MODULE 3: SDGs and the importance of youth work.

National youth
strategies and International programmes

Youth Workers 4 Global Goals

CAPACITY BUILDING IN THE FIELD OF YOUTH

This project has been funded with support from the

European Commission. This publication reflects the
views only of the author, and the Commission cannot
be held responsible for any use which may be made of
the information contained therein.
Module 3: SDGs and the importance of youth work. National youth
strategies and International programmes

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 2
I. SDGs and the importance of youth work.………………………….………….……………………….3
What is Youth work and why is important? ............................................................... 3
Youth workers and the SDGs …………………..……………………………………………………….….....5
II. National Youth Strategies and International Programmes ...................................... 8
Youth2030: The United Nations Youth Strategy ........................................................... 8
Youth for Global Goals …………………..…………………………………………..……………….…........10
The Danish Youth Council and DUF's Youth Delegate Programme............................. 11
UN Youth Climate Summit…………………………..………………..………………………….……….….....13

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INTRODUCTION
Youth workers and youth in general, have a very important role to play for the
achievement of the Global Goals. Provided with the necessary skills and opportunities
needed to reach their potential, young people can be a driving force for supporting
development and contributing to peace and security. Youth-led organizations need to
be encouraged and empowered to participate in translating the 2030 Agenda into local,
national and regional policy. They play a significant role in the implementation,
monitoring and review of the Agenda as well as in holding governments accountable.
With political commitment and adequate resources, young people have the potential to
make the most effective transformation of the world into a better place for all.

In the following module, youngsters will learn what is youth work, why youth workers
and leaders can contribute to the SDGs as well as examples of National youth strategies
and International programmes focused on the achievement of SDGs.

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 I. SDGs and the importance of youth work
Connected to each other like never before, young people want to and already contribute
to the resilience of their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social
progress and inspiring political change. They are also agents of change, mobilizing to
advance the Sustainable Development Goals to improve the lives of people and the
health of the planet. Moreover, contributing towards harnessing youth workers and
leader’s potential as active citizen for peace and development can set agendas for
empowerment of marginalized youth from different slum clusters with objectives to
encourage active citizenship and to identify and promote young change-makers whose
leadership will catalyze the achievement of peace and SDGs in local, national and
international level.
In the following part we will see what is youth work and why youth workers and leaders
can contribute to the achievements of the SDGs.

a. What is Youth work and why is important?

Youth work is complex series of professional principles, practices and methods which
we often describe as the science of enabling young people to believe in themselves and
build positive futures. Youth work focuses on personal and social development – the
skills and attributes of young people – rather than to “fix a problem”. It is an educational
process that engages with young people in a curriculum that deepens a young person’s
understanding of themselves, their community and the world in which they live and
supports them to proactively bring about positive changes. Therefore, youth work needs
to be transformational, harnessing skills of young people not fulfilled by formal
education.
According to the European Commission, youth work has three essential features1:

 Young people choose to participate

 The work takes place where the young people are
 It recognizes that the young person and the youth worker are partners in a
learning process;
Moreover, youth work is a broad term covering a broad scope of activities of a social,
cultural, educational or political nature by, with and for young people. Increasingly, such
activities also include sport and services for young people. Youth work belongs to the
area of “out-of-school” education, as well as specific leisure time activities managed by
professional or voluntary youth workers and youth leaders. Youth work is organised in
different ways (by youth-led organisations, organisations for youth, informal groups or
through youth services and public authorities). It is delivered in different forms and
settings (e.g. open-access, group-based, programme-based, outreach and detached)
and is given shape at local, regional, national and European level.

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Effective youth work and youth initiatives seek to empower young people and
encourage their active participation in society. It equips them with skills, competences
and experiences for life, thereby maximising the protective factors which enhance the
development, well-being, autonomy and social inclusion of all young people, including
those with fewer opportunities.

