The already worrying global situation in 2019 before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic and the war on progress towards the SDGs. Background, the MDGs and SDGs

Millennium Development Goals

The goals were set for 2015 in the United Nations Millennium Declaration (2000) and took as a baseline the data for 1990.

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/Millennium.aspx

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obiettivi_di_sviluppo_del_Millennio

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

source for information below: http://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/issues/mdgs.html no longer available

'The United Nations Foundation is committed to helping the UN achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The MDGs are a commitment by the UN to establish peace and a healthy global economy by focusing on major issues like poverty, children’s health, empowerment of women and girls, sustainable environment, disease, and development.

We believe the eighth MDG – calling for a Global Partnership for Development – is probably the most important. It reflects the fact that the fates of all people and nations are linked. Unless we can help the world’s poor create a better life, no one’s prosperity can be secure.'

Below is a list of the eight MDGs and their individual targets.

The Millennium Development Goals:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

· Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.

· Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

2. Achieve universal primary education

· Ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling.

3. Promote gender equality and empower women

· Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.

4. Reduce child mortality

· Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five.

5. Improve maternal health

· Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio.

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

· Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.

· Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

· Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs; reverse loss of environmental resources.

· Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.

· Achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020.

8. Develop a global partnership for development

· Develop further an open trading and financial system that is rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory. Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction—nationally and internationally.

· Address the least developed countries’ special needs. This includes tariff- and quota-free access for their exports; enhanced debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction.

· Address the special needs of landlocked and small island developing States.

· Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt problems through national and international measures to make debt sustainable in the long term.

· In cooperation with the developing countries, develop decent and productive work for youth.

· In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries.

· In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies—especially information and communications technologies.

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Host.aspx?Content=Indicators/OfficialList.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Development_Goals#Goal_1:_Eradicate_extreme_poverty_and_hunger

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/dec/02/africa-significant-progress-mdgs

Success, failure, progress towards and after 2015

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sdgoverview/mdg_goals.html

First read Own the Goals by John McArthur on;

http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2013/02/21-millennium-dev-goals-mcarthur

and Promises to Keep – Crafting Better Development Goals, by Bjorn Lomborg in Foreign Affairs Nov-Dec 2014

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2014%20MDG%20report/MDG%202014%20English%20web.pdf

This series of short articles is also very useful

http://www.eoi.es/blogs/lauraambros/2012/01/17/millenium-development-goals-for-sub-saharan-africa/

http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/expert_paper/How_to_Feed_the_World_in_2050.pdf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17270014

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2012/drinking_water_20120306/en/

“The report said huge regional disparities existed. Almost half of the 2 billion people who have gained access to drinking water since 1990 live in China or India. Meanwhile, many countries in Africa are not on track to meet the target by 2015, with some countries actually falling back to pre-1990 rates of coverage. More than 40% of all people globally who lack access to drinking water live in sub-Saharan Africa.” 2012

This is a quote from:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/mar/06/water-millennium-development-goals

also:

“Millennium Development Goals progress reports overestimate access to safe water”

“New research suggests that official reports overestimate progress towards the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target for access to safe drinking water. The researchers show that the current methods oversimplify the measure by not accounting for water quality; the key measure of safety. In four of the five developing countries studied, the reduction in reported progress would be substantial. It is likely that MDG safe-water progress in other developing countries is similarly overstated …” (2012)

For full article see:

http://bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8287.html

Some experts argued that global progress in trying to achieve the poverty reduction MDG was the result of economic growth, particularly in China (lifting huge numbers out of poverty) and India, rather than the result of international cooperation and aid programs based on the MDGs. Progress globally is difficult to measure and very uneven. (Sept. 2015)

https://www.ft.com/content/1ac2384c-57bf-11e5-9846-de406ccb37f2

Experts argued that despite global progress in poverty reduction, Africa considered separately is unlikely to meet its 2015 MDG target due to the global recession and population growth. Progress is obviously relative to the scale of the challenge and many people are unaware of the extent of the problem in Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa 43% percent of the population lived in extreme poverty in 2012 compared with 56% in 1990. (2012). In this situation any progress is of course good news but eradicating extreme poverty would seem to be a very long term goal for Africa.

http://fpif.org/africas-supposed-failure-achieve-millennium-development-goals/

http://africajournalismtheworld.com/2012/03/01/africa-fails-to-meet-world-bank-poverty-goal/

http://www.endpoverty2015.org/en/node/587

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/oct/16/mdg-sustainable-development-goals

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/extreme-poverty-drops-worldwide/

What did the millennium development goals achieve?

The millennium development goals have targeted eight key areas – poverty, education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health, disease, the environment and global partnership. Each goal is supported by 21 specific targets and more than 60 indicators. Below, we’ve looked at what has been achieved on some of the targets within each goal.

MDG 1: The number of people living on less than $1.25 a day has been reduced from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015, although the target of halving the proportion of people suffering from hunger was narrowly missed.

MDG 2: Primary school enrolment figures have shown an impressive rise, but the goal of achieving universal primary education has just been missed, with the net enrolment rate increasing from 83% in 2000 to 91% this year.

MDG 3: About two-thirds of developing countries have achieved gender parity in primary education.

MDG 4: The child mortality rate has reduced by more than half over the past 25 years – falling from 90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births – but it has failed to meet the MDG target of a drop of two-thirds.

MDG 5: The global maternal mortality ratio has fallen by nearly half – short of the two-thirds reduction the MDGs aimed for.

