Comparing the SDGs

As 2015 was approaching, it was very clear that the UN desperately needed a successor for the Millennium Development Goals. One which was going to overcome the challenges that plagued them. As the first step in 2012, during the Rio +20

Conference the UN formed two teams to build an elaborate agenda to replace the MDGs for the UN's upcoming 2015 conference in New York. The two teams were the UN Task Team, chaired by the Prime Minister of the UK, and the Presidents of Liberia, and Indonesia, and the Open Working Group managed by Intergovernmental Groups. The UN task team was responsible for preparing the UN's post-2015 agenda, whereas the open working group was responsible for preparing new development goals and setting targets.

The Open Working Group worked with civil society organizations, consulted all member countries, and engaged the public using face-to-face and online meetings, and door-to-door surveys. Both groups worked in parallel and combined their knowledge over this three-year period, which is known as the Post-2015 Development Agenda, encompassing both the agenda and the goals and targets.

In September 2015, during the conference in New York, after three years of negotiations and battles, the UN showcased the blueprint to achieve a better and sustainable future for all - known as the Sustainable Development Goals. 193 countries of the UN assembly committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The SDGs consists of 17 goals and 169 targets. The core framework for the SDG's expands on the MDGs by linking the social, economic, and environmental aspects of its goals. The SDG's address the shortcomings of the MDGs by incorporating a broader and transformative agenda.

The MDGs, which are largely focused on the targets for developing countries with funding from developed rich countries. However, the SDGs are for all countries developed or developing all of whom are expected to work together to achieve the universal goals and targets. The MDGs also provided no specific role for civil society organizations, whereas the SDGs have engaged the CSOs from the beginning by consulting them during a three-year post-development agenda period. Finally, the MDGs were drafted by technocrats who failed to consult global knowledge and expertise. This meant that the MDGs were disconnected from ongoing global debates on development priorities.

On the other hand, the SDGs were drafted by an open working group which worked with countries and organizations from all over the world. Despite overcoming the challenges and criticisms of the MDGs the question remains are the SDGs going to be successful while the SDGs provide a broader agenda than the MDGs with a potential for course correction. Will this make a difference? With transformative goals and target setting, there is a chance that countries might choose SDG's that are easier to implement, requiring minimal national adaptation which might result in only a handful of the SDG goals and targets receiving policy attention, effort, and resources.

Few things are certain, if the SDGs are to succeed they will depend on continued advocacy for each of its targets. Promoting an inclusive approach to development and incorporating a more granular and local approach. And as new global challenges arise like information warfare surveillance populism technology-based inequality and immigration, the SDGs and their interpretation will need to be adaptable.

The question is, is the UN flexible enough to do that? Or does a changing world need new goals to be drafted more frequently than they are now? Here's a quick recap. As 2015 was approaching, the UN needed a new agenda to overcome the challenges and criticisms of the MDGs. The UN formed two teams the UN task team and the open working group to develop a detailed agenda. The UN presented the SDGs in 2015 consisting of 17 goals and 169 targets to 193 countries. The SDGs addressed all the shortcomings of the MDGs. Continued advocacy promoting an inclusive approach to development and incorporating a local approach are some of the ways the SDGs are expected to succeed. The question remains are the SDGs going to be successful or will they be plagued by challenges that prevent them from making any meaningful impact?

Thanks for watching! Hope you enjoyed our video. If you did, leave us a like and subscribe if you haven't already, and let us know in the comments what you'd like us to cover next. If you'd like to learn more about sustainability, assess your skills, and interact with like-minded people, come join our SDG Plus community. You can test yourself too.