Six new Belgian ambassadors to promote the Sustainable Development Goals

In the same way as last year, the Minister for Sustainable Development, Marie-Christine Marghem, has appointed a group of ambassadors with a very specific task: to raise the awareness of the Belgian public about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) drawn up by the United Nations.

This year, the ambassadors in charge of promoting sustainable development in Belgium, also called the "SDG Voices", are the following six organisations: Joker, Natagora, the FEB-VBO, the VVSG, MOOOV and Metro. Selected from among 31 candidates, these organisations have to familiarise citizens with the SDG and incite them to make a greater contribution to them throughout 2018. Also, they will be required to set an example through their commitment and through concrete actions.

Thus, the travel agency Joker offers the chance to discover an "SDG spot" that involves an activity, an experience or an initiative suggested by other travellers that leads clients to an unforgettable destination and also offers the opportunity to do some good work for the local population and the planet. The nature protection association Natagora, offers video reports that show a less stereotyped aspect of nature protection, in particular with the help of farmers or designers. Next, the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (FEB-VBO) will conduct a survey in the field in order to better adapt its information campaign and its debate between employees, young people and managers. The Vereniging van Vlaamse Steden en Gemeenten (VVSG), namely the Union of Flemish cities and municipalities, follows with a project that transposes the SDG to a local level in order to turn them into a coherent sustainable development policy. The MOOOV film festival will associate its films with the SDG and, before each screening, will offer explanations of the SDG in images that refer to the themes discussed in the films. Finally, the daily paper Metro. In addition to its "Metro Green", a supplement launched this year to promote sustainability initiatives, the paper will devote a page to each SDG every week (for 17 weeks).

According to the Federal Institute for Sustainable Development (FISD), Belgium still has a long way to go if it wants to implement the SDG by 2030. That is why it is a particularly important to involve civil society as much as possible and raise awareness. "If we want to achieve the sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations, we all have to commit to them. And this necessarily involves providing information, raising awareness and building concrete examples. The mission of SDG Voices is to inspire all citizens and encourage them to contribute to a sustainable future", confirms Dieter Vander Beke, the Director of the FISD. To find out more: https://www.sdgs.be/en