MDG 6: The target of halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/Aids by 2015 has not been met, although the number of new HIV infections fell by around 40% between 2000 and 2013.

MDG 7: Some 2.6 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water since 1990, so the target of halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of water was achieved in 2010 – five years ahead of schedule. However, 663 million people across the world still do not have access to improved drinking water.

MDG 8: Between 2000 and 2014, overseas development assistance from rich nations to developing countries increased by 66% in real terms, and in 2013 reached the record figure of $134.8bn (£80.3bn).

Source: The guardian July 2015 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/datablog/2015/jul/06/what-millennium-development-goals-achieved-mdgs

Here's another summary of the progress made according to a different source:

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

The extreme poverty rate in developing countries was at 47 percent in 1990 and has since dropped to 14 percent in 2015. In those same 25 years the global number of people living in extreme poverty has dropped from 1,926 million to 836 million. And undernourished percentage in developing countries has dropped from 23.3 to 12.9.

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

The number of out-of-school children has dropped by half between 2000 and 2015: 100 million to 57 million. In sub-Saharan African, net enrollment rate has increased by 20 percent from 2000 to 2015. The global 8 percent increase in literacy rates has also narrowed the literacy gap between men and women.

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

In Southern Asia, for every 100 boys enrolled in primary education, 74 girls were enrolled in 1990, and now 103 girls are enrolled for every 100 boys. In 1990 women made up 35 percent of the paid workforce outside the agricultural sector; today they make up 41 percent of said work force.

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

The global number of deaths for children below the age of 5 has dropped from 12.7 million to 6 million between 1990 and 2015. The measles vaccination has prevented 15.6 million deaths between 2000 and 2013.

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health

Globally, the mortality ration has dropped by 45 percent since 1990 with most of its decline occurring since 2000. Contraception use has increased by 9 percent among women between the ages of 15 to 49.

Goal 6: Combat HI/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

In 2003 0.8 million people with HIV were receiving Antiretroviral Therapy Treatment (ART), and by 2014 13.6 million people with HIV were receiving ART. Nine hundred million insecticide-treated mosquito nets were delivered to malaria prone countries in sub-Saharan Africa between 2004 and 2014.

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Since 1990, 1.9 billion people have gained access to clean, drinking tap water. Improved sanitation is now available to 2.1 billion people.

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Between 2000 and 2014, the official development assistance from developed countries rose from USD $81 billion to USD $135 billion. The global effort of the MDGs has also brought mobile-cellular signal to 95 percent of the world population, and access to Internet has grown from 6 percent to 43 percent between 2000 and 2015.

According to Ban Ki-moon, the MDGs results have taught world leaders lessons that will help with carrying out the Sustainable Development Goals for the next 15 years. He said, “Reflecting on the MDGs and looking ahead to the next 15 years, there is no question that we can deliver on our shared responsibility to end poverty, leave no one behind and create a world of dignity for all.”

source: https://borgenproject.org/mdgs-what-they-achieved/

Situation in September 2015 and serious comment on MDGs

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2015/English2015.pdf

Excellent articles from the Guardian Weekly Sept 2015, definitely to read:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/24/the-big-reckoning-how-many-people-did-the-millennium-goals-save

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/datablog/2015/jul/06/what-millennium-development-goals-achieved-mdgs

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/millennium-development-goals

http://borgenproject.org/mdg-failures/

Beyond 2015 – The Sustainable Development Goals

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/mdg.shtml

http://johnmcarthur.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Fall_2012_Rethinking_Global_Development_Goals-JW-McArthur.pdf

http://www.ethicsandinternationalaffairs.org/2014/the-impending-failure-of-the-sustainable-development-goals/

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jun/17/millennium-development-goals-beyond-2015

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/sep/25/new-development-goals-un-general-assembly

http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/post-2015-consensus?gclid=CMCSw9fTosICFSXKtAodaSwANA

http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/post-2015-consensus?gclid=CNj4-q_UosICFYHLtAodRDgAsA

http://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/CossartDevelopment_brief.pdf

Defining Poverty

The World Bank defines poverty in absolute terms. The bank defined extreme poverty in 2008 as living on less than US$1.25 per day (PPP) based on 2005 prices (up from US$1.00 per day in 2000), and moderate poverty as less than $2 a day. It has been estimated that in 2008, 1.4 billion people had consumption levels below US$1.25 a day and 2.7 billion lived on less than $2 a day.

As differences in the cost of living across the world evolve, the global poverty line has to be periodically updated to reflect these changes.

In 2015, the World Bank defined extreme poverty as living on less than US$1.90 (PPP) per day using 2011 prices, and moderate poverty as less than $2 or $5 a day (but note that a person or family with access to subsistence resources, e.g., subsistence farmers, may have a low cash income without a correspondingly low standard of living – they are not living "on" their cash income but using it as a top up).

The World Bank estimates that in 2015, 702.1 million people globally were living below the poverty line, down from 1.75 billion in 1990 and just over 900 million in 2012 (based on the latest available data). Of the 702.1 million in 2015, 347.1 million people, live in sub-Saharan Africa (35.2% of the population of Africa) and 231.3 million in South Asia (13.5% of the population there).

