Approaches to SDG 17 Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Sharing and Building on Expertise for the Goals: GUNi’s Group of Experts in SDGs and Higher Education

The world today is going through highly interdependent and complex social, economic, technological and ecological changes, which are the result of past and present trends. As Erik Assadourian states in Rethinking Education on A Changing Planet, “the defining quest for humanity today is how we will be able to provide fulfilling lives for 8–10 billion people even as Earth’s systems are declining rapidly”.1

The increase in inequality and major asymmetries between regions and peoples, as well as the lack of global governance derived from the diffusion of power and the crisis of representation and legitimacy in many countries are important examples of the challenges that humanity is and will be facing in the years to come. Despite this, in recent decades new non-state actors have come onto the scene and are demanding a new role in governance. The 2030 Agenda is an excellent opportunity to review and re-distribute global governance and SDG 17 could be a key factor of this re-distribution.