About Mission 4.7
Sustainable development is the most urgent challenge of our time. The current global economy produces tremendous wealth, but it also produces tremendous inequality, social exclusion, and environmental destruction. In 2015, all 193 Member States of the United Nations adopted Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a universal and interdisciplinary framework to promote prosperity, people, and planet. It calls for a drastic shift in the way that governments and society pursue economic development, while accounting for development’s effects on social inclusion and the environment. For sustainable development to occur—and it must occur if we are to have a fair and just society for everyone—then everyone must be prepared to play their part in bringing about the necessary reforms.
To achieve the SDGs, every individual must acquire the sustainable development knowledge, global citizenship values, and 21st century skills critical to tackling our shared challenges and to promoting a future of equitable, inclusive, and resilient societies. Education is a crucial enabler of this transformation. It is the basis for cultivating the best in ourselves and our communities, and is the key for learning to live together and work together for a better world.
Transformative Education provides learners with knowledge to promote social inclusion, find peace and cooperation, and raise awareness of how to protect our societies from emerging diseases, human-induced climate change, loss of biodiversity, and large-scale pollution. In the wisdom of Agenda 2030 and the SDGs, the entire world has endorsed the concept of building a just world through education. The remarkable SDG Target 4.7 shows us a powerful way forward:
“By 2030 ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”
Mission 4.7 was launched to put into global practice this bold vision. We underscore that the world must become more prosperous, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable. The world has only until 2030 to fulfill the promise of the SDGs. To do so, current and future generations need to be equipped not just with technical knowledge and skills, but with a deeper understanding of the values needed to forge a peaceful and sustainable future.