We should also bear in mind the effect of population growth. According to latest World Bank estimates, the share of Africans who are poor fell from 56% in 1990 to 43% in 2012. However, because of population growth many more people are poor, the report says. The most optimistic scenario shows about 330 million poor in 2012, up from about 280 million in 1990.

http://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/publication/poverty-rising-africa-poverty-report

http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/global-poverty-line-faq

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/05/world-bank-extreme-poverty-to-fall-below-10-of-world-population-for-first-time

http://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/international-poverty-line-has-just-been-raised-190-day-global-poverty-basically-unchanged-how-even

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty#Definitions

The Sustainable Development Goals

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals This gives you the goals:

1. No Poverty - End poverty in all its forms everywhere

· Extreme poverty has been cut by more than half since 1990- however, more than 1 in 5 people live on less than $1.25 a day

· Poverty is more than lack of income or resources- it includes lack of basic services, such as education, hunger, social discrimination and exclusion, and lack or participation in decision making.

· Gender inequality plays a large role in the perpetuation of poverty and it's risks; They then face potentially life-threatening risks from early pregnancy, and often lost hopes for an education and a better income.

· Age groups are affected differently when struck with poverty; its most devastating effects are on children, to whom it poses a great threat. It affects their education, health, nutrition, and security. It also negatively affects the emotional, spiritual and emotional development of children through the environment it creates.

2. Zero Hunger - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

· Globally, 1 in 9 people are undernourished, the vast majority of these people live in developing countries

· Agriculture is the single largest employer in the world, providing livelihoods for 40 per cent of today’s global population. It is the largest source of income and jobs for poor rural households. Women comprise on average 43 per cent of the agricultural labor force in developing countries, and over 50 per cent in parts of Asia and Africa, yet they only own 20% of the land.

· Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45 per cent) of deaths in children under five – 3.1 million children each year.

3. Good Health and Well-being - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

· Significant strides have been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers associated with child and maternal mortality, and major progress has been made on increasing access to clean water and sanitation, reducing malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the spread of HIV/AIDS.

· However, only half of women in developing countries have received the health care they need, and the need for family planning in increasing exponentially, while the need met is growing slowly- more than 225 million women have an unmet need for contraception.

· An important target is to substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from pollution-related diseases.

4. Quality Education - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

· Major progress has been made for education access, specifically at the primary school level, for both boys and girls. However, access does not always mean quality of education, or completion of primary school. Currently, 103 million youth worldwide still lack basic literacy skills, and more than 60 per cent of them are women

· Target 1 "By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes"- shows the commitment to nondiscriminatory education outcomes

5. Gender Equality - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

· Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large

· While a record 143 countries guaranteed equality between men and women in their Constitutions by 2014, another 52 had not taken this step. In many nations, gender discrimination is still woven through legal and social norms

· Though goal 5 is the gender equality stand-alone goal- the SDG's can only be successful if women are completely integrated into each and every goal

6. Clean Water and Sanitation - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7. Affordable and Clean Energy - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

8. Decent Work and Economic Growth - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

10. Reduced Inequalities - Reduce income inequality within and among countries

11. Sustainable Cities and Communities - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

12. Responsible Consumption and Production - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13. Climate Action - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts by regulating emissions and promoting developments in renewable energy

14. Life Below Water - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

15. Life on Land - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17. Partnerships for the Goals - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

As of August 2015, there were 169 proposed targets for these goals and 304 proposed indicators to show compliance.

Some good, critical comment on the SDGs

A report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) criticized the goals of the SDGs as not ambitious enough. Instead of aiming for an end to poverty by 2030, the report "An Ambitious Development Goal: Ending Hunger and Undernutrition by 2025" called for a greater emphasis on eliminating hunger and undernutrition and achieving that in 5 years less, by 2025. It based its claims on an analysis of the experiences from China, Vietnam, Brazil and Thailand and identifies 3 pathways to achieving this goal: agriculture-led, social protection, and nutrition intervention-led, or a combination of these approaches.

The SDGs have been criticized for being contradictory, because in seeking high levels of global GDP growth, they will undermine their own ecological objectives. It has also been noted that, in relation to the headline goal of eliminating extreme poverty, "a growing number of scholars are pointing out that $1.25 is actually not adequate for human subsistence," and the poverty line should be revised to as high as $5.

A commentary in The Economist argued that the 169 targets for the SDGs are too many, calling them "sprawling," "misconceived," and "a mess" compared to the Millennium Development Goals. It also criticised the goals for ignoring local context and promoting "cookie-cutter development policies." They claimed that all other sustainable development goals are founded on achieving SDG number one. The Economist estimated that trying to alleviate poverty and achieving the other sustainable development goals will require about US$2 trillion to 3 trillion per annum for the next 15 years, which critics do not see as being feasible. The reduction in the number of people living in abject poverty has been criticized as a result of the growth of China; the MDGs have been mistakenly credited for this drop. The SDGs have also been criticized due to the inherent shortcomings in the very concept of sustainable development and the inability of the latter to either stabilize rising carbon dioxide concentration or ensure environmental harmony.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2015/jan/19/sustainable-development-goals-changing-world-17-steps-interactive

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/nov/26/implementing-sustainable-development-goals

Intersectoral linkages

Water, sanitation, and hygiene

WASH experts have stated that without progress on Goal 6, the other goals and targets will not be able to be achieved.

Climate change

Nations and other parties negotiating at the UN have highlighted the links between the post-2015 SDG process, the Financing for Development process to be concluded in Addis Ababa in July 2015, and the COP 21 Climate Change conference in Paris in December 2015.

