New York - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The Sustainable Development Goals Summit is one of the main themes of the UN General Assembly's High-Level Week, when world leaders will meet on September 18-19 with the aim of putting the world back on track towards a greener, cleaner, safer and more just future for all. According to what was stated in the daily United Nations news bulletin, a copy of which we received via e-mail
The SDG Summit aims to adopt a forward-looking political declaration that reaffirms commitment to the key promise of the 2030 Agenda: to leave no one behind. From this standpoint, the attendees sought, over the course of two days, to agree on the best way forward.

Here are the top five things about the summit:
1- Why is the Sustainable Development Goals Summit important?
The global race to protect people and planet began in 2015 when the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals were adopted.
These goals constitute a plan to accelerate economic prosperity and social well-being, while protecting people and the environment at the same time.
The element of time remains an essential factor, especially since the development goals are in deep impasse and we are halfway through.
Progress has been stalled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis has worsened, and goals on hunger, health, biodiversity, strong institutions, pollution, and peaceful societies are off track.
The Sustainable Development Goals Summit seeks to find solutions to change the current negative path.
2- Objectives at stake
Only 12% of the approximately 140 SDG targets are on track.
Nearly half were moderately or severely off track. About 30 percent of those targets either saw no movement or fell below 2015 levels when the 2030 Agenda was adopted.
As an example, it will take 286 years on the current trajectory to close the gender gap in legal protection and repeal discriminatory laws (Goal 5).
The picture does not look good for the goal of quality education. The impact of years of underinvestment and learning loss means that by 2030 some 84 million children will be out of school, while 300 million children or young people who go to school will be unable to read and write.
It is noteworthy that the lack of progress on the sustainable development goals is a global matter, but developing countries and the world's poorest and most vulnerable people bear the brunt of the collective failure on this planet.
On current trends, 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty in 2030, and only a third of countries will be able to achieve the goal of halving national poverty levels.
3- What is the plan to reverse current trends?
“There is no alternative planet,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier.
That's why world leaders are coming together for the Sustainable Development Goals Summit. With the aim of galvanizing the global drive for progress, they agreed that it is time for countries and partners to turn words into action in order to enhance results on the ground.
This includes inviting all countries, key stakeholders, local authorities, the private sector, foundations, philanthropic organizations and civil society.
4- What is the ultimate goal of the 2023 Sustainable Development Goals Summit?
The heads of state and government participating in the summit adopt a political declaration. They have already identified challenges and ways forward in a draft declaration drafted in the run-up to the summit.
“Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is at risk,” the draft states. “Halfway towards achieving the 2030 Agenda goals, we are concerned that only 12 percent of the Sustainable Development Goals are on track, and that 30 percent of them remain unchanged or below target.” 2015 levels.
“We remain optimistic, because our world, its people, and the United Nations have a history of resilience and overcoming challenges,” the country leaders added in the draft declaration.
During the summit, they commit to intensifying their efforts, including eliminating plastic pollution, bridging the digital divide, and reaping the benefits of artificial intelligence.
“Our actions must rise to the scale and scope of the crises affecting our world,” the country leaders said in the draft declaration. “This situation pushes the world to redouble our efforts and create a breakthrough to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”
5- How can you participate in achieving development goals?
Every person on Earth can contribute to accelerating change and progress.
Tune in to the Sustainable Development Goals Weekend on September 16-17 at UN Headquarters in New York, where participants focus on how best and what needs to be done to get results.
Visit the SDG Media Zone between September 18 and 22 to catch up on the latest events, connect with experts, or meet some of the SDG advocates who are already making changes on the ground.
Follow the circle of SDG supporters, from royalty to superheroes, who will launch a rallying call to their communities on how they can help rally support for the world's needs.
Learn some everyday tips from “The Lazy Man's Guide to Saving the Ocean” through four levels of action.
Every September, the UN Campaign for Action for the Sustainable Development Goals and its partners mobilize millions of people across social media platforms to take action during World Week, using the hashtag #Act4SDGs. The goal of the campaign is to mobilize one billion actions by 2030. In 2022, there were 142 million actions, the largest number yet recorded in a global week. Record your actions on our global map to change the rules of the game.