Session 4 - SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

Andrew Russell - The learned speaker started by stating that he considers himself a peacebuilder. He then stated how important the Sustainable development goals are and how they are the key to enduring peace and prosperity in the world. He then practically started explaining the current problems facing humanity as a whole and what the actual impact of this pandemic will be. He speaks of how poverty is increasing, how climate change is accelerating and how education is put on hold as well. He stated how it is not advisable to wait for the UN to implement these changes, rather it falls on all of us individually to try and adhere to the principles and he reiterated that everything we do to combat the current crisis must be done keeping growth and stable economics in mind.

Mandar Apte - The learned speaker belongs to an organization which is a peace consultancy called cities4peace. He emphasised that the only way to make sustainability real is to incentivise it at all costs. He gave the example of Los Angeles which his organization was tasked with by the city itself to reduce its murder rate. He stated that there was a price attached to murder and thus he stated that there is a cost of violence. The aim of peace is to make the cost of violence so onerous that naturally it has no option but to reduce. This dynamic and mechanism can only be achieved by cooperation between various agencies and individuals.

Dr. Marios Antoniou - The learned speaker spoke about how he too is a peacebuilder. He also mentioned that coming from a society at strofe with itself, the speaker can understand the value within peace. He then spoke about the most likely recession that will hit the economy due to the pandemic. He believes that adhering to sustainable development goals is one sure method to ensure that the impact of the recession is reduced. The speaker also believed that without the cooperation of international, national and international organizations humanity would not be able to withstand the impact of recession and environmental degradation.

Ms. Julia Roig - The learned speaker spoke pragmatically about how to realise the dream of peace. She runs an NGO that wished to partner with other like minded agencies to try and achieve peace. But how to dress it in an individual is tricky. Using traditional appeals to one’s inner space results in a very passive response within our brains, often not enough to galvanise the mind to action. This approach must be sounding beneficial. She also spoke about how to restore relationships and how without the acute understanding and insight which partners in this endeavor can provide on a local level, tru peace would be unachievable. Partnerships take time and require a long period of trust to be fruitful. Nonetheless, in this case they are necessary.