The potential of youth work to contribute to policy objectives including social inclusion
can be further optimized through a quality-focused and evidence-informed approach
which places young people center-stage in the design and the delivery of youth work
provision. This approach supports young people’s participation, development and
progression in a way which affirms their strengths, enhances resilience and
competences and recognizes their potential to build individual, communal and social
capital. However, the range of themes that youth work covers is just as diverse as the
types of people and organizations involved. Political activism, street work, sports
activities, social enterprise and leisure-time activities can all be termed “youth work”.
Youth work usually has the following characteristics2:

 Value-driven: youth work tries to serve the higher purposes of inclusion and
social cohesion
 Youth-centric: youth work serves key needs and aspirations of youth, identified
by young people themselves
 Voluntary: youth work is not obligatory, and relies on the voluntary participation
of young people
 Developmental: youth work aims at the personal, social and ethical development
of young people

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  Self-reflective and critical: youth work tries to make sure it is doing its best to
live up to its mission
 Relational: youth work seeks authentic communication with young people and
to contribute to sustaining viable communities.

Youth work is also about the place of young people and their concerns in society and the
public sphere. It is also about influencing society, politics and power relations, especially
if those position young people at a disadvantage, marginalise them or exclude them.
In addition, youth work has been recognized worldwide by leaders, governments,
authorities and networks to be one of the most essential fields of development in
modern societies. Through its programmes, actions and initiatives, youth work is
preparing a new generation of powerful young people to run, influence or change for
better parts of our societies and for the achievements of the SDGs.

b. Youth workers and the SDGs

Youth workers and youth in general, have a very important role to play for the
achievement of the Global Goals. Provided with the necessary skills and opportunities
needed to reach their potential, young people can be a driving force for supporting
development and contributing to peace and security. Youth-led organizations need to
be encouraged and empowered to participate in translating the 2030 Agenda into local,
national and regional policy. They play a significant role in the implementation,
monitoring and review of the Agenda as well as in holding governments accountable.
With political commitment and adequate resources, young people have the potential to
make the most effective transformation of the world into a better place for all.

5
Youth workers are good critical thinkers and they can identify, analyse and solve
problems systematically rather than by intuition or instinct. Critical thinking is thinking
about things in certain ways so as to arrive at the best possible solution in the
circumstances that the thinker is aware of. In more everyday language, it is a way of
thinking about whatever is presently occupying your mind so that you come to the best
possible conclusion. Part of being young involves making sense of personal experiences
and asking questions about the world around you. Youth have the capacity to identify
and challenge existing power structures and barriers to change, and to expose
contradictions and biases, so like this contribute to different issues related to the SDGs.

Moreover, youth workers are great change-makers. They have the power to act and
mobilise others, to create change for the good of all, and engage their peers and the
entire society in realizing a world where everyone is a change-maker. Around the world,
change-makers are making a positive difference— they’re revamping education,
improving health outcomes, inventing new technology, fighting to save the
environment, and building powerful social movements. Youth workers equipped with
creativity, energy, and fresh perspective, hold incredible power for unlocking solutions
to society’s greatest challenges. In fact, young leaders across the globe are already
creating change in their communities, from smashing the stigma around mental health
to fighting food insecurity. Furthermore, youth activism is on the rise the world over,
bolstered by broader connectivity and access to social media. It is revolutionizing how
youth-led activism gains momentum and power. The power of that voice was evident
around the world, when four million young people—many under the age of twenty-
five—protested across 150 countries in September to demand urgent action on climate
change in one of the largest youth-led strikes to date. However, while the climate strikes
are the most recent success story of youth-led protest facilitated by social media, they
are certainly not the only instance of vast turnout and successful political organization
at the hands—or fingers—of young people.

Another important trait of the youth workers is that they are innovators, and with their
innovation methods they can bring new solutions to old or current problems. In addition
to bringing fresh perspectives, young people often have direct knowledge of and insights

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into issues that are not accessible to adults. Youth best understand the problems they
face and can offer new ideas and alternative solutions. With competent youth workers
who can guide youth as mentors, young people can develop their ideas and learn critical
skills and techniques, so later they can understand better the problems that need to be
addressed for solving different issues relate to the SDGs. Youth workers and youngsters
can form an excellent community that is working actively for engaging with new ideas
about urban sustainability and resilience 3.