In May 2015, a report concluded that only a very ambitious climate deal in Paris in 2015 will enable countries to reach the sustainable development goals and targets. The report also states that tackling climate change will only be possible if the SDGs are met; and that development and climate are inextricably linked, particularly around poverty, gender equality, and energy. The UN encourages the public sector to take initiative in this effort for minimizing negative impacts on the environment.

Women and gender equality

Despite stand-alone goals on health, gender equality and education, among others, there is widespread consensus that progress against any and all of the SDGs will be stalled if women's empowerment and gender equality is not prioritized. Arguments and evidence from sources as diverse and as economically oriented as the OECD, to expected sources such as UN Women, bolster the case that investments in women and girls impact national and global development in ways that exceed their initial scope of interest.

Economic growth and infrastructure

World Pensions Council (WPC) development economists have argued that the twin considerations of long-term economic growth and infrastructure investment weren’t addressed properly and prioritized as they should be: “More worryingly, ‘Work and Economic Growth’ and ‘Technological Innovation and Infrastructure Investment’ joined the [SDGs] priority list at N°8 and N°9 respectively, a rather mediocre ranking which deﬁes economic common sense”

We should also consider the contradictions involved in trying to achieve goals 1-3 and 8-9 at the same time as goals 13-15, as well as problems with achieving all of the goals given current global demographic trends.

This World Bank Analysis seems very convincing:

http://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/site-content/wdi-2016-highlights-featuring-sdgs-booklet.pdf

Also interesting:

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/oct/05/sustainable-development-goals-most-difficult-targets

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/sep/30/businesses-ignore-un-sustainable-development-goals-survey

demographic trends and the SDGs http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/pop1039.doc.htm

http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/africas-population-growth-could-undermine-sustainability-goals

http://mahb.stanford.edu/blog/population-dynamics-sdgs/

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/aug/25/high-birth-rates-poverty-undermine-generation-african-children-odi-report

those still at risk http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2016/06/14/reca-da-de-millones-de-latinoamericanos-a-la-pobreza-es-evitable-con-pol-ticas-publicas-de-nueva-generaci-n-pnud.html

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/02/20/poverty-has-fallen-yet-many-cambodians-are-still-at-risk-of-slipping-back-into-poverty

http://www.worldbank.org/en/webarchives/archive?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldbank.org%2Fen%2Fnews%2Ffeature%2F2016%2F10%2F17%2Fpoverty-has-fallen-in-the-maghreb-but-inequality-persists

https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/6878/Poverty_vulnerability_and_the_middle_class_in_Latin_America.pdf

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/05/rate-of-environmental-damage-increasing-across-planet-but-still-time-to-reverse-worst-impacts/

http://whygreeneconomy.org/the-politics-of-the-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs/

http://www.agweb.com/article/bill_gates_agricultural_productivity_is_key_to_reducing_world_poverty/

and this aticle makes a powerful argument:

https://newint.org/blog/2015/09/25/un-sdgs-miss-point/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/07/21/a-new-report-rated-countries-on-sustainable-development-and-the-u-s-did-horribly/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.568eac2493c7

The situation in 2017

https://www.theguardian.com/working-in-development/2017/dec/05/warm-and-cuddly-global-goals-sdgs-international-community-has-to-get-real

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sustainable-development-goals-are-country-led-and-country_us_59c28d3be4b0c3e70e74296f

http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/new_metrics/sustainable_brands/sdg_progress_report_reveals_countries_lag_behind_deliv

https://www.triplepundit.com/2017/06/second-un-sdg-report-progress-work-data-needed/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-bulcke/linking-our-agendas-the-s_b_10566088.html

https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/report/2017/TheSustainableDevelopmentGoalsReport2017.pdf

https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2017/goal-01/

“Implementation has begun, but the clock is ticking,” stated Mr. Guterres. “This report shows that the rate of progress in many areas is far slower than needed to meet the targets by 2030.” a quote from the report https://www.un.org/development/desa/publications/sdg-report-2017.html

https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/2017-atlas-sustainable-development-goals-new-visual-guide-data-and-development

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/launch-version-report-jmp-water-sanitation-hygiene.pdf

https://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/PublicationFiles/executive_summary_en_for_web.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/8461633/KS-04-17-780-EN-N.pdf/f7694981-6190-46fb-99d6-d092ce04083f

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/09175c_30e9d8eda4144f40b71eb8b487ba6d69.pdf

The situation in 2018

https://www.un.org/development/desa/publications/the-sustainable-development-goals-report-2018.html

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/

https://www.istat.it/it/files/2018/07/SDGs.pdf

https://qz.com/africa/1299149/how-the-uns-sustainable-development-goals-undermine-democracy/

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/sep/30/businesses-ignore-un-sustainable-development-goals-survey

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/09/sustainable-development-goals-bali-human-capital

https://www.theguardian.com/working-in-development/2017/dec/05/warm-and-cuddly-global-goals-sdgs-international-community-has-to-get-real

https://www.eco-business.com/news/the-world-will-fail-to-achieve-the-sdgsheres-how-business-can-fix-that/

https://www.eco-business.com/opinion/are-the-sdgs-unsustainable/

https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1476825/sdgs-report-card-is-out-and-asia-pacific-is-failing

