Should I just use the UNs issue list?

Is there already a definitive list of all the world’s problems? I didn’t think there was – but I think I might be wrong. Someone might have put one together after all.

As part of this project, I started putting together my own list. I got a pretty good 10 item list together.

Each of these top-level issues has sub-topics and a few are quite detailed. Here’s my full list.

I think this is a pretty good list, if I do say so myself. I was fully prepared to move forward using this list as my official ‘ Problems of the world that I need to help fix’ list. So, I moved onto my next step, trying to figure out what solving each of these items would mean. And so, I started to look at how to measure success at solving each of these problems. What would be a realistic target or milestone for each of these?

There’s nothing new in the world. And if you have a problem, just look around, because you are almost certainly not the first person to think about it! While searching for those answers, I was led to the United Nations website, and more specifically, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the SDGs.

I will be one hundred percent honest. Before looking at this web site, which I had not done until this exercise, there are only two things I could tell you about the UN. The first is that they coordinate feeding refugees and starving children around the world. The second, is that, according to some of the more big-mouthed politicians and talking heads, the only country who pays their UN dues is the United States.

I only believe half of what I see and none of what I hear, so I took those two pieces of information and discarded them. Bottom line, I count myself as completely ignorant of the UN and its mission. Consequently, I took this as an opportunity to do some research on what my search pointed me to, which was a list that the UN has put together of what ‘experts’ around the globe believe to be humanities’ most pressing issue. In other words, exactly what I had attempted to put together!

Here is the list as it exists today.

UNs 17 SDGs

• GOAL 1: No Poverty
• GOAL 2: Zero Hunger
• GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being
• GOAL 4: Quality Education
• GOAL 5: Gender Equality
• GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
• GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
• GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality
• GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
• GOAL 13: Climate Action
• GOAL 14: Life Below Water
• GOAL 15: Life on Land
• GOAL 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
• GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

As far as I can tell, this list is pretty #$%*ing good. A few top-level thoughts.

• Ambitious plan: I like that it’s not looking to just make goals that are easily achievable in a short period of time. They are identifying what the goals should be and putting together targets that would establish a path to solving the issues.
• Shared agenda: This list of goals is meant to be pursued by all countries, as it represents issues faced by the entire planet.
• Universal goals: I like that the list is meant for every country to use as a guide for solving ‘our’ problems.
• Strong focus on solving environmental issues: I like that the environment has a large focus, as I think we’ve only got one planet and I don’t think we can afford to destroy this one up.
• Strong focus on ending poverty: In my opinion, the world has advanced to a degree technologically and socially where we should be able to fully eradicate poverty. I believe that to be a noble and achievable goal.
• Expertly vetted list: I love that ‘they’ have put together an already vetted list. I’m not re-inventing the wheel. A LOT of thought went into creating this list. Certainly, more than I have.
• Established targets: I also love that ‘they’ have already established targets. 168 targets across these 17 goals. That means really specific, measurable targets and milestones upon which to aim towards.
• Expertly assembled: Who are ‘they’? ‘They’ is an international organization committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights. This list as not just assembled by experts, but by a world renowned, independent, thoughtful and thorough panel of experts.

There is a LOT here. I need some significant time to digest the details of this list. I’m certain it will take me months to get my head around it. But at this point, its certainly good enough to serve as my ‘Issues List’ that I will use as a set of goals to work at solving. At some point in the future of this project, I may adjust, but this is great for a starting point. Saves me a lot of work. Unlike the list of duties of a citizen, where I was unable to find a well thought out and suitable list to adopt, here I was spared the work of building an issues list from scratch. I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Photo by Daryan Shamkhali on Unsplash