A New Icon For The 2030 Agenda’s Most Important Commitment: To Leave No One Behind

Today, world leaders are gathering in New York for the high-level meeting on the 2030 Agenda, known as the SDG Summit. Its aim is to accelerate progress with the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. On the same day, a brand-new icon is launched by Forum Syd and CONCORD Sweden visualising the agenda’s most important commitment – to Leave No One Behind.

By designing an icon for the agenda’s main commitment on inclusion, the initiators aim to attract to attention and enhance progress for global sustainable development.

The icon was created through a collaboration between two Swedish civil society platform organisations, CONCORD Sweden and Forum Syd and the communications group The New Division. The New Division created the well-known design for the 17 Global Goals that provided a visual language to facilitate communication and increase awareness of the 2030 Agenda.

“The Global Goals are essential in every aspect of the UN and it is very encouraging that many governments and corporations are drafting action plans based on the 17 goals. As the awareness of the agenda increases, it is important to remember that it is about people’s lives, which is the agenda’s driving force. Our icon reinforces this human commitment and reminds us that we must not forget anyone, that everyone must have a voice in development”, says Jakob Trollbäck, CEO of The New Division.

CONCORD Sweden, with its member organisations, aim to increase awareness of the 2030 Agenda’s cornerstone – that all policies and all programs need to ensure that those facing discrimination are prioritised.

“The icon demonstrates inclusion and that the Global Goals are about people. It has a simple and clean design that does not exclude or discriminate. We all have a head and a heart. But we are also different, and the colours symbolise those differences. The round wheel stands for unity and that we all need to be involved to achieve change. We all have the same rights”, says Sofia Svarfvar, the project lead and Policy Coordinator at CONCORD Sweden.

To Leave No One Behind means that any progress made shall include groups that are currently disadvantaged, marginalized and discriminated against in society.

“By designing an icon for the commitment to Leave No One Behind, we want to emphasize the importance of working towards equality at different levels of society – from the local to the global. The commitment is about making active and strategic choices to reach groups in communities that are discriminated against and are disadvantaged due to structural inequalities in our societies”, says Micah Grzywnowicz, International Advocacy Advisor for RFSL and currently at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The world has just over ten years to reach the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that were agreed upon in 2015. But several of the goals are further within reach than others. For some, development is even reversing. The number of people living in hunger is in many parts of the world increasing and so is also the economic inequality gap. The opportunities for children and young people to access good quality education are not given sufficient resources. We also see a global setback for the work to break structural barriers to equality.

At the New York SDG Summit, world leaders will reaffirm their commitment to the 2030 Agenda with a political declaration. Countries are to re-commit to focus on those living in poverty and marginalization both in action and in policies. Each country should come to the SDG Summit with concrete commitments to speed up the implementation.

“We urge world leaders to accelerate progress with the Global Goals. It is time to prioritise the agendas most important commitment to Leave No One Behind”, says Anna Stenvinkel, Secretary General at Forum Syd.

The project is funded by Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency).

Source: Concord Sweden

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