Launched on August 2017, the United Nations Development  Programme (UNDP) Global Goals Advocacy Programme consist of 20 talented Sudanese youth who were selected out of more than 3,600 applicants across Sudan who wished to join this ambitious programme.

The first of its-kind programme, implemented by UNDP in collaboration with the United Nations Volunteer and the National Population Council aims to mobilize youth to advocate for the achievement of the Global Goals development agenda in Sudan.  

Focusing on supporting UNDP’s advocacy efforts to generate momentum and  commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030, the SDGs Advocates have been relentlessly working on promoting the universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)s, to raise awareness its integrated nature, and to foster the engagement of new stakeholders in the implementation of these Goals.

23-year-old Samah Anwar, an energetic participants of the programme stated  that “For me,  having the opportunity to advocate for the SDGs and to coordinate such an amazing group was one of the best ever lifetime experiences .  I’ve learned that we are never too young to change the world.”

“Being an SDGs advocate has been key in providing me with the knowledge, capacity and understanding of various policy interventions to address social problems  and has opened my eyes to innovative approaches for fighting poverty to achieve inclusive, sustainable and equitable development.” affirmed 26-year-old Anas AbuelGasim.

Another active participant, Sara Bedri, relayed to us her experience with the the programme “Advocating for SDGs means figuring out ways to make individuals and groups realize how influential they are by realizing their own potential. More and more I became convinced that  every action, no matter how small, will contribute to a better tomorrow which will lead us to building the future we want.”

Over the course of one year, the programme succeeded in raising the public awareness around sustainable development issues in Sudan.

In addition to the advocacy work, the programme focuses on empowering the young advocates by capacitating them in the fields of leadership, public speaking skills, photography, design and infographics in addition to  courses on foundations of sustainable development to empower these young volunteers to become active champions of change in Sudan.

During the duration of the programme, the Advocates organized a number of community-based advocacy events to mobilize support for the goals especially  amongst communities through the provision of  lectures, public exhibitions , innovative SDGs games, and avid engagement in the Sudanese social media reaching thousands  of audiences all across Sudan and globally.

With only 12 years to achieve the SDGs and the prevalence of serious developmental challenges in achieving them in a context like Sudan, this programme has indeed made huge strides in achieving the SDGs agenda in a very short period of time and is looking forward to achieving more milestones via building of smart partnerships amongst different sectors of the society.

Click here to read the programme 2017-2018 report

Highlights of the UNDP Global Goals Advocacy Programme