On Wednesday 4th December, one of our trustees attended the AGM of Scotland’s International Development Alliance (‘The Alliance’) which was followed with the launch of their report ” Working towards the Global Goals – An insight into our members’ contributions across the world”. This is a very interesting and accessible document in which the Mamie Martin fund is highlighted as one of the organisations working towards Goal 4, that of inclusive and equitable quality education!
A series of presentations about the report gave insights into the work being done on the Global Goals and how we all need to work together to achieve more. Together, members of the Alliance work across all 17 goals, with most working towards 2 or more each and in at least 103 countries. This is quite an achievement for a small country like Scotland!
Despite all the work being done there is still much to achieve and we have only one more decade to do so in the target time of 2030. While you could sense a real push to achieve much more, the ticking clock on one of the presentations was very sobering.
Interestingly, it is now being recognised that the business community plays an essential role, and one of the presenters talked about how she works with very large companies, advising them how to change their practices so that they can assist in achieving the goals. It was clear from the AGM how the Alliance is thinking more widely, realising that international development must include the business world. Membership has been extended to that sector as well as to individual members, which gives it a much broader base. It is expected that this will encourage the interdependence and partnerships which are needed to achieve the goals.
We look forward to working alongside and with many of these other Alliance members towards the achievement of the Global Goals. Our mission includes: Goal 4 – Quality Education; Goal 5 – Gender Equality; Goal 10 – Reduced Inequalities, and Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals.