The #BlowTheCandle campaign walked around Brussels asking random citizens what they wished for a better world. This exercise testified that the content of the 2030 Agenda echoes in many peoples’ ears: tackling climate change, ensuring gender equality, redistributing wealth… all of these were among their concerns. However, when asked ‘Do you know who this person is?’ they did not recognise Frans Timmermans on the picture. But he is the one in charge for the 2030 Agenda at the EU level! And he should make citizens’ wishes come true!
The campaign coincided with the second anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals. “By adopting an ambitious overarching strategy for sustainable development and guiding European policies towards transformation, the EU and its Member States can make a real difference, for people in Europe and around the world,” says Jussi Kanner, CONCORD expert on sustainable development. But we still have a long way before we turn it into reality and a lot has still to be done at European level!
Climate change, food insecurity, gender inequality, resource constraints, forced migration, financial and economic crises…. these are the complex and interrelated challenges the world is facing today. We cannot wait any longer: we need to act NOW!
The #BlowTheCandle campaign is led by CONCORD Europe with the support of the European project LADDER. The idea is to push the European Commission, and in particular Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the EU Commission, to act and set-up a strategy to implement this global action plan. To do so, CONCORD has put together a short list of the key areas on which the institution can and should act to put the Union on the right path.
Links
Campaign webpage: https://concordeurope.org/what-we-do/sustainable-development/eu-reaching-goals/
Youtube video: https://youtu.be/7M6PXGv17ZI
Facebook video: https://www.facebook.com/CONCORDEurope/