With their good communication skills,

youth workers can contribute a lot for
the proper communication of the
development agenda to the young
people and to their local communities
as well as countries and regions.
Through effective communication they
can make other young people believe in
the change that others can bring for the
achievements of the SDGs. When we
talk about communication skills, we
refer to listening skills, empathy and
open-mindedness. Being a good listener
is one of the best ways to be a good communicator and if youth workers are not good
listeners, they can have a trouble in understanding someone else opinion. Also, empathy
is vital in understanding the needs and issues facing young people, and it is important to
recognise the potential they have. It is essential to acknowledge the injustice that youth
may have experienced while working towards the goals. In addition, a good
communicator should enter into any conversation with a flexible, open mind. Be open
to listening to and understanding the other person's point of view, rather than simply
getting the message across.
Youth workers with their leadership skills can contribute a lot to the achievement of the
SDGs, driving a change in their communities and involving more youth in their mission.
Youth-led organisations and networks, in particular, should be supported and
strengthened, because they contribute to the development of civic leadership skills
among young people, especially marginalised youth. Youth workers are the people that
see things in their community that need to be addressed. However, leading can be done
in many ways, because there is not only one way to do something, nor is there a better
or “right” one. There are many roles a youth worker can undertake, cumulatively or
individually, to help foster the development towards common goals, but this will also
depend on the certain situation.

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 II. National Youth Strategies and International Programmes
In the following part, we will see several UN Youth Strategies, National and International
programmes, and initiatives that have been launched around the globe.

a. Youth2030: The United Nations Youth Strategy

On Monday, 24th September 2018 at a High-Level Event at the United Nations in New
York, was officially launched the Youth2030: The United Nations Youth Strategy. The
Strategy aims to facilitate increased impact and expanded global, regional and country-
level action to address the needs, build the agency and advance the rights of young
people in all their diversity around the world, and to ensure their engagement and
participation in the implementation, review and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development as well as other relevant global agendas and frameworks.

Young people’s empowerment, development and engagement is an end in itself, as well

as a means to build a better world. The UN recognizes it cannot achieve its mission
without partnering with young people and ensuring they are not only heard but
understood, not only engaged but empowered, and not only supporting but leading
global efforts and processes. Young people need to be full-fledged partners in the United
Nations work to build a better world for all, as they are both beneficiaries and partners.
Through its Youth Strategy, the UN seeks to become a Leadership Example, Knowledge
and Innovation Pioneer, an Investment and Solution Catalyst, and an Accountability
Leader, by converging toward commitments and carefully selected actions giving life to
each of these. These cross-cutting system-wide actions and interventions, will support
the overall capacity of the UN to advance and deliver on the five key priority areas
outlined in the subsequent section of this strategy.
The UN will support youth leadership across the organization and build staff awareness
and capacity on youth-related issues through several activities such as mainstreaming
structures, youth engagement platforms, dialogue opportunities, capacity building,
strengthening internship programs and talent management.

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The UN will strengthen knowledge production and management systems; become a
credible source of expertise on youth development and engagement; and facilitate
evidence based global awareness on the realities and needs of the world’s young people.
It will set forth comprehensive data tool for monitoring global, regional and national
progress in young people’s development using SDG, WPAY, and other indicators, with
continued efforts to expand the availability of disaggregated data. Additionally, UN plan
to develop a system-wide repository with easy access to all youth-related knowledge
and programs across the UN; this could include a clearinghouse of good practices, case
studies, research material, etc.

The UN will accelerate resource mobilization efforts and facilitate partnership solutions
to advance the implementation of the UN Youth Strategy and strengthen the funding
base and mechanisms for youth-focused programming and youth-led actions at all
levels. It will be created an online umbrella platform to attract and direct investment in
youth related programming towards strengthening existing UN funds that support youth
and key UN youth initiatives. Moreover, a common resource mobilization strategy will
be needed, with a specific focus on mainstreaming youth across existing funding
mechanisms and identifying funding solutions for under-financed areas, such as support
for youth-led initiatives, movements, networks and organizations, youth participation
mechanisms and youth policy work. It should be mobilizing greater resources at the
country level by strengthening and expanding UN join programmes on youth.
It´s important to notice that the ownership of the UN Youth Strategy is equally shared
by all members of the UN system at the global, regional and national levels. If you want
to know more about the Youth2030: The United Nations Youth Strategy, you can see all
the report here.

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 b. Youth for Global Goals
Youth 4 Global Goals (Youth4GG) is an initiative that aims to activate young people to
contribute towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, also
referred to as the Global Goals and Agenda 2030.
Activating youth will happen in three stages: Awareness, Understanding and Action
Awareness: they consider a young person is aware of the SDGs when he/she knows a)
there are 17 Goals and b) they are due by 2030 - Social media campaigns; AIESEC's
Outgoing Preparation Seminar (+10k youth), AIESEC's incoming Global Volunteer
projects Understanding: the person is considered to understand an SDG when she/he
knows a) the target of one SDG and b) how to contribute to it - AIESEC's Youth Speak
Forum, SDG Curriculum, AIESEC's Incoming Preparation Seminar Action: they consider
that a person takes action if he/she is actively contributing to SDG through daily
actions/projects.

