Emily Falconer, our intrepid traveling presenter, wowed the club with her energy, verve and bravery at her undertaking as she covered the globe this past year. A junior in high school, with her parents blessing and support, Ms. Falconer researched 17 goals across 12 countries in 8 months and lived to tell the tale.
An evidently bright, erudite young woman, Falconer engaged us with a brief and impassioned description of her travels, encounters and conclusions based on her year-long excursion. At 17, she set out to explore the world. To make sense of the United Nations 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development, and to investigate not only what other individuals and organizations are doing to accomplish the goals by 2030, but also what she, and ultimately we could do as well.
The Sustainable Development goals, released in September 2015, were created by 5 million people from across 88 countries in all the world’s regions to be the outline for making the world a more sustainable place. These goals are a way to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030. The 17 Goals are:
- No Poverty
- Zero Hunger
- Good Health and Well-Being
- Quality Education
- Gender Equality
- Clean Water and Sanitation
- Affordable And Clean Energy
- Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Reduced Inequalities
- Sustainable Cities and Communities
- Responsible Consumption and Production
- Climate Action
- Life on Land
- Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Partnerships for the Goals
Lofty though these may appear, they sit right in line with the 4-Way test and the goals of Rotary and World Service. That Falconer, as a teenager took it upon herself to do this exploration, ostensibly on her own strongly suggests that she will be a beacon to follow into an amazing future.
To track her adventure, she maintains a Blog that followed her research and education as she immersed herself in her own self-education. With the assistance of her teachers she was able to proceed and explore the stories that arose from the goals.
In her own words: “A problem is not always bad news; it is an invitation for innovation. I have many years to invest in new ideas that may appear at first to have a small impact, but with time, these ideas could serve as a catalyst for significant systemic change. I want to explore both the roadblocks and strengths of situations interrelated to the 17 Global Goals, and hopefully discover ideas that my generation can cultivate in the many years ahead of us. By building off of strengths, we can empower a person to improve one life, then one small community and ultimately, one world.”
Falconer visited Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Lithuania, United Kingdom, Finland, Nepal, Indonesia, Peru, Brazil and Egypt. For more in-depth exploration, see her blog:
https://www.goglobalgoals.com It is incredibly fascinating.
