UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – What are they and can they be achieved?

More information below the video.

Carl Wright co-chaired UN consultations/negotiations on the 2030 Agenda on SDGs. He is a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum and a diplomat with a wealth of experience in UN affairs.

Dr Wright has over 40 years of professional experience working with the UN, the Commonwealth, the EU and intergovernmental organisations. Carl`s work has involved him with participation in the negotiations on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developments, co-chaired the UN`s SDG goals 2014/15 and had participated in conferences with the UN Secretary-General and had attended the Addis Ababa Finance Conference and Paris Climate Conference.

Carl has also worked with the International Labour organisation and adviser to the UN Commission on Transnational Corporations, a Commonwealth diplomat and was a full-time Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum. Carl`s work has also engaged him with other UN bodies including the UNDP, UNESCO, WHO and UNESCO and this involved collaboration on specific development projects drawing also on funding from the UK government and the EU.

Carl is an enthusiastic supporter of the UN Association for many years and has served as an elected Trustee on behalf of the Association membership to the UNA-UK Board. Currently Carl have been quite involved in the localisation of SDGs at community and local government level including in Canterbury especially on climate change (see www.ccap.org.uk)

The 2030 Agenda adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

“These are stories that need to be told. You need to look at the human impact on families whose lives were changed for ever” – Sarah Agha. “I think the key to understanding where we are today is to hear the stories of that time from both sides” – Rob Rinder

Colin Briant of Musalaha shares the following report.

On 14 and 21 March 2023, BBC 2 broadcast two television programmes co-presented by Rob Rinder and Sarah Agha in the series “The Holy Land and Us – Our Untold Stories”  about the foundation of the State of Israel and the way these events shaped the narratives of their British families, one Israeli, the other Palestinian.

Using the approach seen in “Who do you think you are?” these two grandchildren trace their families’ history back to 1948 and before, to reveal personal stories hitherto unknown to them.

As the experiences of another four families are explored, characteristic Palestinian and Jewish narratives emerge.

“……the promise of a homeland of safety a quarter of a century before my family are murdered in the holocaust …..”
“Israel offered sanctuary for Jews from across the world, but it undoubtedly came at a price.”
“For the Palestinians there was nothing to celebrate. What Palestinian families like mine lost in 1948 were their homes, along with a sense of place and belonging. More than 700,000 Palestinian refugees were created by the events between1947 and 1949. …. Palestinians call this period The Nakba – Arabic for the catastrophe.”

In the final scene the participants wistfully express hope for the future, but they show no awareness of approaches such as Musalaha’s.

It seemed to me, Colin writes, that they are a very good way to help us understand the current background Musalaha is working in.

The first five minutes of Episode 1 form an overall introduction, well worth looking at in itself. It contains hints of the pain and the hope the two main participants will share with viewers.

These programmes are even-handed and sensitive as the two competing narratives emerge. At the very start they outline the role the British played, raising difficult questions for us today.

These two BBC episodes are available on iPlayer for the next twelve months.

References

About the series “The Holy Land and Us – Our Untold Stories”

Series 2 Episode 1 on BBC iPlayer (requires BBC  licence)

Series 2 Episode 2 on BBC iPlayer (requires BBC  licence)

Musalaha