There were crated 1-2 activities per SDGs to be taught at schools, separated by
elementary, middle and high school curriculums; SDG Ambassador program -
Ambassador program that aims to inspire youth, educators and others to engage youth
in their communities (school, friends, youth CSOs, etc.) to be aware of the SDGs; Youth
Action Mapper - Development of a youth action platform which aims to connect all SDG-
related opportunities (projects, short volunteering opportunities, among others) into
one single platform UN Volunteers - Engagement of youth through UN's online
volunteering platform for short tasks related to research, design and translation.
Youth4GG is an initiative powered by AIESEC - world's largest student-run organization
in the world, with a global team based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on
engaging global partners (ADB, PwC, UN Habitat, etc.); driving global marketing

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campaigns; development strategies for Measurement of Impact and supporting AIESEC
entities (+128 countries and territories) to implement the framework. The goal is to have
100% AIESEC operations - intercultural project-based exchanges - aligned with the SDGs.
ADB Youth for Asia hosts a team of 15 young individuals working towards including
youth as partners in development, directly involving youth into ADB projects. This team
has a sub-team of 3 youth focused on mobilizing youth towards the SDGs across Asia
and the Pacific in a big synergy with AIESEC entities in the region, facilitating
partnerships with other organizations (AYLA, Scouts, VSO, etc.) and direct support to
AIESEC local entities on Designing and Monitoring Framework understanding and
implementation, incentives creation, etc.

c. The Danish Youth Council and DUF's Youth Delegate Programme

The Danish Youth Council (DUF) is an umbrella organisation consisting of 72 diverse
children’s and youth organisations. DUF promotes democracy as a way of life, actively
engaging young people in organisations and society locally, nationally and
internationally. Working cross-politically, DUF highlights and safeguards the interests of
its member organisations in relation to politicians and public authorities, ensuring the
framework for voluntary youth organisations on a political level.

DUF works via a number of projects to

contribute to the implementation of the SDGs
and strengthening democracy as a whole. A
main project in this regards is the “School
Election”, which is facilitated by DUF in
cooperation with the Parliament and Ministry
of Education and is a simulated election with
more than 60,000 participating students. The elections have run on a test basis for two
years, and by making this mandatory and recurring, young voter participation could be
strengthened. Moreover, DUF is working to lower the voting age to 16 to ensure a
greater degree of youth involvement and influence. Furthermore, DUF is working
through the project “day of democracy”, which visits vocational schools and production
schools, to ensure that even young voters from disadvantaged backgrounds are included
and motivated to vote, as well as informed about the opinions of the different parties
and clear on their own opinions.
Moreover, DUF works through public discourse and organisational work to ensure
adequate funding and resources for youth civil society, thus working towards ensuring
strong partnerships as outlined in SDG 17. DUF also works to ensure that Danish society
lives up to the principle of “leaving no one behind”. In terms of integration of
immigrants, this poses a particular challenge, as schools lack prayer rooms, making it
difficult for religious minorities to receive the quality education outlined in SDG 4
without compromising their religious liberty, and much public and civil life is not geared

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towards being inclusive to immigrants and descendants of immigrants. To this end, DUF
is working to make society more inclusive.
Within the youth sector, several organisations are increasingly addressing and adapting
the SDGs in their strategies and activities, leading to further strategic interest and
dialogue across the sector and among its volunteer members. A number of youth
organisations are raising awareness and increasing commitment internally in terms of
integrating all three dimensions of sustainable development in their work. Aspects of
environmental awareness are steadily being promoted, addressing and challenging the
sector’s own carbon footprint and commitment to delivering results. A shared political
interest in engaging with representatives and official youth delegates at the UNFCCC
(United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) meetings indicates further
interest and commitment across the sector.
Every year, six Danish youth delegates represent the Danish youth at the UN as well as
other multilateral fora. The youth delegates are representatives of Danish children and
youth organisations and appointed by DUF for a two-year period4.