Italy and the SDGs

https://asvis.it/goal1

https://asvis.it/goal2

https://asvis.it/goal3 etc. changing the goal number

https://festivalsvilupposostenibile.it/2020/l-asvis-e-l-agenda-2030/

https://festivalsvilupposostenibile.it/2020/l-agenda-2030-dell-onu/#

https://www.unric.org/it/agenda-2030

https://quifinanza.it/green/sviluppo-sostenibile-traguardi-per-il-2030-a-che-punto-e-litalia/573633/

https://life.unige.it/lagenda-2030-oggi-che-punto-siamo

https://cristinagabetti.com/agenda-2030-a-che-punto-siamo/

older sources (2019, before the pandemic)

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/nov/06/italy-to-school-students-in-sustainability-and-climate-crisis

https://www.infodata.ilsole24ore.com/2019/06/25/agenda-onu-2030-litalia-raggiunto-solo-12-dei-105-target-previsti/

https://www.adnkronos.com/sviluppo-sostenibile-asvis-non-ci-siamo_4VpltYYsPrJ82aGfWC7lFw

The already worrying global situation in 2019 before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/11/1050831 Worrying!

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/09/1046132 Worrying!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/03/climate-action-un-antonio-guterres https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/22700E_2019_XXXX_Report_of_the_SG_on_the_progress_towards_the_SDGs_Special_Edition.pdf

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/24978Report_of_the_SG_on_SDG_Progress_2019.pdf

https://www.unece.org/info/media/presscurrent-press-h/sdgs/2019/sdg-snapshot-report-highlights-strong-progress-but-persistent-challenges-for-unece-region/doc.html

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2019/07/31/figures-of-the-week-africas-progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals/

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jun/03/not-one-single-country-set-to-achieve-gender-equality-by-2030

the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine on progress towards the SDGs.

https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-81-impact-of-covid-19-on-sdg-progress-a-statistical-perspective/

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/10/07/global-action-urgently-needed-to-halt-historic-threats-to-poverty-reduction

https://asiatimes.com/2020/08/covid-19-and-the-global-economy-role-of-sdgs/

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/goal-of-the-month/

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2020/10/21/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-global-extreme-poverty/

https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/un_framework_report_on_covid-19.pdf

https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/11/1077542

https://news.un.org/en/search/sustainable%20development%20goals

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/oct/18/up-to-90-of-10-year-olds-in-worlds-poorest-countries-struggle-to-read

https://www.scidev.net/global/opinions/russia-ukraine-war-conflict-hindering-sdgs-progress/

https://www.undp.org/africa/publications/impact-war-ukraine-sustainable-development-africa

https://unsdg.un.org/resources/global-impact-war-ukraine-food-energy-and-finance-systems-brief-no2

https://www.santander.com/en/press-room/insights/pandemic-ukraine-war-and-sustainable-development-goals

https://www.undp.org/africa/publications/impact-war-ukraine-sustainable-development-africa

https://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/2397

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/war-ukraine-its-impact-sdgs-global-human-development-adam-rogers

venerdì 10 marzo 2023

Freedom

https://www.statista.com/chart/12541/the-state-of-freedom-worldwide/?utm_source=Statista+Newsletters&utm_campaign=78d964819d-All_InfographTicker_daily_COM_AM_KW10_2023_We_COPY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_662f7ed75e-78d964819d-338756430

giovedì 9 marzo 2023

UN Youth Delegates

https://www.sioi.org/attivita/eventi-speciali/unydp/unydp-2223/?lang=en

https://www.facebook.com/UNYouthDelegateItaly/

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/unyditaly/

https://twitter.com/UNYDItaly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lVTLs6aTLc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aHINt2IrxE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6wGeJi3vcg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHnC6GzCAIk

mercoledì 8 marzo 2023

Gender Equality in the EU

https://www.statista.com/chart/19654/results-of-the-gender-equality-index/?utm_source=Statista+Newsletters&utm_campaign=83994d9f9f-All_InfographTicker_daily_COM_PM_KW10_2023_We&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_662f7ed75e-83994d9f9f-338756430

domenica 5 marzo 2023

How do ideas about human ‘identity’ affect international relations?

One can think of the idea of identity in terms of the individual, or the individual belongs to and the ‘other(s)’ or the ‘outsider(s)'. So I started simply by brainstorming ideas with a class about various kinds of identity and looking for examples of how they influence or may influence international relations. We also thought about international protocols, conventions, covenants and national legislation that deal with issues of identity.

Some ideas

National identity and nation states (Woodrow Wilson and a people's right to self-determination) and the modern international community. National identity and other identities within a state e.g. minority ethnic, linguistic, religious and/or cultural groups within a state, their treatment and possible aspiration to autonomy or independence, e.g. the Scots and Welsh, the Basques and Catalans, the Flemish and Walloons, the Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran, the Russian minorities in Ukraine and other Eastern European states, the Uyghurs in China, but also the German minorities outside Germany in the 1930s and Nazi policy, Italy, irredentism and the First World War, today Russia and Georgia and Ukraine etc…

A transnational identity like a religion, an ethnic group, a linguistic group perhaps, a cultural group?

