The last quarter of a century has seen massive changes that have helped fuel the fastest reduction in extreme poverty in human history. Despite this 1 billion people worldwide still live on less than $1.25 a day (the World Bank measure of poverty) and inequality within and between countries is growing at an alarming rate.
The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a set of goals for the world that aim to make our planet fair, healthy and sustainable by 2030.
Sustainable Development Goals
Building on the Millennium Development Goals, in September 2015, the United Nations launched the ‘The Global Goals for Sustainable Development’. The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a set of goals for the world that aim to make our planet fair, healthy and sustainable by 2030.
There are 17 SDGs which fall into 7 themes: poverty; health and wellbeing; education, skills and jobs; a just world; sustainability; the environment; the global goals. Progress on the SDGs will be measured by governments every year, in order to help achieve them by 2030.
The richest five families in the UK are now wealthier than the bottom 20% of the population.
Crucially, the SDGs are not just aimed at developing countries, they recognise the global nature of the issues they seek to change and that it is the responsibility of all governments in all countries to be a part of this process. And it is our responsibility to hold our elected members to account; to ensure that they provide the funding they have pledged in support of the Goals and crucially to develop a National Action Plan or task force to implement the goals.
As teachers and educators it is our responsibility to ensure young people know about the SDGs and how they impact on their lives and the lives of others and to equip them with the skills and values to turn the rhetoric of the SDGs into a reality for all.
World’s Largest Lesson
The SDGs provide a rich and stimulating learning context across all aspects of the curriculum. Many of the individual themes are already highlighted in specific curriculum strands, while referencing the SDGs can help make local to global connections and add depth to the learning process. The World’s Largest Lesson provides a starting point for introducing the SDGs through a short film and a comic. It also has an ever growing bank of lesson plans focusing on one or more of the goals.
Poverty and Inequality
Goal 1 focuses on poverty reduction which is closely connected to Goal 10 which calls for the reduction of inequalities both within and between countries. Evidence has shown that economic inequality tends to slow the pace of poverty reduction. A widening gap between rich and poor is now being seen in many countries around the world. If we take the entire wealth of the planet and divide it into two, almost half would go to the richest 1% while the other half would go to the remaining 99%. Inequality is increasing in the UK: the richest five families in the UK are now wealthier than the bottom 20% of the population (12.6 million people).
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and between countries.
What does it mean to be poor?
A child living in poverty in Eritrea might lack basic needs such as sanitation, a nutritionally balanced diet and a regular supply of electricity. A child living in poverty Malawi might have to work in tobacco fields and not attend school because of the necessity to provide food and other basic needs for themselves and their families. A child living in poverty in Scotland might lack a healthy, balanced diet and live in damp, crowded housing. For all these children poverty limits their opportunities: educationally, employability, earning potential and health.
There are 13 million people living in poverty in the UK. Last year more than 1 million people used foodbanks. SDG 1 commits all countries to reducing at least by half the proportion of men, women and children living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions by 2030. What does this mean for the UK? What will we do to make sure this goal is achieved? Making sure that our young people leave school equipped to deal with these challenges is a good starting point.
Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.
More or less equal?
Poverty and inequality are core themes in social subjects, however, there is scope for discussion and learning in many curriculum areas. Oxfam’s recent publication Everyone Counts (primary) and More or Less Equal? (Secondary) offer an interdisciplinary approach to exploring poverty and inequality with teaching ideas for English, Maths and Geography. The resources are based on an international research project, Young Lives, studying the causes and consequences of children’s poverty in four countries: Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. The resources encourages young people to engage critically with the issue of poverty and inequality, to ask questions, challenge perspectives and explore ways to respond as active global citizens.
1 in 5 project
Closer to home, Edinburgh City Council are running the 1 in 5: Raising Awareness of Child Poverty in Edinburgh project with local schools.
The project has worked with over 700 staff, pupils and parents and carers to explore the scale, impact and causes of poverty and to challenge the stigma of poverty. Participants took part in ‘Cost of the School Day’ focus groups where ideas were gathered on how schools could reduce the costs associated with schools; things such as uniform, homework resources and trips, and explored how policies and practices could inadvertently create inequalities in school experiences and learning for children from low income families. As one participating teacher says, “This has really made me think and also evaluate what a classroom environment is like for a child in poverty and how it could be if we put things in place to change attitudes and make provision”.
Poverty may seem like something which will be always be with us but we have to believe otherwise. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life.”