Denmark has had a young representative included in its delegations to the UN General
Assembly since 1972, except from 2008-2014 when the programme was temporarily
suspended. In 2018, the programme was redesigned and now consists of a total of six
youth delegates working with human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals as
an overall framework and appointed in pairs to following three thematic focus areas:

 Equality and SRHR (Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rigths)

 Climate and Environment
 Democracy and Partnerships

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The Youth Delegate Programme is a part of DUF's cooperation with the Danish Ministry
of Foreign Affairs under the Global Youth Programme.
The role of the youth delegates is to represent the Danish youth in the Danish
delegations to the UN and other multilateral fora and to bring the voices of youth to be
heard in international decision-making processes. In addition to this role, the youth
delegates are also active agents in communicating and embedding global agendas
among the Danish youth as well as interacting with DUF member organisations and
other children and youth organisations working with or within these themes.

d. UN Youth Climate Summit

The UN Youth Climate Summit is a platform for young climate action leaders to
showcase their solutions at the United Nations and to meaningfully engage with
decision-makers on the defining issue of our time. The last event took place in
September 21, 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York prior to the UN
Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in September 23, 2019.

The Youth Climate Action Summit brought youth climate champions together from more
than 140 countries and territories to share their solutions on the global stage, and
deliver a clear message to world leaders: we need to act now to address climate change.
The event gave voice to the demands of young people for far swifter action to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.

The Climate Action Summit, and the Climate Youth Summit, succeeded in focusing the
attention of world leaders, from government, the private sector and civil society, on the
urgency for action to address the climate emergency, and on increasing climate action.
It was designed to be a different kind of Summit. Countries were also asked to present
concrete and realistic plans compatible with these goals. The Secretary-General asked
leaders to come to the Summit to present plans, not make speeches. The most ambitious

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plans were presented on 23 September, creating a unique opportunity to showcase
leadership towards transformative climate action that would make change in the world.
Moreover, another wonderful
initiative related to the climate
change is the Young Champions of
the Earth. In 2020, seven young
people – selected from every global
region – will be named Young
Champions of the Earth. These
winners will receive seed funding,
intensive training and tailored
mentoring to bring their big
environmental ideas to life. Shortlisted finalists from every region will be selected
following an open call for applications. In addition, each winner is expected to
implement its big idea and keep UNEP (The United Nations Environment Programme)
updated on their progress by producing videos and blogs that we will share on the
website.

The 2019 year’s Young Champions of the Earth award ceremony was held during the
74th Session of the UN General Assembly Week on 26 September, 2019, in New York.
The seven young people were chosen because of their great initiatives such as
community based conservation, for the saving of the world´s last wild placed, the
Okavango Basin; the project for turning rainwater intro drinking water; the Cacao
project that aims to combat deforestation by reviving barren lands through tree
planting, creating economic forests and nurseries, promoting fair trade and
reforestation, while empowering farmers with higher incomes.
Another initiative that
was supported by UNEP is
“Making virtual trees
real”. It was launched
“Plant the Forest”
website to reach more
people in their
reforestation efforts. In
future, they are also
planning to launch a
“Plant the forest”
educational gaming
project, where their
actions in virtual reality lead to tree restoration in real life. People can grow their own
virtual forest and, in parallel, new forests planted by their volunteers will emerge. Like
in the game, insects, animals and birds will inhabit them. Step-by-step, players will learn

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about environmental restoration and what they need to do to make animals appear in
their forests. Here you can learn more about the initiative.
“First aid for fabric: remaking fashion futures” have received an award as well. The
impact of dumping clothing in landfill sites is catastrophic and natural fibres such as
cotton or silk produce greenhouse gases upon degradation, while synthetic fibres such
as polyester are non-biodegradable, leading to similar impacts on the environment as
plastics. Chemicals from dyes can have severe impacts on soil and water sources from
run-off.

FabricAID reuses and recycles unwanted clothes. Clothes are graded, sorted into over
46 categories, cleaned in their warehouse and redistributed to disadvantaged
communities at US$0.3 – US$2 per item. So, they have sold more than 60,000 items of
clothing to more than 7,000 beneficiaries. In addition, they collect new and gently used
clothes, shoes, and accessories through their network of smart clothing collection bins
located all over Lebanon, and garments that cannot be reused are shredded for pillows,
chairs, couches, mattresses, and bean bags. In collaboration with the Orphan Welfare
society, they also work with students from ESMOD Fashion School to create fashionable
clothes and with woman refugee tailors from NGO Sawa for Development and Aid, who
tailor the fabric into clothes. The new creations are sold at fashion shows at prices
ranging from 100$ to 200$ to middle-class customers, under the brand name RemAID
by FabricAID5.

