The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in September 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. They were enacted as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The SDGs are intersectional. For example, they recognise that reducing the effects of climate change must go-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, environmental protection and gender.

The 17 SDGs¹ are as follows:

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy
8. Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
15. Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
17. Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

The SDGs are aimed at policymakers, civil society, business, academia and individuals. At the political level, they provide the framework for action to be taken by policymakers and government delegations report annually on the progress of each goal to the UN High Level Political Forum. But along with the public sector, it is crucial that the private sector and companies are involved in achieving the SDGs.

Research from the Social Progress Imperative² suggests that the world has fallen critically behind on achieving the SDGs, with a new goal date of 2094. Along with addressing the worsening effects of climate change, the goals provide a critical framework for COVID-19 recovery. The global Catalyst 2030 organisation, along with the Regional and Country Catalyst 2030 chapters, work to develop innovative, people-centric approaches to achieving the SDGs.

¹  https://sdgs.un.org/goals

² https://www.socialprogress.org/about-us/sdgs

One of the strengths of the Catalyst 2030 network is the way in which our members can find new collaborators on the journey to bring about lasting, meaningful systems change.

Regional and Country Chapters strengthen the ecosystem at a local level to ensure collaboration and co-creation among social entrepreneurs, governments and governmental bodies.

The Catalyst 2030 Collaborations website pages, which showcase work happening across the network, are managed by the movement’s Collaborations Working Group. Website content is frequently refreshed as new ideas and inspirational connections are added, showing how members are working together to facilitate tangible change, test ideas, and create new ways of working.

The Collaborations pages also provide opportunities for more members to get involved in the work that is already underway across regions, sectors and thematic areas. Chapters are able to identify collaborations that could be useful and applicable in their own countries/regions depending on the thematic areas that they have identified as being their priority. Rather than ‘reinvent the wheel’, there could be opportunities to expand and scale existing collaborations in a localised context.

Catalyst 2030 members interested in starting new collaborations, joining existing collaborations or showcasing a member collaboration can let the Collaborations Working Group know through the forms found here.

Chapter Subgroups are made of members from a particular chapter, working together on current tasks required for the development of their Chapter (Local). These are different to Catalyst 2030 Working Groups, which are groups of Catalyst 2030 members working on current tasks required for the development of Catalyst 2030 (Global).

As of November 2021, Catalyst 2030 Australasia has the following Chapter Subgroups:

• Enabling Collaborations
• First Nations / Place of Standing Gathering
• New Economies Innovation
• Social Entrepreneurial Scholar-Practitioners
• Systems Change Learning
• Tourism

We will share news on these Subgroups as and when needed.

We are a Chapter of Catalyst 2030.

Catalyst 2030 builds local and regional advocacy through Country and Regional Chapters.

Country Chapters focus on the social entrepreneur ecosystem in a particular country. The aim is to harness the expertise of social entrepreneurs to enable the local policy changes that are needed for the sector to thrive.

Regional Chapters make it easy for social entrepreneurs within defined geographic, cultural or language groupings to collaborate and to develop a localised movement of social entrepreneurs who can establish best practices for their specific region.

We look forward to sharing news and stories of the impact we’re seeing in our part of the world with you.