Over the next few weeks, we welcome Ontarians to reflect on how we can strengthen relationships with one another, with our communities, and with our natural surroundings by exploring Awakening. May it inform and inspire.
“For most of us, when we hear the word ‘sustainable,’ we think ‘sacrifice.’ Utilitarian, not beautiful. Basic, not advanced. Scarce, not abundant.”
– Bruce Mau https://t.co/DesUjMqkSO pic.twitter.com/TY8dActS4K— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 19, 2019
What are the Sustainable Development Goals? Adopted by all countries, including Canada, they are urgent calls to action for a world that works for everyone. #Awakening @GlobalGoalsUN https://t.co/H4WNTkpXbs
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 20, 2019
“My people have a sacred trust with the land
A trust no man may break, a trust that death cannot sever.” – @RStaceyLaforme https://t.co/ezwYoYUSL7 pic.twitter.com/WqwiSSQlon— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 21, 2019
Read Sacred Trust written by storyteller and poet, Chief @RStaceyLaforme of the Mississauga’s of the Credit of the Anishnaabe, in Ojibway:https://t.co/ezwYoZcu9H pic.twitter.com/YO6ANxdoxU
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 21, 2019
2019 has been named the International Year of Indigenous Languages. Read Chief Laforme’s powerful poem, Sacred Trust in Ojibway. #IYIL2019 https://t.co/ezwYoYUSL7 pic.twitter.com/Ugeu7HRN1s
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 21, 2019
"Achieving the SDGs is not for the faint of heart. The scope is bold and ambitious, and the need for genuine collaboration imperative. #Awakening challenges us to consider: Now that we can do anything, what will we do?" https://t.co/LAN9Z78WZg
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 23, 2019
“Society is undergoing major changes. In the midst of migratory crises, demographic shifts, market globalization…human society’s ability to create and grow in all its rich diversity is all too often ignored” @simon_brault
Yushan Carries Shaore Lake #2 @ChihChienWang #Awakening pic.twitter.com/GmPrXj1VeU— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 25, 2019
“Artists make an immense contribution to society. They enlighten us, raise questions, and generate dialogue. They remind us that the arts and culture must continue to be strong pillars of social development.” – @simon_brault and @SebGoupil #Awakening https://t.co/KBPhc6QZiS
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 26, 2019
“Despite significant progress in the last few decades, more than half the world lacks access to essential health services, and close to 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty every year because of healthcare costs” – Jim Yong Kim #SDG1 https://t.co/jaaS9FMle2
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 27, 2019
"Canada is working hard to achieve the #SDGs at home… If we work together, invest the right resources, & continue to act with a fierce sense of urgency, I believe that we can achieve the #SDGs & become the 1st generation in history to end poverty." – Jim Yong Kim #SDG1 pic.twitter.com/jpj0OyfDHg
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 27, 2019
“The world has embarked on a transformational, people-centred, & planet-sensitive roadmap through the adoption of the @GlobalGoalsUN. #SDG2 aims to end hunger, achieve food security & improved nutrition, & promote sustainable agriculture” @AminaJMohammed https://t.co/dJu3IbyT2I
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 28, 2019
“Securing peaceful and inclusive societies is a necessary step towards ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030.” @AminaJMohammed #SDG2 #Awakening
Art by Jimmy Manning @InuitArtFdn Cape Dorset, NU — colour photographs 1999–2000 pic.twitter.com/VBng7dXib9— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 28, 2019
“No #SDG has seen more remarkable progress over the past century than #SDG3. Smallpox, humanity’s great killer since our very beginnings, has been eradicated. Annual deaths from measles have fallen dramatically…” – @AbernsteinCIFAR https://t.co/w3HZxf7Juw
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 29, 2019
“To promote #SDG4, we need to find creative ways for members of our education community to travel, reach beyond their borders… Ontario has much to share but equally as much to learn.” – @drkarenedge https://t.co/LS37BPveF5
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 30, 2019
“I hope that all students in Ontario understand their future role in making the province, country, & world better… We need to continue to use our privilege to ensure that vulnerable populations have every educational opportunity possible at home & abroad.” – @drkarenedge #SDG4 pic.twitter.com/SS33rfl0JV
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 30, 2019
“#SDG5 aims to leave no one behind, so it targets those who are most left out. This means prioritizing women who are too often forgotten, such as widows and elderly women, refugees and migrants, care workers, and women in the informal sector…" 1/2 pic.twitter.com/ju0hKM13El
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 31, 2019
…including women facing discrimination on multiple and intersecting fronts, such as their sexual orientation, disability, race, HIV/AIDS status, or because they are part of an indigenous community.” – @phumzileunwomen 2/2 https://t.co/8CrHq8gVWi>
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) March 31, 2019
“2.1 billion people lack reliable access to safe drinking water at home. In addition, 4.5 billion lack well-managed sanitation. Why can’t we fix it? We often choose not to.” – Margaret Catley-Carlson #SDG6 #Awakening https://t.co/YWM2vDDQ5S
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 1, 2019
“We are pumping out groundwater…at such a rate that about half of Asian food supplies are being grown with unsustainable water…(The same thing would happen to our Great Lakes surface water if we didn’t manage their levels.)” Margaret Catley-Carlson #SDG6 Art: Fernand Bergeron pic.twitter.com/OSMKeYEVB0
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 1, 2019
“The term ‘no-brainer’ is often used to describe attractive economic propositions. This is well beyond a no-brainer. Each solar light is effectively a licence to print money for the poorest of the poor.” – Jeremy Leggett #SDG7 Art: Germaine Arnaktauyok Thunder & Lightning II pic.twitter.com/1fDkzneqpD
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 2, 2019
“As technological change accelerates, we will increasingly find that our work evolves throughout our lives. To keep up, we have to treat learning as a continuous, lifelong journey and instill that motivation in youth worldwide.” – Dominic Barton #Awakening #SDG8 Art: Eleanor Bond pic.twitter.com/On6cc3bwgJ
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 3, 2019
“By 2030, 470 million positions will be needed to accommodate new entrants into the labour market.