Moreover, another five wonderful initiatives have received UN Champion of the Earth
award for passionately demanding climate action. The annual Champions of the Earth

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prize is awarded to outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private
sector whose actions have had a positive impact on the environment. Since 2005,
Champions of the Earth has recognized 88 laureates, ranging from world leaders to
technology inventors. Let’s see also some of them.

Fridays for Future Movement

Fridays for Future is a dynamic global student movement pushing for immediate action
on climate change through active campaigning and advocacy. It was chosen as
Champion of the Earth for inspiration and action because of its role in highlighting the
devastating effects of climate change.
Fridays for Future has millions of passionate activists who insist that their voices be
heard on what many see as the defining issue of their generation. The movement was
inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who sat in protest in front of the Swedish
parliament for three weeks last year to draw attention to the climate emergency.
Now every month, students around the world take to the streets to demand that
politicians do more to acknowledge and act upon the reality and severity of climate
change. These regular marches have attracted more than one million young people in
more than 100 countries. As Thunberg says: “Everybody is welcome. Everybody is
needed”.

The Fridays for Future movement has electrified the global conversation about climate
change at a time when the window of opportunity to avoid the worst effects of rising
temperatures is closing. Global emissions are reaching record levels and show no sign of

16
peaking. Sea levels are rising, coral reefs are dying and extreme weather events are
becoming more common and more destructive around the world 6.
In addition, last June 2019, Thunberg and the Fridays for Future movement were
honoured with Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience award, which
celebrates people who have shown unique leadership and courage in standing up for
human rights.

Patagonia
Patagonia was chosen as Champion of the Earth for entrepreneurial vision because of a
dynamic mix of policies that has put sustainability at the heart of its successful business
model. From a small company making tools for climbers, Patagonia has become a global
leader in sustainability. Its drive to preserve the planet runs through the entire business
from the products made and the materials used to the donation of money to
environmental causes.
Before it became a household name, Patagonia was a small outfitter of climbing tools,
tucked into a Ventura, California, building that still smelled like the meat-packing plant
it had once been. In the 16 years’ prior, its founder, Yvon Chouinard, an accomplished
rock climber, had gone from selling hand-forged mountain climbing gear to the largest
supplier of climbing hardware in the US.

In the '80s, Patagonia voluntarily imposed a 1% "earth tax" on itself that donates 1% of
its profits to grassroots environmental organizations. (As of October 2019, it's donated
over $100 million total.) The company started using recycled polyester from plastic soda
bottles in the early '90s. After workers got headaches from the formaldehyde on finished
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cotton, it went organic in the mid-'90s. In 2012, it was the first California company to
sign up for voluntary B Corp certification. In 2016, it donated 100% of its Black Friday
sales ($10 million) to environmental organizations. It even makes its own beer out of a
regenerative grain that restores biodiversity and stores carbon.
Currently, almost 70% of Patagonia's products are made from recycled materials. By
2025, the goal is to be using 100% renewable or recycled materials.
Patagonia also encourages its employees to act as activists. Its environmental internship
program allows employees from all parts of the company to leave their roles and,
instead, work for an environmental group of their choice for up to two months. They
still receive their pay checks and benefits. Local environmental groups get a free intern,
and employees bring back new inspiration and a renewed commitment to the
environment upon their return7.

It also empowers site visitors to act as activists. Patagonia Action Works connects them
directly with the company's grassroots grantees. You can search by city, state, or grantee
to see how to get involved immediately.

Patagonia describes itself as The Activist

Company, and it is clear about its aims: “At
Patagonia, we appreciate that all life on
earth is under threat of extinction. We aim
to use the resources we have—our
business, our investments, our voice and
our imaginations—to do something about
it.” In 2017, Patagonia was awarded the
Accenture Strategy Award for Circular
Economy Multinational at the World Economic Forum in Davos for driving innovation
and growth while reducing dependence on scarce natural resources.

