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Philanthropy, United Nations

The Sustainable Development Goals and Our Youth

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EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS PIECE IS  CONTRIBUTED BY THE EUROPEAN  YOUTH FORUM. IT WAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED BY YO!MAG, THE EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM’S PLATFORM FOR YOUTH WRITING AND MULTIMEDIA CONTENT. 

 Where will you be in 15 years time?

Answering this question now underscores the importance of including youth in the process of implementing and ultimately achieving the very important Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. In 15 years time, many of today’s youth, currently leaders in their own right, will be the future leaders discussing a post-Agenda 2030 world and setting new priorities for development in local, national and regional contexts. Although ‘youth’ are only mentioned 5 times within the 169 targets of the 17 SDGs – in SDG4, SDG8 and SDG13 on education, employment and climate change respectively – ‘youth’ issues are not stand alone issues, rather they are ‘cross-cutting’ and ‘multi-sectoral.’ In recognition of this and the fact that youth make up half of the world’s population today, I have drawn up three key recommendations to practically ensure the place of youth in the SDG agenda:

1) Pioneer youth-mainstreaming

This can be engineered in the same way the international community has fostered gender mainstreaming. Looking at the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council definition of ‘gender-mainstreaming’ is a good starting point: “Mainstreaming a youth perspective is the process of assessing the implications for youth, young women and young men, of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making young women’s as well as young men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that young women and young men benefit equally and age discrimination is not perpetuated.” (emphasis mine).

Related article: “SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: CATALYSTS FOR THE ‘CHANGE’ GENERATION TO TAKE HOLD OF THEIR FUTURE“

 2) Align SDGs with regional agendas

This is essential to ensure that we do not work in silos but that we aim for coherent development from the local to international level. Working in a youth organisation that is by its nature international – working on both South-South and triangular cooperation (these are new emerging forms of international development cooperation, whereby the former refers to sharing of experience, knowledge and best practice between developing countries of the global South, and the latter refers to the inclusion of a traditional partner of multilateral organisation from the global North) – I am continuously reminded of the importance of open and inclusive dialogue and exchanges in order to achieve coherent policy in practice. For example, when working with youth networks in Africa, it is crucial to bear in mind the importance of the endogenous African development agenda, ‘Agenda 2063’ – “The AU Vision and Road Map Towards the Africa We Want.” In such partnerships, it is important to find the synergies and complementarities between existing plans for development and the SDGs.

The SDGs are an indivisible tapestry of priorities for collective action.

 – – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

bankimoon-impakter-sdgs-youthInthe Photo: Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General Photo Credit: Ministrie Van Buttenlandse Zaken/ Flickr 

 3) Create an enabling environment for youth and youth organizations

This is a prerequisite to ensure participation and inclusion in achieving the SDGs. The UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-Moon has said, “The SDGs are an indivisible tapestry of priorities for collective action.” This must be proactively fostered through participatory models of inclusion. The European Youth Forum is at the vanguard in this respect, inviting a wide range of participants to be guests at its Council of Members (COMEM) and promoting inclusive dialogue both within and outside of structured dialogue processes. The Commonwealth also proactively fosters youth network development – through youth leadership training, strategic support to entrepreneurs and guaranteed participation in high-level political meetings – to ensure that youth are not just the leaders of tomorrow, but also leaders today. 

In sum, these three key recommendations are just the starting points. Collective action requires youth inclusion from SDG 1 to SDG 17, and from target number 1 to target number 169. The fact that youth make up half of the world’s population today, coupled with the fact that we are witnessing new forms of under-development, as well as novel development challenges – unpaid internships, low quality jobs for over-skilled youth, lack of decent jobs, amongst others – is a strong reminder, that the time for empowerment and transformative action really is now or never. The next 15 years will attest to the collective will to achieve the future that the SDGs promise. Let’s co-create our future together! 

Recommended reading: “YOUTH KEY TO THE SDGS IN KENYA” 

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Authored By: Yentyl Williams, Founder & President of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Young Professionals’ Network (ACP YPN), EU
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The European Youth Forum (YFJ) is the platform of youth organisations in Europe. Representing 100 youth organisations, both National Youth Councils and International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations, we believe youth organisations are the tool through which we empower, encourage, involve, represent, reach out and support young people.

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The food industry is coming under increasing scrutiny for its environmental impact, from greenhouse gas emissions, to excessive and detrimental land and water usage, to chemical pollution. Given the challenge of feeding a growing world population whilst simultaneously needing to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts, clearly we need to look at alternatives to “dinner as usual”. The contribution of livestock to global greenhouse emissions is estimated at between 14.5 – 18%. Fortunately, there are companies who are tackling this challenge head on and looking at how emissions from food production can be reduced. With consumer interest increasing in alternatives to meat and other protein sources, we’ve spoken to the founders of three companies. From the seemingly futuristic to the rediscovery of superfood trees, each company tackles this new drive in consumer interest in different ways.