A supranational identity like European identity, citizenship and the idea of multiculturalism

Samuel Huntington’s ideas about civilization: People have levels of identity: a resident of Rome may define himself with varying degrees of intensity as a Roman, an Italian, a Catholic, a Christian, a European, a Westerner. The civilization to which he belongs is the broadest level of identification with which he intensely identifies. People can and do redefine their identities and, as a result, the composition and boundaries of civilizations change. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/1993-06-01/clash-civilizations

https://www.beyondintractability.org/bksum/huntington-clash

One student's question “In this essay should we also talk about a state having an 'identity' or should we keep the focus on people? “I think 'on people' will be easier and nearer to the words of the essay title, so if you take the state identity line you should explain in your introduction that this is what you are going to do and justify it (mentioning other forms of human identity) and then outline the theory of state identity properly and give clear current examples. However, I think this means taking a risk and distorting the question. See:

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.503.2088&rep=rep1&type=pdf

http://www.e-ir.info/2011/09/11/how-important-is-an-actor%E2%80%99s-identity-in-understanding-global-politics-today/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_(international_relations) and then the link if necessary

In contrast there is the humanist approach, identity with the human race and every individual, and thus humanitarianism, human rights and a universal identity (reflected in international law),

individual and minority identities, aspirations and rights, e.g. age, class, political, sexual identity

women’s rights, including non-discrimination and fair treatment (Saudi Arabia for example, but also femicide in France

https://www.france24.com/en/20191125-france-unveils-new-measures-to-fight-deadly-domestic-violence https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50531213 https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-50533299/femicide-paris-turns-purple-during-protest-rally

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2022/11/19/protesters-march-in-memory-of-100-femicide-victims-killed-in-france-this-year_6004900_7.html

The rights of religious minorities, including respect for the practice of their religion and non-discrimination (Jews and Muslims in Europe for example). And atheists in religious countries.

https://fra.europa.eu/en/news/2023/major-eu-survey-antisemitism-and-jewish-life-launched

https://www.euractiv.com/section/non-discrimination/news/eu-commission-fully-committed-to-fight-anti-muslim-hatred-but-lacks-coordinator/

The rights of ethnic minorities, including non-discrimination and fair treatment and respect for their language and culture, e.g. the Roma or Romani or Romany people, also known as Gypsies are Europe’s largest ethnic minority (estimated at 10-12 million across Europe, 6 million in the EU), https://fra.europa.eu/en/theme/roma

https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2016-eu-minorities-survey-roma-selected-findings_en.pdf

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-roma-rights/roma-people-10-ways-europes-biggest-minority-faces-discrimination-idUSKCN1RK01Y

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Romani_sentiment#:~:text=Anti%2DRomani%20sentiment%20(also%20called,Welsh%20Kale%2C%20Finnish%20Kale%2C%20Horahane

https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2022-roma-survey-2021-main-results_en.pdf

the Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran, or the Rwandan genocide of the Tutsi by the Hutu.

The case of Hong Kong, a Chinese province with protesters claiming political autonomy and some form of democratic participation based on the British-Chinese Joint Declaration of 1984 ('one country two systems').

The rights of social minorities with specific identities, e.g. gays (and more generally LGBT and LGBTQ+), single mothers including non-discrimination and fair treatment (e.g. Russia)

The rights of minorities that may not be recognized as a group e.g. the disabled in all countries, including non-discrimination and fair treatment

'About 15% of the world's population lives with some form of disability, of whom 2-4% experience significant difficulties in functioning. The global disability prevalence is higher than previous WHO estimates, which date from the 1970s and suggested a figure of around 10%. This global estimate for disability is on the rise due to population ageing and the rapid spread of chronic diseases, as well as improvements in the methodologies used to measure disability.'

http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/report/en/

Children as a minority, the rights of non-adults without power (no voting rights, money, may not be physically strong or mentally mature), their right to a childhood, home and education, lack of self-awareness as a group, easily exploited, the Nobel Peace Prize winners for 2014, Malala Yousafzai

Attacks on the cultural heritage of one group by another and the international reaction it may provoke e.g. Islamic State’s attack on Palmyra and other classical sites, attacks on native tribes and their habitat in the Amazon Forest

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/10/nine-dead-in-amazons-worst-land-related-killings-in-decades

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/12/brazil-investigates-reports-of-massacre-among-amazon-tribe-javari-valley

National legislation and international protocols and institutions designed to guarantee the rights of different groups and individuals, or to protect a cultural identity and its heritage e.g. in the EU, in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the mandate and operation of the International Criminal Court and the problems involved in concepts like the Responsibility to Protect

‘Economic identity’ (?) – this is not how people usually describe themselves in terms of identity but involves the way the UN calls for the rich developed countries to help eliminate extreme poverty in the least developed countries and how this may involve a change in the way we see ourselves and others (domestically, the homeless, the unemployed, the sick or dying)

http://www.debatingeurope.eu/2014/10/31/what-does-being-european-mean-to-you/#.VHtFJmfUh-w

https://www.robert-schuman.eu/en/european-issues/0466-europe-and-the-identity-challenge-who-are-we

https://e-medine.org/it/cosa-significa-essere-cittadini-europei/

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20200918STO87401/roma-what-discrimination-do-they-face-and-what-does-eu-do

https://yerun.eu/2022/05/europe-and-european-identity-in-todays-world-and-political-climate/

https://www.politico.eu/article/understanding-europes-shift-to-the-right/

http://books.google.it/books?id=4-LEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA311&lpg=PA311&dq=fragmentation+of+national+identity+in+Europe&source=bl&ots=jIIW7v10la&sig=wu6EkIgqyC19DASeg04zoJP4QLg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NEl7VLePEs71aubigvAC&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=fragmentation%20of%20national%20identity%20in%20Europe&f=false

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/05/catalonia-independence-more-than-nationalism

http://theglobaljournal.net/article/view/469/

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/what-conchita-wurst-tells-us-about-eu-identity-a-970688.html

So you could start an essay with:

the idea that the international community is (mainly) based on nation states (e.g. at the UN or in the EU) which are based on the idea of national identity (and self-determination) as a valid idea. Nationality involves a shared identity, usually reinforced by education, based on some, any, or all of the following:

culture, history, language, ethnicity (real or perceived, i.e. false ideas about 'race'), religion, connection with a specific geographical area, an awareness of the state and affection for it. However, this is often the product of basic education and can be dangerous since national identities and uncritical patriotism (jingoism) have been, and still are, a contributory cause of wars between states. Some historians argue that this is a factor that governments have often exploited to build support for war (e.g. European history 1700-1945, particularly the end of the 19^th century and World War I/II) National identity, as indicated above in the quote from Huntington, is of course only one level of identity that people feel, but a powerful one in terms of its effect on international relations.