Ant Forest
Ant Forest, a green initiative, has also received a 2019 Champions of the Earth award,
the UN’s highest environmental honour, for turning the green good deeds of half a
billion people into real trees planted in some of China’s most arid regions.
Launched by Ant Financial Services Group, an Alibaba affiliate, Ant Forest promotes
greener lifestyles by inspiring users to reduce carbon emissions in their daily lives. When
they do, Ant Forest rewards them with ‘green energy’ points, which can be used to plant
a real tree.

The aim is to combat desertification, lower air pollution and protect the environment.

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Ant Forest users are encouraged to record their low-carbon footprint through daily
actions like taking public transport or paying utility bills online. For each action, they
receive ‘green energy’ points and when they accumulate a certain number of points, an
actual tree is planted. Users can view images of their trees in real-time via satellite.
The Ant Forest platform is also exploring innovative
solutions to alleviate poverty and improve the lives
of local people by leveraging the power of digital
technology.
Since its launch in August 2016, Ant Forest and its
NGO partners have planted around 122 million
trees in some of China’s driest areas, including in
desert regions in Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai
and Shanxi. The trees cover an area of 112,000 hectares (1.68 million) and the project
has become China’s largest private sector tree-planting initiative 8.

Costa Rica
Costa Rica has been chosen as Champion of the Earth for policy leadership because of
its pioneering role in the protection of nature and its commitment to ambitious policies
to combat climate change.

Notably, the Central American nation has drafted a detailed plan to decarbonize its
economy by 2050, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations’
Sustainable Development Goals. It hopes to provide a template for other nations to do
the same and curb the deadly emissions causing rapid, disastrous climate change.

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The decarbonisation plan consists of maintaining an upward curve in terms of economic
employment growth, and at the same time generating a downward curve in the use of
fossil fuels in order to stop polluting. How are they going to achieve that? Through clean
public transport, smart and resilient cities, sound waste management, sustainable
agriculture and improved logistics. The plan includes bold mid- and long-term targets to
reform transport, energy, waste and land use. The aim is to achieve net zero emissions
by 2050, meaning the country will produce no more emissions than it can offset through
actions such as maintaining and expanding its forests.
Costa Rica’s success in placing environmental concerns at the heart of its political and
economic policies shows that sustainability is both achievable and economically viable.
Officials say Costa Rica aims to change the paradigm of development, envisioning a
consumption and production system that generates an environmental surplus rather
than a deficit9.

Professor Katharine Hayhoe, Climate Scientist

One of the world’s most influential communicators on climate change, Hayhoe is an

atmospheric scientist who studies what climate change means to people and the places
where we live. She evaluates long-term observations, future scenarios and global
models and develops innovative strategies that translate future projections into
relevant, actionable information that stakeholders can use to inform future planning for
food, water, infrastructure and more in a changing climate.
Moreover, for her stalwart commitment to quantifying the effects of climate change and
her tireless efforts to transform attitudes, Canadian climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe
was chosen as the Champion of the Earth for science and innovation.
Hayhoe has served as a lead author for a number of key reports, including the US Global
Change Research Program’s Second, Third and Fourth National Climate Assessments and

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the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s What We Know and How
We Respond reports. She also serves on advisory committees for a broad range of
organizations from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum to the Earth Science
Women’s Network to the Young Evangelicals for Climate Action. She has received
honorary doctorates from Colgate University and Victoria College at the University of
Toronto.

These five initiatives were great examples on how people and businesses can have and
must have a positive impact on our planet. However, there are much more initiatives
supported by the United Nation such as the Youth Global Programme for Sustainable
Development and Peace, “Youth-GPS”: a 5- year global programmatic offer designed to
sharpen the organisation’s response to the challenges young people face worldwide by
supporting young people as agents of change in the 2030 Agenda at the global, regional
and country level; providing cutting-edge research and tools; fostering innovative
partnerships; as well as piloting and scaling-up catalytic initiatives. In Latin America and
the Caribbean, United National Development Programme, in partnership with OIJ
(Organismo Internacional de Juventud para Iberoamérica), supports “Juventud con Voz”
(“Youth Voice”), a digital platform led by young people to engage in issues relating to
democracy, political participation, public policies and the 2030 Agenda, etc.

However, achieving the 2030 Agenda will require strong partnerships between young
people and all stakeholders so that the challenges faced by youth are addressed, their
contributions recognized and they are included at all levels of decision-making.

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