UNANIMA INTERNATIONAL
ONE SPIRIT, ONE MISSION, ONE HOPE
Webinar Series on Family Homelessness/Displacement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The United Nations 2030 Agenda is said to address the 5 Ps (People, Planet, Peace, Prosperity, and Partnership) which are essential to sustainable development. UNANIMA International published Family Homelessness Through the Lens of the United Nations 2030 Agenda during the 58th Commission for Social Development (CSocD58) in February 2020; Volume II of this publication was released in October 2020. The lens of the UN 2030 Agenda was ideal for analyzing Family Homelessness, because it is – and must be considered – a multilateral issue. These two publications emphasize the many drivers (causes) and effects of a universal, yet diverse issue: Family Homelessness.
Addressing and preventing Family Homelessness is essential for the UN 2030 Agenda to be achieved and social injustice to be countered. With only 10 years remaining to achieve the 2030 Agenda, accelerated action in addressing the inter-linkages between the three pillars of sustainable development: social, economic, and environmental, is essential. Just as the SDGs require multi-stakeholder engagement and work towards solving, so does Family Homelessness. These publications in themselves allowed UNANIMA International to progress work towards solving a critical issue through relationship-building, awareness-spreading, paradigm-shifting, and calling to action all political actors. As the SDG Knowledge Hub asserts, “It’s clear that the SDGs will not be achieved using the same conventional approaches used in the past. Building the evidence-base on the transitions needed to attain the SDGs is a key area where science and transdisciplinary research can make a tangible contribution.”1 Equally important is the use of a Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) to homelessness solutions, climate solutions, and economic reform.
We need political will to end Family Homelessness, and harnessing this towards The 2030 Agenda is one area where advocacy and policy can focus productively. This webinar series served to introduce the international community to some of the experts who are breaching the topics of Family Homelessness/Displacement, housing insecurity, and human rights. Many of the speakers framed their analyses and expertise within the current United Nations Agendas and Frameworks, aimed at achieving the change we need to see in the world.
The three Webinars have/are taking place before the end of 2020, the year beginning our “ decade of action”. During each Webinar Experts with lived experiences, service providers, policy experts, and UN civil society representatives gave great insights into their respective topics. The first Webinar, titled “Family Homelessness and the” Planet” (SDGs 11.12,13, 14,15.) took place
on November 12th. The second titled “Family Homelessness and the “People” (SDGs 1,2,3,4,5,6) took place on November 20th. Recordings for each of these can be found on our Facebook pages.The final Webinar on Family Homelessness and “Peace, Prosperity and Partnership (SDGs 7,8,9,10, 16,17), will be on December 10th, 9:00 EST (Human Rights Day).
Thank you to all the Daughters of Wisdom who continue to support the work of UNANIMA International especially women, children and girls who are the furthest left behind in our world.
[1] SDG Knowledge Hub. “Greater Gains for Countries on the SDGs by Addressing All Goals Together.” IISD, November 12, 2019.
