As scouts and guides we have set an ambitious goal. We want to build a better world. To achieve such ambitions requires that everyone does their best and try to leave the world a little better than they found it.
This goal is so big and ambitious that you cannot avoid becoming inspired, but it might also feel a bit overwhelming. How do you build a better world at a scout and guide meeting on a Tuesday evening? Or how do you know that you have built a better world when you are on your way home from camp?
One of the answers is that we, through our programmes, meetings and camps, develop our scouts and guides to become active citizens. Active citizens who have gained experiences and acquired skills and, who take responsibility for their communities. Part of this development process is that we show our scouts and guides how even from a very young age they can assume responsibility and contribute to creating a better world. And when we talk about a better world and active citizenship, the 17 sustainable development goals are a huge source of inspiration.
Scouting/Guiding and the SDGs
On 25 September 2015 all the world’s heads of government and state agreed on and adopted an extremely ambitious development agenda. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets entered into force on 1 January, 2016 and focus on creating sustainable development for people on the planet and for the planet itself until 2030.
The SDGs target extreme poverty and hunger, focus on reducing inequalities and ensuring good conditions for everybody. Their purpose is also to promote peaceful and inclusive societies all over the world and to improve the quality of education and strengthen global partnerships. This is an obligation which all 193 member states of the United Nations have agreed to and will work to fulfill before 2030.
Together with our fellow scouts and guides from all over the world it is our obligation as scouts and guides to take responsibility for the world we live in, to take the lead and to be role models for our local communities. In that way we will empower our scouts and guides to develop their fullest potential, to become active citizens and come one step closer to building a better world.
Get the material
Download Build a Better World here:
Build a Better World_Activities based on the SDGs
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Activities to inspire to actions in a Nordic context
The activity-material ”Build A Better World” is made in Denmark, and all the activities are made for a Scandinavian context. The purpose is to make it easy and relevant for volunteers to create engaging activities easy to understand for the scouts and guides. Therefore some of the acitvities might be very specific to a Scandinavian context. We hope you can translate them to your local context, as to create most impact and reflection with the scouts and guides. If the scouts and guides succeed in becoming the changemakers of a sustainable future, they will impact their schools, families and the steps to create a better world might not be too difficult.
If you want to know more about how The Guides and Scouts of Denmark are working with The Sustainable Development Goals, please be in contact with Margrethe Grønvold Friis at Margrethe.gronvold@Spejderne.dk
The material is made in partnership with Tuborgfondet, a Danish fund who develops communities, and is focused on engaging youth participation in their society.