"Complicating the challenge is that the workplace is undergoing tremendous change, driven largely by technological advances.” – Dominic Barton #SDG8 https://t.co/pl9OrGKOq3— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 3, 2019
“200 years ago, aluminum was the most expensive precious metal globally because electrolysis (which separates aluminum from bauxite) had not yet been invented. These days, we throw away tinfoil without even noticing.” –@Salimismail #SDG9 #Awakening https://t.co/GeuzuDFCsQ
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 4, 2019
“Sustainability requires holistic, long-term thinking to consider the ripple effects of decisions. Silos of information and disjointed organizations do not encourage sustainability. We must create elegant ways to update systems to achieve the aspirational #SDGs.” – @SalimIsmail pic.twitter.com/R04tk7xKtn
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 4, 2019
"#SDG10 summons us to work toward a world in which living a secure life depends more on ability & hard work than [where] you were born. Inclusiveness and equality of opportunity are fundamental to a fair society.” –@RobertGreenhill https://t.co/5k6U36cSes
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 5, 2019
"When reducing inequality, patience may not be a virtue, but persistence certainly is. Foresters say the best time to plant a tree is 70 years ago. #SDG10 tells us that the best time.. for equality & inclusion is now." @RobertGreenhill
World Map Project: Equal Countries A – Z pic.twitter.com/ZQ4AdudkEq— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 5, 2019
“5 yrs ago, no one could have imagined that solar and wind would be cheaper than coal, or that in many major economies more people would be employed in renewables than in fossil fuels.” – @ErikSolheim #SDG11 #Awakening https://t.co/AQPpFhcJ1r
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 6, 2019
“In some cities in the world, waste is growing twice as much as the population. Instead of dumping our waste into the oceans and landfills, we need to increase its lifespan. We can turn food waste into biofuel, plastics into building material, and more.” – @ErikSolheim #SDG11 pic.twitter.com/FKMVSrEnm0
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 6, 2019
“Let me start with the good news. Over the past twenty years, we have seen many encouraging changes in business leadership on environmental and sustainable development issues.” – @PaulPolman #SDG12 #Awakening https://t.co/DAleHQ0zFl
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 7, 2019
“Now is the time to put our shoulder to the wheel. Achieving the climate goals will take hard work and raised ambition from us all.” – @CFigueres #SDG13 #Awakening https://t.co/H6B2lKE7d5
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 8, 2019
“With intentionality & radical collaboration, technology & the imperative to act are coalescing in this window of opportunity in a way that will enable us to bend the curve of emissions firmly downward by 2020.” – @CFigueres
Art: Green Landscape by @iainbaxterAND #Awakening pic.twitter.com/rnNEE9bMyy— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 8, 2019
“Imagine a submerged plume of oil four times as high as the Empire State Building. Beginning at the seafloor, it thunders out of a shattered eighteen-inch pipe with so much force that the sediments seem to sway.” – Dr. Joe MacInnis #SDG14 #Awakeninghttps://t.co/y7VrwaGIEp
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 9, 2019
“For more than a month, the ever-enlarging oil plume has been drifting across this unseen realm, enveloping the larvae and newborn of snapper, dolphin, lobster, billfish, and bluefin tuna.” – Joe MacInnis #SDG14 #Awakening Art: Bird Box by David Morrish pic.twitter.com/DNdAmSRcny
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 9, 2019
“The challenge of sustainable development is to produce an adequate quality of life for humanity while retaining the variety of lifeforms with which our existence is intertwined.” – @Tom_Lovejoy #SDG15 #Awakeninghttps://t.co/vk1m4MrsFB
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 10, 2019
“Biodiversity is not only central to a sustainable future, it also can be a source of sheer wonder & inspiration. Our choice is between a degraded world with a marginal future for humanity or a planet … filled with wonder, beauty, & infinite possibilities.” @Tom_Lovejoy #SDG15 pic.twitter.com/NbEds8CW9K
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 10, 2019
“A common impediment for countries attempting to implement Goal 16 is the yawning gaps in reliable data, making it difficult to measure progress in meeting the goal’s targets.” – David M. Malone #SDG16 #Awakening https://t.co/h8JdvQl35g
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 11, 2019
“When the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs were adopted, Goal 16 was seen as truly transformative, formally linking for the first time at the United Nations development, peace, justice, and good governance.” -David M. Malone #SDG16 #Awakening Art: Mines #22 @EdwardBurtynsky pic.twitter.com/3G48thfOKk
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 11, 2019
“Partnership requires a suspension of fixed roles—a willingness to learn and reshape how we think. It requires a humble acceptance that our ways of doing things are not always appropriate. They may not even be right.” – Stephen J. Toope #SDG17 #Awakening https://t.co/R4CKAxQSCO
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 12, 2019
“Building a sustainable global economy, with the potential to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people without destroying the ecology of the planet, is the work of generations.” – Stephen J. Toope #SDG17 #Awakening https://t.co/R4CKAy8tum
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) April 13, 2019