Working Toward Sustainable Development for All

The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and Its Sustainable Development Goals

This topical issue of the Zeitschrift für Psychologie comes at a critical time following the historic adoption of the United Nations’ action plan Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015). The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets in the 2030 Agenda adopted at the United Nations by the 193 member states in September 2015 represent a transformative global development initiative. The Agenda recognizes the need to look beyond narrow economic measures of progress and consider all aspects of well-being for current and future generations, to eradicate poverty worldwide, and to safeguard the planet (United Nations, 2015). Transitioning from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to a universal sustainable development framework calls for updating current approaches based on lessons learned from the past, and ensuring that institutional mechanisms will support the implementation of the SDGs. Encompassing three core inter-linked dimensions of economic, social, and environmental development, the Agenda has become the center of a renewed development framework for countries to meet the changing development priorities and development gaps that previous strategies have been unable to close. A summary of the SDGs with links to progress information is available at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300

This topical issue of the Zeitschrift fürPsychologie focuses on some of the major challenges to and solutions for achieving the SDGs. Further, we highlight how psychologists can contribute to evidence-based policy initiatives, societal progress, and achieving the SDGs.

Sustainable Human Development: Issues and Perspectives

Sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p. 43). Human beings are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature so that their social and economic needs are met within natural resource limits to enable sustainable human development. Continued efforts are needed to advance poverty eradication, human rights, and equity while also realizing more sustainable patterns of consumption and production, stabilizing climatic changes, and effectively managing environmental resources (UNICEF, 2013).

Psychological and social science research demonstrates that social inequalities prevent people from developing their capacities and contributing as productive members of society. Research in psychology indicates that being engaged in decent work promotes psychosocial empowerment by reducing marginalization and poverty (Antonucci, Bial, Cox, Finkelstein, & Marchado, 2019). Empowering people to be productive by providing training about entrepreneurship and income-generating activities, life skills development, as well as equal access to education and lifelong learning, particularly for youth (Franchett et al., 2019), are important pathways to decent work and the achievement of sustainable development. Strategies and programs that are implemented need to be evaluated on dimensions inclusive of psychosocial well-being, empowerment, mental health care and social protection, human rights, and social justice to ensure their effectiveness and to determine the degree to which the policies have had the desired effects in achieving sustainable development (Psychology NGOs Accredited at the United Nations, 2012).

The Contributions in This Issue

Antonucci et al. (2019) review the role of life span and life course theories for explaining how poverty (SDG 1), gender inequity (SDG 5), and insecurity (SDG 11) influence an individual at different developmental stages. They also consider how convoys of social relations offer naturally occurring resources and review successful interventions.

In the original article section, we have three contributions. Ponguta et al. (2019) describe the process whereby Colombia engaged all stakeholders to develop measures to assess progress toward achievement of the SDGs in quality early childhood development and education for all children. The model is useful not only for programs, research, and policy in Colombia but also globally.

Franchett et al. (2019) used a mixed-method approach to document the experiences of female community youth leaders from rural Pakistan in a youth-led early childhood care and education (ECCE) program. They use the program as a model for dual investments in children and young people to achieve several SDG targets. Using both quantitative and qualitative analyses, their findings suggest that, in some contexts, youth-led ECCE models can feasibly address ECCE workforce gaps while offering leadership and professional development opportunities for youth.

Tirrell et al. (2019) propose the usefulness of Bornstein’s (2017) specificity principle regarding what specific youth prosper in what specific ways in what specific programs, for evaluating SDG-relevant programs. Data from 888 Salvadoran youth, half from Compassion International programs with community comparisons, yielded no aggregate differences and mixed results within program sites.

Five research spotlights look at different aspects of SDG realization in various parts of the world. Schultes et al. (2019) describe and give examples of how psychology and implementation science provide knowledge useful for SDG goals on (1) developing interventions and adapting existing programs to different contexts, (2) systematically and sustainably implementing interventions at different system levels, and (3) evaluating and monitoring the effectiveness of interventions in producing desired changes.

