SDG Flag Day 2023 and the Tree of Hope

On 25^th September 2023 London School of Management Education (LSME) joined hundreds of educational institutions, businesses, government departments, and civil society organisations in a global movement to fly the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) flag to spread awareness of the SDGs and mobilise stakeholders for the 2030 agenda.

Today, hundreds of UK organisations raise an SDG flag to show their support for the SDGs. This September will mark eight years since the world embraced the UN SDGs. Being a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education, LSME is ambitious about educating and producing responsible future leaders armed with the knowledge of sustainable development.

The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, reflect a shared objective and ambition across all countries to end poverty and hunger everywhere, to combat inequalities within and among countries, to build peaceful, just, and inclusive societies, to protect human rights and promote gender equality of women and girls, and to ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources by 2030.

The 17 Goals are supported by 169 targets and 232 indicators, enabling progress to be prioritised and tracked.

Following a brief lecture and an interactive session focussing on the 17 SDGs, the students made one personal commitment to support one aspect of the SDGs. The commitments they articulated on a piece of paper were pasted on a ‘Tree of Hope’. They all enjoyed their time and interaction while contemplating on a global agenda, which they hardly thought of before.

The students had identified interesting aspects of supporting the agenda through little steps they can take at their personal level such as, avoiding food waste, reducing plastic by buying less of water bottles, avoiding water waste, buying more durable and long-lasting clothing, planting trees, helping the poor and disabled people, educating young children about sustainability etc.

With only 1 in 10 people in the UK familiar with the SDGs, raising the SDG flag this September is key to raising awareness and mobilising stakeholders for action. All the students agreed that the SDG Flag Day has been an educational experience and learnt many new things and wish to make their contribution towards the global movement in championing the SDGs.

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