The United Nations created the Sustainable Development Goals to help make the world a (much) better place by 2030. Meet three of the experts—Joseph Wong, John McArthur, and Deborah Glaser—who are already pursuing the goals, and hear why the tremendous effort it will take to achieve them is worth it. 

Dr. Joseph Wong leads The Reach Project, a research initiative based in the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. His work focuses on those who are hardest to reach—which is a massive barrier to help. “In the Reach Project, teams of students from diverse backgrounds spend months researching programs that have proven successful in combatting poverty in developing countries,” Wong has said. “Their exhaustive final reports are like how-to manuals, enabling others around the world to learn from and adapt these initiatives. Local successes are thus shared as viable global solutions, potentially benefiting millions.”  

John McArthur is a senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution, a senior adviser to the United Nations Foundation, and a board governor for the International Development Research Centre. You can hear more from him in the video below, or follow this link to catch his 2017 appearance on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin, in which McArthur discussed Canada’s early pursuits of the SDGs. 

Our third guest, Deborah Glaser, is a senior policy analyst for the BC Council for International Cooperation. This year, BCCIC completed a voluntary review of Canada’s Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The comprehensive, must-read document opens with this pledge from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: 

The Sustainable Development Goals are as meaningful in Canada as they are around the world, and we are committed to their implementation. Our priorities at home align with our priorities abroad: building economic growth that works for everyone, advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, taking action on climate change, and narrowing persistent socioeconomic gaps that hold too many people back. No one country can solve these problems alone—but by working together, we can create a better future for all our citizens. 

CREDITS: No Little Plans is hosted by Vicky Mochama of Vocal Fry Studios and produced by Katie Jensen. This podcast was created by Strategic Content Labs by Vocal Fry Studios for Community Foundations of Canada. Subscribe or listen to us via the outlets above, and follow us at @nolittlepodcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Meanwhile, like Daniel Burnham said: “Make big plans; aim high in hope and work.”