Minister of Environment and National Beautification, Trevor Prescod and PAHO/WHO Representative, Dr. Godfrey Xuereb, looking at the display of educational posters at the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Gallery at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society yesterday. (C.Pitt/BGIS)

The sustainable development agenda is relevant to every fibre of the social, economic and environmental fabric of the Barbadian society.

This view was expressed on Monday afternoon by Minister of Environment and National Beautification, Trevor Prescod, as he delivered remarks on behalf of Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley at the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Gallery. It has been set up at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society.

Mr. Prescod said that as was the case with most countries, Barbados was farther advanced in the attainment of some of the SDGs than in others. “It is, therefore, our primary objective to consolidate and build on the advances Barbados has made in areas such as education and health, while focusing on emerging areas such as the sustainable green’ and ‘blue’ economic models of development.

“Indeed, embedded in the SDGs are a number of target areas that find resonance with the path we have charted as a country and the priorities that we have identified in advancing to the next stage of our national development,” he stated.

The Minister stressed that Government was committed to ensuring that the lives of all Barbadians were significantly enhanced by its ardent pursuit of these transformational goals.

He expressed the view that Governments had set themselves a “formidable task” with respect to the SDGs. He noted though that the mission was achievable with concerted and cooperative actions at the national, regional and international levels.

Mr. Prescod encouraged Barbadians to view the interactive display which would be housed at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society from Tuesday, November 20, to Wednesday, November 28, between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on weekdays and from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends.

He continued: “In order for our efforts to bear the desired results, there must be a whole of society buy-in. It is, therefore, essential to sensitize the average person on the street about the SDGs and what they signify for each of us, for Barbados as a country and, perhaps more importantly, as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS).”

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was universally adopted by the United Nations membership in September 2015. It charts a path, over a 15-year span, for the global community of nations to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and protect the planet.

Agenda 2030 comprises 17 SDGs and covers 169 targets incorporating all three pillars of sustainable development – the economic, social and environmental.

Under the Caribbean Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework, the United Nations created an SDG Gallery to raise awareness and advocacy about the goals. The interactive mobile gallery, which is rooted within the Caribbean context, will afford citizens an opportunity to see how the 2030 Agenda connects to their daily lives.

sharon.austingill-moore@barbados.gov.bb

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