UN Sustainable Development Goals & Belonging
Understand the significance of UN SDGs 2030 and how belonging is integrated into the agenda and guidelines of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Hello folks and dear readers. I hope you are by now introduced to what belonging constitutes and why we are discussing it.
In the previous blog post we explored the concept of belonging and how it is associated with loneliness. We also spoke about the Solutions for Belonging Framework. In this post we talk about how to attain belonging and what are the prerequisites to enable belonging to prevail.
Your actions are your only true belongings. - Gautama Buddha
We know that belonging is an integral part of human existence and thriving. It is thus no wonder that United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 agenda has woven its guidelines around ways in which belonging can be cultivated into the fabric of everyday life.
The central and transformative idea of ‘leaving no one behind’ which constitutes one of the six guiding principles as propagated by UN SDGs Agenda 2030 is deeply entwined with belonging. It obliges us to focus on barriers to belonging, which in fact is multipronged levels of discrimination and inequality. The 17 goals and the 169 subsequent targets under the universal SDG framework tacitly talk about promoting belonging, especially in the context of inclusivity, participation, autonomy and empowerment of people across all sections of society. All the goals are interconnected with each other calling for the holistic development of global society where each individual has as shared responsibility towards attaining development and progress in one push progress in the other. The UN and the signatory member countries aim to co-create a world where people can live with dignity in thriving neighborhoods and inclusive communities, enjoy freedom of choice, live free from poverty and violence,and are able to realize their potential.
But the world has been witnessing multiple stressors and poly-crisis (climate change, armed conflict, economic insecurities etc.) in recent times which is threatening harmonious coexistence.We deserve a better world, an equal world where everyone is happy. Things are not right everywhere, but each one of us can do something in our capacity to make things better. We need to combat inequalities of every kind and align the path of achieving peace, stability, prosperity and continue to improve taking everyone in stride. And so, we need to reiterate why belonging matters and how we can achieve it for everyone.
The emphasis on belonging has been prominent under the goal settings of SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) and implicitly under SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). SDG 10 and the 10 targets under it lays out how to achieve equality, equity and ensure dignity of life for all. SDG 16 and the 12 targets under it promotes sustaining peaceful and inclusive societies, making justice accessible to all and building strong institutions to safeguard from all kinds of violence. The overarching SDG 17 (Partnerships for Goals) acknowledges building partnerships across stakeholders and encompasses global efforts and cooperation in implementing the other 16 sustainable development goals.
The significance of the SDG agenda is that it provides a global commitment to the policy of equity and inclusion and likewise to belonging. It addresses the interconnected challenges of inequality, lack of social justice and peace confronting the world and provides a roadmap to ensure that there is no discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, creed, language, race, age, ability, gender, sexual orientation, income, political or religious affiliation and so on. The UN SDGs provide guidelines and guardrails to the human rights. The shared framework of action under the SDG blueprint promotes global collaboration, encourages accountability and measurement of indicators to track the specific targets under each goal.
Sidenote: a sense of belonging, social cohesion and notions of equality, inclusivity is essential for people to contribute towards the sustainable development goals.
Inequality persists around the world and continues to threaten people’s sense of self-worth and sense of inner fulfillment. Poverty, lack of equal work opportunities, poor health and education access among others affect the marginalized sections disproportionately. People are treated unequally, with disrespect and injustice making them vulnerable to feel excluded, marginalized and belittled. People are ‘left behind’ and allowed to endure disadvantages and deprivations; they lack the opportunities to make choices and participate in society as fully as others. People experience discrimination on the basis of identity,geographical location, socioeconomic status, due to ineffective and unjust institutions and governance,and natural and man-made shocks. We hold on to our innate and inherent biases which color how we experience and see the world around us. It flares the divisive ideas of ‘in-group’ and ‘out-group’, ‘us’ and ‘they’. People categorize themselves and others into distinct groups, and it impacts their identity, perceptions, attitude and behaviour towards one another. Thus, at the heart of the SDGs, lies the principles of intentionally creating a sense of belonging, which can be achieved with meaningful partnerships and public participation together. This is only possible through collective action by community-level stakeholders, which includes not only the local governments, community groups, private entities,civil society organisations but us, the common people. We need to be steadfastly committed to work together towards building an enabling environment recognizing that each one has their part to play. And so, an intersectional and whole-of-society responsive approach is needed to strategize actions encompassing belonging.
We need to break the silence around loneliness and acknowledge its negative impact on people and communities. We need to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. At the same time, it is imperative to narrate the stories of hope and belonging and chalk out a path for well-being for all and inspire and connect with others.
The Solutions for Belonging framework is fundamentally guided by the SDGs framework and is confirmed by research. The framework defines the enabling conditions for community belonging based on four measurable dimensions. The first dimension is Presence which relates to people being seen and feeling mutual connections with each other,where they feel safe, valued, supported and appreciated. People share their experiences, beliefs and understandings in these communities and are able to socialize without fear of judgement or rebuke. Presence allows people to enjoy good mental health, live near friends and family, volunteer for community well-being services, pursue creative activities, participate in community events, programs and groups. The second dimension is Access which is related to people having choice, means and ability to build connections. Access encompasses financial and time ability,availability of resources, adequate social spaces and programs to undertake social interactions irrespective of anyone’s socioeconomic background or identity. Culture is the third dimension which pertains to inclusion and acceptance. It is the agglomeration of how a society functions and is the totality of norms, behaviours, customs, value systems,belief, ideologies and practices that support and enable people to form and access social connections. The last and fourth dimension is Place which relates to comfort and congruence. It is understood that a sense of belonging is promoted in a conducive and welcoming physical and social environment. It supports the other three dimensions. The spatial environment, be it in a city, a neighbourhood, a locality, building community can either encourage, hinder or block social interactions.
This framework has also provided guidance to assess community readiness to actively co-design and implement solutions for belonging. These include motivation and willingness, adequate and effective representation of each social group in the community, data utilization, collection and management, and finally the availability of human, financial, political and public resources for mobilizing efforts towards belonging.
Belonging is a vast field of multidisciplinary knowledge comprising conceptualizations from sociology,anthropology, public policy, town planning, psychology, public health,education, economics and many others. Thus, belonging is a quixotic social construct which is essential – an intrinsic, inner, subjective experience that yet can be manifested in how we design and experience spaces, human interactions and life around us, outside of us – and which in turn affects our health and well-being. Belonging can be measured, tracked and monitored across space and time via selected indicators. The Solutions for Belonging framework has developed a list of traceable and meaningful indicators for each dimension, which reflect the conditions that contribute to a sense of belonging people experience in their communities and the ways in which degree of belonging is identified and assessed. Furthermore, there are identifiable risk and protective factors for loneliness and belonging that the framework discusses. The framework approach provides a practical tool for all and aims to be a catalyst in transforming how belongingness is imbibed into local communities in Canada. Rather than focusing on what makes us different,it aims to find what we have in common- the needs, the resources, the problems, and goals. As we are in the midway in the ‘decade of action’ (2020-2030) for the SDGs, now is the time to leverage our collective powers to bridge the gap between where communities are placed and where they desire to be in belongingness. In our next blog post we will delve into some of the best practices and programs from Asia-Pacific, Europe, Americas and the Global South for promoting belonging.
Author: Sudeshna Roy
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