I am coming to the end of my capstone project and WOW has it been exhausting. Let’s look back from after the interview to now. By the time my interview was finished my script was already done, I just had to go back and do some slight editing. There was not much to change because I was proud of my script. After that, I had to start working on my actual slideshow. This was an easy step because I already had a lot of images saved in a folder so I just had to insert them into the presentation. I got so caught up with this step and I got so relaxed. Too relaxed. Because of this, I forgot that capstone was so soon and I had to memorize my script. I feel like I saved the memorizing for the last minute because I lost track of time. On the weekend before the capstone practice, I spent at least 2 hours ensuring everything was the best. After that weekend we had the capstone rehearsal, and even though I was nervous, I felt I did good.
Here is some additional information I learned about all the goals:
No poverty. Mentioned in TED talk.
Zero Hunger. Zero hunger is one of the goals that we are doing the best on especially in richer countries. This is because Zero hunger is one of the money based goals. Most of the money based goals we are doing good on because for years governments thought that GDP was the key to making their country stronger but just now people are realizing that there need to be more solutions to problems other than money. Even with hunger being one of the goals we are doing better on 690 million people still experience hunger.
Good Helth and Well Being. This goal we are also doing better on all over the world. (Pre-covid) Before the pandemic, the world was doing really well with this goal. People working in organizations all over the world were helping and deceased like malaria were seeing a colossal amount of decrease in deaths. Despite determined global progress, an increase of child deaths are in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. Four out of every five deaths of children under age five occur in these regions.
Quality Education. Education is the key to escaping poverty because when you are educated you can help others and build a stronger community. Over the past decade, major progress has been made to bring quality education to all. Even with all that progress being made 260 million children were still out of school in 2018. By April 2020 1.6 billion children were out of school. This was a disaster because about 369 million children rely on school lunch as their nutrition.
Gender Equality. “Gender Equality is not just a fundamental right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.” There has not been much progress on gender equality in the last decades. Gender equality is one of the hardest goals to achieve because it is not a money based goal. You have to meet real people and talk with them. When covid 19 hit it was devastating because women were the ones mostly working on the front lines. Most exposed to covid 19. Women were also harder hit by the economic crisis of covid 19. “Limited gains in gender equality and women’s rights made over the decades are in danger of being rolled back due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the UN Secretary-General said in April 2020, urging governments to put women and girls at the centre of their recovery efforts. Here are some sad and depressing facts. Globally, women are just 13 percent of agricultural landholders. In 46 countries, women now hold more than 30 percent of seats in national parliament in at least one chamber. In 2019 women held only 29% of managerial positions.
Clean Water and Sanitation. Mentioned in TED talk.
Clean and Affordable Energy. As I have been saying for a lot of these goals this is a money based problem so we are doing pretty well in this goal. Many governments all over the world have started to increase their budgets on solar energy. In many places hydro energy is also becoming popular. Even with all these improvements, some people are being left behind. 13 percent of the global population still lacks modern electricity.
Decent Work and Economic Growth. “Sustained and inclusive economic growth can drive progress, create decent jobs for all and improve living standards”. Like all the other goals this one was getting closer to being accomplished because for years governments have been working on growing their GDP. When covid 19 hit many people were out of jobs even in richer countries. Because of this world economies were severely damaged. Here are some facts The global unemployment rate in 2017 was 5.6per cent, down from 6.4per cent in 2000. Globally, 61per cent of all workers were engaged in informal employment in 2016. Excluding the agricultural sector, 51per cent of all workers fell into this employment category. Men earn 12.5per cent more than women in 40 out of 45 countries with data. Sad and Depressing.
Industries, Innovation, and Infrastructure. I did not find much information about this goal but I can share some facts that I found interesting. 16 percent of the global population does not have access to mobile broadband networks. Developing countries continued to outpace developed economies in renewables investment. In 2019, they committed $152.2 billion, compared to $130 billion for developed countries.
Reducing Inequalities. “Reducing inequalities and ensuring no one is left behind are integral to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”. Inequalities among countries in a persistent cause for concern. Here are some facts that I found interesting Evidence from developing countries shows that children in the poorest 20 percent of the populations are still up to three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than children in the richest countries. 30 percent of income inequality is income inequality between men and women.
Sustainable Cities and Communities. Since 2007 half of the world’s population is living in cities. We are living in a heavily urbanized world for better or worse. Cities are the powerhouse of economic growth. Since so many people are moving to cities they are becoming crowded, unsafe, unsanitary, and unsustainable. Did you know that the world’s cities cover only 3 percent of the Earth’s land but are responsible for 60-80 percent of energy consumption and 75 percent of carbon emissions?
Responsible Consumption and Production. I did not learn anything at all about this goal! I guess it’s one of the lesser talked about goals. I don’t know why this is because I found some very interesting facts about this goal on the U.N website. Here are the facts! The global population could grow to 9.7 billion by 2050 and 3 planets’ worth of resources would be needed to sustain the number of people on earth. If people all over the world switched to energy-efficient lightbulbs 120 billion dollars would be saved per year.
Climate Action. (Preventing climate change). In my presentation, I was originally going to talk about 3 goals instead of 2 and the third one would have been climate change. Because of this, I have a lot, and I mean a LOT of information on climate change. Climate change is caused when fossil fuels are burned and create greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases trap light and heat from the sun in the atmosphere. Since the 1970s climate change has been getting worse and worse mostly because that was the time when supply and demand started to increase and many more products were being made. From 2013 to 2017 were the hottest years on record. Luckily, since that time, people have realized climate change is a serious matter and have been starting to take action on it. An organization that works for the U.N that is focused on preventing climate change is the Green Climate Fund. It is an organization based in South Korea. The organization believes that poorer countries are most affected by climate change and would benefit the most from preventing climate change. Some of the missions the U.N has to prevent climate change are ‘Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning. Raise awareness of climate change. Mobilize 100 billion dollars per year to help developing countries. There are a few more though.
Life Below Water. I feel like for the last few goals I did not find much information. I don’t know why this is because they seem important enough. I can assume that the past goal, climate action, really relates to this goal because climate change is melting so many ice caps and making the sea level rise, which will impact lots of animals. This is not a very kind wy to thank the ocean for absorbing 30 percent of all carbon dioxide, slowing down global warming. I think that this goal exists because so many humans are causing life below water to die.
Life on Land. ” Human activity has altered almost 75 percent of the earth’s surface, squeezing wildlife and nature into an ever-smaller corner of the planet.” What an amazing way to thank the trees for giving us oxygen. I did not get much information on this goal so here are some facts I learned that I found interesting. About 1.6 billion people depend on forests to survive. Forests host 80 percent of all plants and animals.
Peace Justice and Strong Institutions. What!? It has never occurred to me that this goal exists. Just because I’m so amazing I’ll share a few cool facts I learned on the U.N website (I could only find 2 because some of them made no sense to me). 28.5 million elementary school children who are out of school live in conflicted areas. 50 percent of children around the world experience violence every year.
Partnership for the Goals. Ahh, what a nice way to conclude this, or, ahh what a nice conclusion because I’m too lazy to write one because I’ve been at this for HOURS. TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK!!! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post and see you next time!