The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 was a watershed moment of hope and urgency. For the first time, the world gained a universal development agenda by, with and for the people, shaped by the most participatory process in the history of the United Nations. The agenda commits to the essentials that every human being needs, now and in the future, from health to decent work, to clean air, to reliable institutions.

Meeting those needs and acting in consonance with a long history of commitments to human rights, requires transforming the world’s current model of development. This is the central premise of the 2030 Agenda. It is a monumental shift that holds great promise for most people in the world today—and represents possibly the only way forward for future generations.

Yet so far, the world are failing to make the transition.

Each day brings new warning signs. The alarming rise in inequalities and acute levels of vulnerability. Citizen protests in every region of the world, from the streets to the voting booth. And of course, the ongoing damage caused by climate change in every country and ecosystem. 

It is not surprising that today, despite the monumental achievement of agreeing to the 2030 Agenda, we face a deficit in faith in political, economic and other global and national institutions. Institutions have delivered, but still not far or fast enough, and not in ways that lead to a reasonably balanced sharing of costs and benefits. Even the United Nations, while still widely trusted and respected, has struggled with a loss in public confidence and skepticism about the value of multilateralism.

Five years into the 2030 Agenda, 2020 will be a key critical for accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. 

• 2020 will kick start the Decade of Action announced by the UN Secretary-General.
• 2020 also marks the UN’s 75th anniversary, including the launch of the biggest-ever global conversation on the role of global cooperation in building the future we want.  
• 2020 must call for accelerated action and champion the widest possible involvement of people in what is, after all, their agenda. It must strive to make sure that everyone in the world, from people in central ministries to those in isolated villages are involved and that no one is left behind.

The 2020 and fourth edition of the SDG Global Festival of Action will be a milestone to raise the visibility and impact of global initiatives, with great focus on local and innovative actions and solutions that can lead to transformative change toward the SDGs. The Festival will:

• Accelerate Local Action: identify and promote local actions and innovations that can lead to transformative change.

•  Bolster the Decade of Action: amplify the visibility and impact of the Decade of Action  whilst recruiting new partners to join the global movement.

• Amplify and increase the impact of UN@75: Support and catalyze the roll out of the UN@75 initiative, enlist SDG partners at the Festival to promote, own and deliver the UN@75 global consultations and facilitate on-site multi-stakeholder dialogues on multilateralism.

• Nurture and grow the SDG Action Community: Provide a global platform to launch new campaigns – including the 2020 edition of the SDG Action Awards – host network meetings and discover the latest initiatives and changemakers working towards the achievement of the Goals.

The SDG Global Festival of Action is designed by and for the international SDG action community to meet and connect, to share, experience and learn from the latest thinking, approaches and practices to be better equipped to advance the Goals together. Over 2,000 SDG changemakers from around the world including artists and creatives, social innovators, philanthropists, international institutions & NGOs, local authorities and national governments, academia and leading businesses will come together with the shared goal of finding new ways to inspire action for the SDGs.