortunately, we have a plan in place: the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs are our blueprint for building a better, more sustainable world that works for both people and the environment.

Can multilateralism survive? Examining the future of development policy

International cooperation is under threat along several dimensions: a mounting trade war, stalled global trade talks and the questioning of global institutions by some prominent countries. The media focus is mainly on what this means for wealthy countries, but what does it mean for the rest of the world?

Get involved

Step it up for planet 50/50

Despite progress, inequalities still prevail between women and men. Women are often paid less salary for the same job performed, hold fewer high-ranking positions in the workforce, and are less represented in parliaments around the world. And as girls grow up, they might face the grim reality of becoming child brides, and later, victims of domestic violence. If we want to achieve the global goals, we need to achieve gender equality. A planet 50/50, where boys and girls enjoy equal rights and opportunities in life. And there are many ways to make a difference!

Expert voices

Do you have to be counted to count? How strengthening gender data can empower women and girls

Most of us are aware of the gaps that separate women from men, when it comes to opportunities, earnings or access to education. But not everyone realizes that even the data that we use to measure these inequalities have gender gaps. As the UN Statistical Commission holds its 50th session, we ask Francesca Grum, Chief of the Social and Gender Statistics Section at UN DESA’s Statistics Division, how gender data gaps are formed and what can be done about them.

In case you missed it

Leveraging social protection policies to address inequality

Around the world today, about 1.3 billion people face multidimensional poverty and some 3 billion live without decent employment. Moving towards an equal and inclusive society, requires calibrating fiscal, wage and social protection policies to address the underlying causes and interlinkages of inequality and social exclusion. Effective social protection policies can overturn the vicious, unequal and exclusionary cycle that leave vulnerable groups behind.