Cruise Report

Jan.8th

The Sustainable Development Goals, The Present & Future
Nadine Ravaud (Policy Analyst and International Consultant at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bangkok Regional Hub

Nadine Ravaud, who joined us from Singapore, has been working as a Policy Analyst and International Consultant at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangkok Regional Hub. She has worked in multiple fields and various countries throughout the world working towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The topic of Nadine’s lecture today was “The Sustainable Development Goals, The Present & Future”. She spoke about the types of efforts necessary to achieve the SDG’s, the current issues and necessary future action, as well as gave some concrete examples. Nadine explained very clearly through graphs and numbers about the different issues that are occuring on a global scale. Some of the realities that she shared include; 10% of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty, 200 million people are unemployed, and 20% of the overall population are illiterate. According to UN research institutions, it is estimated that 60% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2030, however the effects of climate change and much of the economic burden will be placed on poverty stricken communities and those living in non-urban areas.

“We have to make a change together. A significant transformation is necessary right now. This change starts with the accumulation of small actions of everyone here. Climate change, societal conditions, and all of the other Sustainable Development Goals are interconnected. There is not one person who will not be affected or who has nothing to do with this issue,” she says. Looking at the world from the point of view of the UN, Nadine has continued to face these issues and is able to explain them concretely and simply with a power to move people. “As living beings on this earth, we need to reassess how we should be living as humans,” said a participant. This lecture was the beginning of the chance for people to start changing their actions.