CONCLUSION THE 2030 GLOBAL AGENDA “Everything we do during and after this crisis must be with a strong focus on building more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change, and the many other global challenges we face.” António Guterres, UN Secretary-General COVID-19 has brought with it a lot of uncertainty for our collective future. It has caused significant economic, social and cultural impacts around the world causing major disruptions to our lives. It has also seen the gap in inequality grow. Many are at a risk of being left behind in education and economic opportunities, as well as impacting our on health and wellbeing, particularly our youth and vulnerable communities. However, the pandemic presents both an enormous challenge and tremendous opportunities for reaching the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), evident by the contributions being made by our the RCE network. The SDGs are a roadmap for humanity. They are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They encompass almost every aspect of human and planetary health and wellbeing and, if met, will provide a stable and prosperous life for every person and ensure the health of the planet (UNDP, 2020). As such the has UN launched a COVID-19 plan that could ‘defeat the virus and build a better world’. The plan, “Shared responsibility, global solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19”, was launched in March 2020 and is a call to action, for the immediate health response required to suppress transmission of the virus to end the pandemic; and to tackle the many social and economic dimensions of this crisis. The RCE network has sprung to the challenge of COVID and support the global framework. The webinar series and this report strongly highlighted RCEs’ efforts in supporting ESD in our local places, along with the challenges in responding. It also highlighted their efforts in aiding their local communities, growing partnerships and addressing the SDGs. It has also seen the delivery of several other webinars, including “‘Bridging the Disconnect – Engaging and Learning in the Digital Divide’ (June 2020), ‘Indigenous People in COVID Era” in celebration of the ‘2020 International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples’ (August 2020) and “Youth and Sustainability in a COVID Era” in celebration of the ‘2020 World Youth Day’ (August 2020), with more in planning. Getting “back to normal” is simply not feasible—because “normal” got us here. The crisis has shown us how deeply connected we are to others and to the planet. COVID-19 is forcing us to revisit our values and design a new area of development that truly balances economic, social and environmental progress as envisioned by the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. Integrated solutions are the only way in which we’ll be able to build a greener and more inclusive future to help countries meet the 2030 goals (UNDP, 2020). “With solidarity we can defeat COVID-19 and build a better world.” United Nations WEBINAR RESOURCES Download the presentations from: ≥≥ Webinar 1 ≥≥ Webinar 2 ≥≥ Webinar 3 28
webinar series report
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