However, the idea of national identity is also open to challenges both internally and externally.

Internally – almost every state contains at least one ethnic minority with a strong identity. In some countries this minority may be a majority within a particular area, perhaps one which it is linked to historically (French-speaking Quebec). Smaller groups within a state may assert their own sense of national identity and aim at a greater degree of autonomy or recognition as a separate culture (Wales) or national independence (e.g. Scotland, Catalonia). These tensions may be productive (multiculturalism, with different groups learning from each other and contributing different things to a society) and contained democratically (Walloons and Flemings in Belgium), Britain (so far), Canada (so far), Spain (so far), resolved peacefully by separation (Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) or lead to conflict, secession and the violent break-up of the state (former Yugoslavia (where between June 1991 and April 1992, four republics declared independence, while only Serbia and Montenegro remained federated) and the successor states.

Externally – How does this affect foreign relations? Perhaps we should consider Russian-speaking minorities in Georgia and Ukraine and Russia’s declared interest in protecting these groups. Though the comparison is unjust to Russia, we might also consider Nazi foreign policy in the 1930s and its insistence on ‘defending Germans’ living outside the Reich.

Many, if not most, of the world’s problems today are global, e.g. environmental challenges, security threats, economic problems, migration, trade questions, international crime, medical emergencies etc… States cannot effectively deal with these questions at a purely national level and as a result cooperate in many areas (the WTO, the IMF, NATO etc..) and thus, to some extent give up part of their sovereignty in favor of a wider identity within a responsible, rule-based humane international community.

The European Union is the best example of a highly evolved supranational organization where states cooperate in order to achieve shared goals. Legally we now have shared European citizenship and new responsibilities for EU diplomats towards all European citizens, not just to those of their nation state. So a commonly asked question is ‘To what extent do we now have a genuine European identity and feel ourselves to be Europeans? After all, thanks to the EU today we have the right to travel to, reside in and work in any EU member state we choose. In most polls and surveys European citizens still describe themselves primarily in terms of national identity, and opposition to the EU institutions has risen recently. However, that opposition may be largely due to economic difficulties and fears about jobs and rising non-EU immigration. People want someone to blame and have generally blamed their national governments as well as the EU institutions.

However, perhaps we should not confuse the idea of European identity and the EU institutions. After all, a person may have little respect for his government but still be a patriot with real affection for his country. Similarly, one could argue that most Europeans (inside or outside the EU) actually already share an identity as Europeans, a strong set of shared values and common expectations (with a shared historical evolution), but may not be consciously aware of it. I would argue that when we travel around Europe, certainly Western Europe, we no longer have the sense of being abroad that people in the 1930s or even 1950s would have felt. We are aware of language differences but we also experience much that is familiar and shared –democracy, a welfare state, an open society, an increasingly secular state, common norms and expectations in terms of the rules governing work and social behavior, the role of women, education, as well as how we use our free time and the kinds of entertainment we enjoy. Moreover, a military conflict between, say Italy and Spain, is now inconceivable. Some of this is no doubt the result of the work done by the EU and programs like Erasmus, but much is also the product of prosperity, and the opportunities provided by the advances in transport and communications systems. Where once only the rich traveled, this possibility is available at very low costs and vast number of Europeans travel to other European countries for holidays, for work or to study. # Contrast this with the experience of traveling to many areas outside Europe. Here we may genuinely experience culture shock. This may take many forms when we find ourselves confronted with widespread poverty, the lack of basic medical services, a lack of democracy, clear legal rights and personal security, the powerful role of religion within some societies and conservative values that to Europeans may seem 19^th century, the lack of a welfare state, and a lack of political and social debate. This may make us more aware of our European identity.

Many states today are multicultural societies and need to find a balance that accommodates different identities within them. This is not a new phenomenon (the problems of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 19^th century for example). After all, the Jews and the Roma (the gypsies) are examples of transnational identities with long European histories and the discrimination they faced (and still face as far as the Roma are concerned) is a lesson for us today regarding both the need for and the difficulty of achieving real toleration and acceptance of identities different from that of the majority. Similarly, the Kurdish question is one of the key questions in assessing Turkey's application to join the EU.

