Global Goals Week in Albania drives joint action to achieve the 2030 Agenda
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Global Goals Week in Albania brought together students, youth, local governments, civil society and businesses to raise awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to build partnerships to drive concrete action for achieving the new 2030 sustainable development agenda.
UN Agencies organized a marathon of events in Elbasan, one of the largest cities in Albania, to engage communities and the local government in taking concrete action to achieve the SDGs at the local level.
“The Global Goals are applicable to all nations, rich and poor. SDGs are important as they adhere to human rights principles. They are about people and leaving no one behind. Our Programme of Cooperation for Sustainable Development with the Government of Albania is designed to help Albania drive the SDG Agenda ahead,” said Brian Williams, UN Resident Coordinator in Albania.
At a high school in Elbasan, students discussed Sustainable Development Goal 5, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Around one hundred boys and girls participated in the event and discussed concrete actions that can be taken to create equal opportunities for women and men.
“The best part of the Global Goals start with you. Individual actions matter. Think about concrete actions each and every one of you can take to create an equal world for women and men alike,” said Giuseppe Belsito, UN Women Representative during his speech at the event.
A Town Hall brought together the Mayor of Elbasan, members of the municipal council, civil society, academia and media to discuss “localization” of the SDGs and the role that local governments can play to bring together different constituencies and drive action in order to achieve the global goals at the local level.
The Alliance of Women Councilors in Elbasan presented their priorities to advance the local SDG agenda in Elbasan with a focus on SDG 5. They aim to create a commission for gender equality within the municipality, create a specific fund for women entrepreneurs and work closely with civil society organizations to raise awareness on women and girls’ rights and support gender issues in Elbasan.
A separate lesson was conducted with primary school children and teachers where Global Goals were introduced through the World’s Largest Lesson.
In Tirana, Open Labs Albania and the Municipality organized the Global Goals Jam, “Design Tomorrow Now,” a two –day event that brought together young people to design quick win sustainable solutions for Tirana citizens. Six prototypes were created including amongst others “Bus Net,” an application aimed at informing Tirana citizens about public transportation routes, timing or delays; “Air quality data gathering for Tirana citizens,” an application aiming to measure the air pollution in Tirana; and “Ask Public Institutions,” an open source platform allowing citizens to ask questions and get feedback from public institutions.
A partnership was launched with Sophie Café, a well-known coffee shop chain, with thirteen bars and approximately 10.000 daily customers, to raise awareness about and promote support for the SDGs in Albania. Customers receive their coffee with “Happy Tickets” or messages branded with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, asking them to participate and give their contribution.
Global Goals Week is a joint effort to optimize the impact of events and actions organized during the UN General Assembly week and to advance the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as Global Goals.