February 27, 2017
A new book synthesizes and updates the 17 Sustainable Development Goals

In September 2015 at the United Nations meeting, world leaders adopted a new ambitious global strategy for development, comprising a range of major goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 specific goals comprehensively address the complex challenges that humanity must solve in the next 15 years. In order to better understand what these challenges entail and how to apply the SDGs in a practical way, the Chair of Sustainable Development and Eradication of Poverty of the King Juan Carlos University and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDGF) have published a new book: International Society and Sustainable Development Goals.

International Society and Sustainable Development Goals is not the first study published on the Sustainable Development Goals, but it's the one that provides a more synthetic and action-oriented approach. It's edited by Thomson Reuters Aranzadi and articulated as an interdisciplinary practical manual that simplifies and updates the SDGs based on an evaluation by 27 academics from around the world, all of them experts in each of the disciplines of development: poverty, hunger, education, gender, water, energy, climate change, public institutions, etc.

The presentation of the book took place on February 17th at the Diplomatic School in Madrid. Paloma Durán, the SDGF Executive Director, highlighted the importance of involving universities with this type of publications because "it is a great way to share the knowledge and lessons acquired through the Sustainable Development Goals with the broader public." Durán also appreciated the contribution of education and research on sustainable development. "This knowledge can be applied to both political decision-making and raising awareness because the 2030 Agenda is committed to the inclusion of new stakeholders, such as the private sector," she said.

The Executive Director of the SDG Fund also explained that the 2030 Agenda has introduced a number of fundamental changes in the approach to sustainable development, such as the revision of the traditional definition of donors and recipients. "Now everyone is considered an actor, because all countries have sectors that can and should be involved in the Sustainable Development Goals, such as the private sector," she said.

The presentation also benefitted from the participation Enrique Viguera Rubio, ambassador-director of the Diplomatic School; Carlos Fernández Liesa, Professor of Public International Law at the Carlos III University and co-director of the publication; and Castor Miguel Díaz de Barrado, Director of the Chair on Sustainable Development and Eradication of Poverty at the King Juan Carlos University.

Please see the full video of the presentation on this link.