Wiium, Wreder, Chen, and Dimitrova (2019) highlight the challenges youth face in Ghana and test psychometric properties of thriving indicators among adolescents from a positive youth development perspective. Observed gender differences and differentials in access to resources were attributed to cultural and socialization processes that perpetuate gender disparities in Ghana.

Pessoa, Liebenberg, Bottrell, and Koller (2019) use the case example of Brazilian youth involved in drug trafficking to illustrate how the schooling, work, and aspirations of these youth connect with the SDGs and how psychologists can promote democratic principles, extend services to vulnerable youth, and develop tools specific to the needs of Brazilians.

Horoz, Huizink, Delforterie, and Creemers (2019) examine whether parental control, parental solicitation, and acculturation to Dutch culture were associated with well-being among youth with Turkish and Moroccan backgrounds in the Netherlands. Higher levels of parental solicitation were associated with a higher level of well-being among youth. The authors discuss implications of their findings for SDG 3.4 (promote well-being and mental health) and SDG 10 (reduce inequalities) as these are crucial for positive youth development and social cohesion.

Banati and Oyugi (2019) build a case for the importance of using longitudinal data to measure progress toward achieving the SDGs to capture the dynamic process of human development, track causes and consequences of particular outcomes, and maximize the effectiveness of interventions by attending to particular developmental windows of opportunity.

The issue closes with three commentaries on the research presented (Boyden, 2019; Dawes, 2019; Silbereisen, 2019).

Emerging Implementation Challenges and Solutions for Sustainable Human Development

With the adoption of the SDGs worldwide, it is evident that a mandate exists for ensuring sustainable human development for all; however, the main challenge for countries is effective implementation. The collection of articles in this issue demonstrates that sustainable development challenges are integrated and need to be addressed in a holistic manner.

Early intervention matters and the unmet needs of young children and youth in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can be addressed through innovative solutions using youth-led ECCE models that maximize gains in developmental outcomes for both age groups (Franchett et al., 2019). Achieving and tracking progress toward inclusive quality education for all (SDG 4) requires application of contextualized and comprehensive assessments for quality at scale (Ponguta et al., 2019). The use of longitudinal research designs can effectively contribute to the understanding of developmental trajectories and processes over time and provide important evidence for policy making (Banati & Oyugi, 2019). Investment in positive youth development with a special focus on well-being and mental health (SDG 3) is an important factor for integration, adaptation, and social cohesion. The benefits of such initiatives may foster the achievement of SDG 4 (inclusive quality education for all), SDG 8 (employment), and SDG 16 (peaceful and inclusive societies; Horoz et al., 2019). If gender parity and equitable life chances (SDG 5) are to be ensured, then programs need to nurture developmental assets that will stimulate thriving among youth (Wiium et al., 2019).

One of the 2030 Agenda mandates is “leave no one behind.” This can be possible only when we have disaggregated results across subgroups that will aid in evaluating program efficacy across participants, and within program sites (Tirrell et al., 2019). Needs-based interventions grounded in indigenous theories and culturally relevant strategies for marginalized population groups are the way forward (Pessoa et al., 2019). Implementation science provides a knowledge base for implementation variables essential to improving efficacy of evaluation and monitoring processes (Schultes et al., 2019). Psychological theory and research permit understanding complex dimensions of poverty (SDG 1), gender and empowerment (SDG 5), and security (SDG 11) required for designing and implementing interventions that contribute to sustainable development (Antonucci et al., 2019).

Developmental scientists have emphasized the need to develop culturally sensitive, age- appropriate, rigorous measurement tools to track SDG progress; the need to advance developmental science to be useful for policy frameworks, especially in the LMICs; and crucial investments in research and in capacity building among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to achieve sustainable development in LMICs (Verma & Petersen, 2018).

The SDGs are a powerful tool for motivating national-level programs and policies to improve millions of lives around the world. When thinking globally, the development of individuals over time can be lost in conceptions of societal change. Psychologists bring to the implementation of the SDGs the advantage of expertise in attending to individuals rather than entire societies, which makes them well suited to addressing questions of how to make national policies work for diverse individuals, how to work with vulnerable individuals, and how to track individuals’ changes over time in the face of societal changes.