WE SHOULD ALL BE AGENTS OF CHANGE

FOR THOSE who have cared to watch any of comedian Trevor Noah’s skits, you would instantly remember his depiction of celebrities or goodwill ambassadors affiliated to intergovernmental organisations such as the UN and their attitude towards underdeveloped countries – particularly those in Africa – and how some of the infomercials show starving, gaunt and skinny people.

This as the celebrity asks for donations, not even bothered to remove a fly from the nose of a starving and weak child.

But in some instances, there have been ambassadors who have affected vital change in communities across the world. This, not to show off their power or influence, but to bring immediate help to those who need it the most. Through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) movement, the UN has, over the years, selected influencers to help advocate for change.

For instance, in New York last week, UN secretary-general António Guterres appointed up to 17 influential public figures the organisation said were committed to raising awareness, inspiring greater ambition, and pushing for faster action on the SDGs.

These individuals include Graça Machel, humanitarian and former South African first lady; Jack Ma, Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist; Dr Alaa Murabit, founder of The Voice of Libyan Women; Nadia Murad, Nobel Laureate, chair and president, Nadia’s Initiative and Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University.

Guterres maintains that these advocates will use their unique platforms and leadership to inspire cross-cutting mobilisation of the global community and said that there were tools to answer questions posed by climate change, environmental pressure, poverty and inequality.

If we were to fully assess this group on their previous and current work as well as commitments, one is of the view that they are likely to bring about the change needed ahead of 2030 – not only in their immediate communities but also to those far away from them.

Also, through the appointment of these advocates, it has become clear more than ever that the conversation around sustainable development goals has become part of our lifestyles and is no longer a novelty or a platform only meant for a select few.

SDGs should be discussed and acted upon without fail at schools, churches and within various social circles.

In fact, they should go as far as being introduced in the school curriculum as the younger generation, too, needs to be equipped with skills on how to act on climate change, ensure zero hunger within their communities, promote gender equality, preserve life on land and in the sea and suggest, as young as they are, ways they feel that cities could be transformed into sustainable ones.

The trend should not be to wait for governments or celebs to act but that communities ought to also take charge. Activities around SDGs occur in one form or another.

Yesterday, 20 cities presenting the 2019 Urban 20 Tokyo Mayors Summit Communiqué ahead of the G20 Summit, called on world leaders to accelerate programmes around sustainable development.

Ministers in South Africa’s new Cabinet should actively act on fulfilling their mandates around SDGs.

The point is that while at the end of the day we can laugh about how certain ambassadors carry out their duties where undeveloped countries are concerned, none of us should sit around and be armchair critics of those who play a role in assisting others.

We also need to stand up and act.

Mokati is the group development content editor at Independent Media