Solar Foods, Finland

Dr Pasi Vainnika is the CEO and co-founder of Solar Foods. The slogan of the company is “Food out of thin air”. Pasi was formerly in charge of the single largest renewable energy program in Finland. However, when he found out that 20-25% of the emissions come from food, he realized that emissions from this sector needed to be addressed, as well as those in the energy sector. But with the growth in affordable and renewable energy – particularly solar energy– it led him and his team to question the possibility of producing food solely from energy, carbon dioxide, and water. It turns out, the answer is yes. Solein is a unique single cell protein. It is produced using a fully natural fermentation process like that of the production of yeast or lactic acid bacteria. The powder, which is produced from the process, is 50% protein, 5-10% fat and 20-25% carbohydrate. Most likely, the first product to reach the consumer market will be a replacement in existing plant-based foods. For example, using Solein in shakes or as an alternative to dairy in milks, yogurts, and even in breads and pasta. In the future, a lasagna could include the protein in all aspects of the recipe: the sauce, in the pasta sheets, and in the filling. Further into the future, there is also the possibility that it could be used as the basis for cultured meat production.
In the Photo: Solein Can be used in smoothies as a protein alternative. Photo Credit: Shawn Fields - Unsplash
To produce a kilo of the protein powder takes 10 liters of water in comparison to the 2500 liters of water for a kilo of soy or 15,500 liters for a kilo of beef. Electricity is the main raw material, and the plan is to source this from renewable energy sources. Additionally, Solein binds carbon dioxide rather than emitting it, easing pressure on land use. The product is currently going through regulatory checks and testing at the moment, with a plan to launch in 2021. NASA and the Soviet Union space programs had started to investigate in similar protein production for their expeditions in the past, but Solar Foods has brought it down to earth.

Higher Steaks, United Kingdom

Whilst some people are switching to plant-based diets and others have reduced their meat consumption, some others still want to keep meat in their diets but are looking for more environmentally friendly options. This is where lab-based meat comes in. Benjamina Bollag, CEO and co-founder of Higher Steaks, a UK-based company, believes that it is important to provide alternatives to meat with a lower carbon footprint, but that taste as close as possible to the real thing. She believes that the change required in human behavior to cut emissions will not happen fast enough otherwise. This approach is confirmed by research they have conducted. 52% of respondents confirmed that they would switch from conventional meat to the Higher Steaks alternative, with 21% saying they would prefer a plant-based diet. There are different ways of producing lab-based meat. The process that Higher Steaks is developing is based on pluripotent stem cells, which are taken from a small skin patch or blood sample. The meat that is grown is then shaped into products. Currently, Higher Steaks is working primarily on pork products.
In Photo: Higher Steaks will eventually release pork as its first lab-cultured meat. Photo Credit: Yvonne Lee Harijanto - Unsplash
The company has yet to conduct a lifecycle assessment of the lab-grown meat, but given the high levels of environmental impact from meat production, it should be safe to say that Higher Steaks products will be more sustainable. In addition, as Benjamina explains, other advantages include the avoidance of antibiotic use, resulting in a product which is better for the consumer as well. The level of fat can also be adjusted, depending on consumer preference. The company is working to have the first products in shops within 3-5 years.

Barukas, Brazil

Barukas proves that you don’t always to have to look to the future for more sustainable food sources. Sometimes it is about rediscovering and making available a food source which has been around for a long time to a wider audience. The baruzeiro tree, native to Brazil, has been a long-time source of nutrition for people living in the Cerrado, the vast savannah at the heart of Brazil. The tree produces a fruit, which contains the baru nut. It was the nutritional profile of the baru nut that initially attracted Seth Tuckerman, who had formerly been the COO of Beachbody, a fitness business. The nuts are high in protein, fiber, minerals, and are lower in fat than typical nuts. The taste is often described as a cross between peanuts and almonds. In fact, Tuckerman’s immediate thought on tasting them was “low calorie almonds”. Tuckerman’s passion is not only about the positive health benefits, but also about the trees and the mutual benefits for the communities where they grew.
In Photo: Baruzeiro tree. Photo Credit: Barukas
Tuckerman became a co-founder of Barukas Incorporated. They are on a mission to plant 20 million baruzeiro trees – as a start. The trees need little water and – as native trees – they are already ideally suited to the Cerrado conditions. First, Barukas must prove that there is a market for the fruit of the existing trees. As such, the company is encouraging those living in the Cerrado to collect the nuts by guaranteeing to buy them, then creating customer demand for the nuts. Collecting the fruit from existing trees helps to preserve them from being cleared for intensive and invasive agricultural methods such as soy plantations. Likewise, planting new trees helps to reverse the deforestation of Cerrado. A report by the Climate Observatory estimated that the destruction of surface vegetation in the Cerrado released 248 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2016. This is roughly two-and-half times the annual tailpipe emissions from all cars in Brazil.
In Photo: Closer look at the baruzeiro tree. Photo Credit: Barukas.
From talking with these three pioneers, it is now clearer than ever that we need multiple solutions to address how to sustainably feed a growing population. We need to cut the carbon emissions and reduce other environmental impacts such as water and land use associated with food production. Some of these solutions are a little way off in the future, but others are available now. We are what we eat, but our choices will increasingly determine what kind of future we will live in as well.   EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com.
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