Hong Kong’s first blog for SDG education news and announcements
Tomorrow, 8 March, is International Women’s Day 2022. It should be obvious to any sensible person that gender equality is essential to sustainable development. In fact, it is actually a moral imperative and the fact any of this needs to be said and that gender Equality needs its own SDG is a damning indictment of the way most human societies have developed over recent centuries. The UN Observances page gives an overview of the day with preliminary links to further reading. . . .
Governments Weigh New Global Treaty on Plastics and Sustainable Development (IISD) Climate change: effect on forests could last millennia, ancient ruins suggest (The Conversation) Families count the costs as big tech fails to offer cheap phone, laptop and fridge repairs (The Conversation) Wealthy countries still haven’t met their $100 billion pledge to help poor countries face climate change, and the risks are rising (Eco-business) Natural England chair backs ‘biodiversity net gain’ plan to boost wild areas (The Guardian) . . .
World Wildlife Day is an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that their conservation provides to people. At the same time, the Day reminds us of the urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime and human-induced reduction of species, which have wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts. Given these various negative effects, Sustainable Development Goal 15 focuses on halting biodiversity loss. World Wildlife Day will be celebrated in 2022 under the theme "Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration", as a way to draw attention to the conservation status of some of the most critically endangered species of wild fauna and flora, and to drive discussions towards imagining and implementing solutions to conserve them. This aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 12, 13, 14 and 15, and their wide-ranging commitments on alleviating poverty, ensuring su . . .
Since the first cases of HIV were reported more than 35 years ago, 78 million people have become infected with HIV and 35 million have died from AIDS-related illnesses. UNAIDS is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. On Zero Discrimination Day, 1 March, we celebrate the right of everyone to live a full and productive life—and live it with dignity. Zero Discrimination Day highlights how people can become informed about and promote inclusion, compassion, peace and, above all, a movement for change. Zero Discrimination Day is helping to create a global movement of solidarity to end all forms of discrimination. . . .
‘Men must be involved in the fight against girls being cut, it’s a violation’ (The Guardian SDGs 3,5, 10, 16) Oil firms’ climate claims are greenwashing, study concludes (The Guardian SDGs 3, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13) Governments Weigh New Global Treaty on Plastics and Sustainable Development (IISD SDGs 12, 14) WTO Trade and Environmental Sustainability Initiative Starts Taking Shape (IISD SDG 17) Climate crisis and the dangers of tech-obsessed ‘long-termism’ (The Conversation SDGs 3, 4, 16) How forgotten beans could help fight malnutrition in Africa (The Conversation SDGs 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15) India's solar energy boom fuels local struggle for green justice (Eco-Business SDGs 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15) . . .
VIVA is a HK-based youth organization aimed at advocacy to support poverty alleviation in the territory. With a very high Gini on income and with extremely expensive housing and low levels of social support, it is surprisingly easy to fall into poverty in HK. But the poor are hidden in many people’s eyes as HK does such a good job of high-lighting its glitzy and business success side. The great young people at VIVA, with support from The ITS Education Asia Foundation will run a virtual summit on 27th February 2022. Participants include: NGOs: SOCO, HandsonHK, Pathfinders, MercyHK Student organizations: SimplyShare, Homes4HK, The Firework Project, HKIDO, Amplify Foundation, TeensinAI, ZenerationsHK, WECP, Helpers4Helpers, HKSAEE, Kick Action, Youth Cultural Circle, Empothvize, Inquisitive Minds Get in touch if you want to join . . .
Yesterday, 20 Feb 2022, was the World Day of Social Justice, a day fixed in the UN calendar since 2008. It is an interesting day which focuses on understanding and trying to balance the inequalities in development which can derive from unchecked globalization. We have understood for a long time that completely free markets and unchecked, purely economic capitalism inherently lead to the concentration of wealth to fewer and fewer beneficiaries. The day and its ideas are founded in the Declaration on Social Justice from the International Labour Organization and its history of supporting the social dimension of the outcomes of work since its inception back in 1919. The 2022 theme is Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment which address the fact that not only are very high percentages of people informally employed in developing economies but the trend in developed economies is to reduce formal employment and increase informal employment – think the “gig economy&rdq . . .
Navigating the school application process in Hong Kong can be an arduous task and the confuse the situation even more, a word parents hear repeatedly is “debenture” – and this is usually followed by a mind-blowing figure. School debentures are a one-off, upfront payment towards financing a school’s community. The money is used by the school for building improvements, campus facilities and other capital costs. Most schools offer both corporate and individual debentures and, in most cases, the debenture is refunded when the student leaves the school. For Hong Kong schools, parents need to be aware of the following names (an explanation of each type is outlined below): Capital Note: A capital note is non-interest bearing, non-refundable and fully transferable. Corporate Debenture:A holder of a corporate debenture is entitled to nominate one child to a school at any one time. Nomination accelerates a child’s place on the wait list - bu . . .
