How Nurturing Minds and SEGA Contribute to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
This week, on September 18-19th, 2023, the United Nations (UN) will gather at its headquarters in New York for the General Assembly high-level week. This event marks a significant milestone in the journey toward achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As the UN reaches the midpoint of this crucial agenda, leaders from around the world will engage in a comprehensive assessment of the progress made toward the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, the SDGs provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. They are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They also recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
Against the backdrop of numerous interconnected global crises, world leaders will not only evaluate the current status of these goals but also devise strategies to address the multifaceted challenges that continue to impact our planet. The ultimate aim is to foster transformative and expedited actions that will propel the world closer to our shared target year of 2030.
Nurturing Minds and SEGA contribute to the achievement of the SDGs by providing numerous educational programs that foster the growth, well-being, and potential of young Tanzanian women from low-income backgrounds.
Nurturing Minds’ and SEGA’s work connect to the following SDGs:
Quality Education (SDG 4)
Nurturing Minds is fundamentally tied to SDG 4, which focuses on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all. By providing access to quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities, we nurture Tanzanian girls and young women to become informed, skilled, and empowered individuals who can contribute positively to society.
Gender Equality (SDG 5)
The struggle to achieve equality for girls and young women is at the heart of our work. Nurturing Minds and SEGA foster gender equality by providing Tanzanian girls with scholarships so that they can access high-quality secondary education, which teaches not only academics but also life skills and entrepreneurship. Girls in Tanzania face multiple barriers to achieving an education, which are compounded by poverty, sexual exploitation, teen pregnancy, and early/forced marriage. We continue to support girls with scholarships at higher levels of education, and we also deliver our sexual reproductive health and entrepreneurship programming to nearly 1,700 girls and young women in communities across Tanzania. This ensures that girls in Tanzania have equal access to education and the same opportunities for personal and intellectual growth. Gender-sensitive educational approaches help break down traditional barriers and stereotypes, fostering a more equitable society.
Climate Action (SDG 13)
SEGA Girls’ School includes environmental education in its general school curriculum and in the STEM Adventures at SEGA Program to promote climate literacy and teach girls to become climate advocates. This education equips girls with the knowledge that they need to understand climate change and how it directly impacts their lives. These future leaders can influence their communities and advocate for environmentally responsible practices. The SEGA Girls’ School also serves as an example of sustainable practices through its campus design and environmentally friendly initiatives. These include a solar-powered campus, two student-run organic gardens, a rainwater catchment system that provides water for part of the year, and a composting and recycling program. Girls reached through the Modern Girl Community Outreach Program receive solar lamps and renewable energy education. Nurturing Minds has also partnered with Carbon Tanzania to create a 3-year sustainability plan to reduce our environmental footprint.
By promoting quality education, gender equality, and sustainable practices at SEGA, we drive forward numerous positive initiatives to help achieve the SDGs. We know that the SDG Agenda is a promise, not a guarantee. The promise is in deep peril for the first time in decades, as development progress reverses under the combined impacts of climate disasters, conflict, economic downturn, and lingering COVID-19 effects. The UN SDG Summit will serve as a moment to recommit to the vision of the future that ensures that no one is left behind.