Today there remains widespread concern if not actual fear in the West regarding Islamist terrorism, the reemergence of religion as a transnational force, able to recruit followers (though statistically few) from among Muslims in Europe and radicalize them in the name of a religion which exerts a primary claim, above that of any national state or set of secular values. Islamist terrorists reject the secular state and Western values and thus also the universal values of the UN, built upon the equality and dignity of all human beings. They reject equality between Muslims and non-believers and they often see sectarian divisions too as a basis for violence e.g. Sunni or Shia or other groupings

However, according to French sociologists many of those of Arab origin living as citizens or residents in France today (around 5.7-6.0 million) are non-practicing Muslims, just as most of their Catholic counterparts are largely non-practicing Christians. They argue that most French Arab men and women share the same European secular values as other French citizens. Radicalized Muslims and jihadists were estimated at 17,000 by French authorities in 2018 and support for radical Islamism may be in the tens of thousands, but this is still a small proportion of the total (and the proportion who actively take part in acts of violence is much smaller). Moreover, although Islamic radicalism has some powerful support in the Arab and wider Islamic world, it is far from clear that radical Islamism has widespread popular support anywhere. Islamic State lost control of the areas it had in Iraq and Syria and although it remains a presence there and has spread to other Muslim countries, mainly in Africa, its ability to gain followers seems to be matched by the way those who come under its rule do not want to repeat the experience.

https://africacenter.org/spotlight/fatalities-from-militant-islamist-violence-in-africa-surge-by-nearly-50-percent/

Huge numbers (5.4 million registered Syrian refugees and perhaps 6.9 million internally displaced persons as of January 2023) have fled their homes and it is clear that while many were fleeing from the Assad government's forces, others after 2014 did not want to live under a regime such as ISIS.

https://reporting.unhcr.org/syriasituation

http://www.unhcr.org/syria-emergency.html

https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria

https://www.unhcr.org/sy/internally-displaced-people

At a less violent level there does seem to be growing tension between those who would like to maintain and strengthen the purely secular nature of the state (atheists, agnostics and many religious moderates) and those who wish to see laws to protect religious belief itself in some way. This is reflected in the more serious debate that arose about Charlie Hebdo after the events in Paris. It includes issues like blasphemy, censorship, education and dress, and identity issues like gay rights (a question of social or individual identity), the protection of, and space given to minority religious cultures within a national culture and the nature and exercise of women’s rights.

In fact, gender identity and the position of women and children in society are other issues that raise debate both within societies with traditions that place power and education mainly in the hands of men and between these societies and liberal democracies. The Nobel Peace Prize (2014) was awarded jointly to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education" (especially girls). This is an indication of growing awareness at the international level of this problem. Individual and social identities and related rights include groups such as the young, the old, the disabled, the unemployed, the poor, travelers, the homeless, drop-outs, drug-addicts and HIV/AIDS sufferers for example, all of whom may be discriminated against on the basis of who they are, or are thought to be, or the way they live or the danger they are seen as representing.

Beyond all this there is the concept of universal identity, enshrined in international law and embedded in the foundations of all the major institutions from the UN down (see ‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights’), which sees all human beings – regardless of their nationality, culture, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation – as equal and entitled to the protection of their rights as such. This is not a claim accepted by Islamist extremists or cultural supremacists of other types (e.g. neo-Nazis) but it is the basis of every charity appeal when we are faced with a natural or man-made disaster, and it is the product of a struggle going back to the Enlightenment, the American and French Revolutions and Thomas Paine’s ‘The Rights of Man’. Empathy, or our ability to identify as human beings with other human beings is an essential part of our nature and the basis of humanism, humanitarianism and much of our art. One can also argue that human solidarity requires a growing awareness of our identity as members of a single human community with responsibilities towards its weakest members, those in extreme poverty or caught in violent conflict or the victims of discrimination or persecution, or refugees from a wide range of humanitarian disasters and, with global population growth and the human impact on the environment, towards those who are now called environmental refugees too. (And greater concern for other species too?). Given the globalized nature of many of humanities challenges some political commentators argue we are in the process of developing a 'global' identity'.

Finally, there is the role of the diplomat to consider. A key part of his job is to represent his country by promoting a positive image of his nation and correcting any negative perceptions or stereotypes. This means molding how an identity is seen by projecting a particular image through cultural and economic diplomacy as well as diplomacy in its narrower political sense. It also means that the diplomat must demonstrate an interest in and a respect for other cultures and identities.

European identity - unity in diversity? http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/585921/IPOL_STU(2017)585921_EN.pdf

https://www.thenewfederalist.eu/european-identity-diversity-into-a-form-of-unity?lang=fr

# Personal view– Modern multiculturalism has a history which has become a growing part of our education system. Where once schools had a program of studies that emphasized the nation and its achievements, the last 50 years have seen a growing trend towards a ‘European’, and more recently towards a ‘global’ view. Who today would deny that any serious academic program in a European country about classical music, art history and, above all, the history of science would have to be European-based and would make little sense in purely national terms? Mozart, Beethoven, Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, Fermi, all of these people may or may not have thought of themselves in nationalist terms but were clearly open to ideas at a European level and contributed at that level. I would argue that it is not very useful to think of Shakespeare as essentially English, while his roots as a European are very clear. In the same way, I would argue that thinking of Mozart as an Austrian is very limiting and I feel he belongs as much to me, someone British living in Italy, as he does to an Austrian. I would also argue that this is instinctively what Europeans feel today. Put Shakespeare or Jane Austen into modern dress in a film, dub the film into Italian and I don’t think most Italians will feel they are watching something fundamentally foreign, though they will recognize it as not contemporary. Put it into a modern setting and even this barrier disappears. Of course, this kind of shared cultural heritage can become multicultural. Here is an entertaining Bollywood adaptation of Jane Austen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53W6yV7i5zo&list=PLySYrn1mG-gAK6h_7HNitoD1oVBDGbYly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VlUWfMS69M

also interesting:

https://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/identity_issues