The Millennium Development Goals will expire in 2015. Since June 2012 at the UN conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20), governments have agreed to develop new goals called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS).

The United Nations open working group on Sustainable Development Goals has finished its work and 17 new goals have been agreed upon.

The proposal for the new Sustainable Development Goals has now been submitted to the United Nations General Assembly for consideration. The intention is that the post 2015 Development agenda, of which the new SDGs are a key part, will be adopted during the regular session of the United Nations General Assembly in Sept 2015.

There are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

  1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
  2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
  3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
  4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all
  5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
  6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
  7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all
  8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
  9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
  10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
  11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
  12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
  13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)
  14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
  15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
  16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
  1. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable develop

Out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Ascent is already working on and has developed projects on 10 of them as follows:

Goal No 4,5,6,7,8,9,12,15,16,17.

  • Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all
  • Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
  • Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
  • Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all
  • Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
  • Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
  • Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
  • Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
  • Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
  • Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable develop

ASCENT will create topics of discussion aiming to stimulate innovative ideas in order to reach these goals. We call on everyone to get involved in this new journey for a sustainable Africa.