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NEW YORK, 25 September 2015- “Today's welcome decision marks the end of a process – and a beginning. The drive to turn commitments into action.

“We will measure our progress, yes, through statistics. But the true measure will be in every child lifted out of poverty; through every mother who survives childbirth; every girl who does not lose her childhood to early marriage.

“By helping the most disadvantaged children today – by giving them a fair chance in life – we can help break the bonds of extreme poverty tomorrow.”

BACKGROUND

The Sustainable Development Goals represent an ambitious global plan of action that aims to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger, provide quality lifelong education for all, protect the planet and promote peaceful and inclusive societies. They build upon commitments to children in the areas of poverty, nutrition, health, education, water and sanitation and gender equality contained in the SDG's precursors, the Millennium Development Goals. Critically, the SDGs also include new goals and targets on child protection, early childhood education, and reducing inequality. 

©UNICEF/NYHQ2015-2346/Mazur On 24 September 2015, (foreground, left-right) Noor Samee, 16, and Rodrigo Bustamante, 17, chat with UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham in front of the unique new digital installation ‘Assembly of Youth', at United Nations Headquarters (UNHQ). Noor and Rodrigo, who are wearing T-shirts with the UNICEF logo, are from UNICEF's Voices of Youth initiative. The innovative installation, designed for UNICEF by Google, brings the voices of young people to the heart of the United Nations General Assembly. Mr. Beckham, Noor, Rodrigo, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake unveiled the digital installation, which harnesses mobile technology and social media to deliver personal messages from young people across the globe directly to world leaders. The messages highlight the challenges young people face in their homes and communities – including extreme poverty, inequality, violence, deadly disease and conflict – as well as express their hopes for the future. The launch event was held in the context of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, which opened on 15 September, and preceded the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, taking place 25–27 September at UNHQ.

For more information, please contact: Marixie Mercado, UNICEF New York, Tel: 917-213-5188; marixiemercado@unicef.org