Tomorrow will be my last SDGs class at Clark Memorial High School. As a result of the work I have been doing over the last few months, I have slightly updated the Five Steps to achieving our SDGs vision.
It is generally thought that moving into the future means predicting the future and doing business to meet it, but the SDGs require the opposite - backcasting. The SDGs are a great but must-have future, so we need a process of creating the future, not predicting it. There are five steps to achieving this. The first step is to imagine (vision) the future we want to achieve the SDGs. The first step is to think about what experiences have led you to think of the direction you want to take. Just in the direction or aspect of the future is enough and not necessary to make it concrete. The second step is to think about the first target you want to achieve in the direction of your vision. As this is the first target, it should be small and at a level you feel you can achieve. You don't need to think beyond the first target because that first experience can help you think about what you can improve next and may even change the direction of your vision. The third step is to understand the current situation, which will take us towards that vision. We then consider the factors and people that support us and the environment that prevents us from moving towards our vision. The fourth step is to identify the problem that lies between the second and third steps because the current situation is not achieving the objective. The fifth step is to decide on and implement a plan to solve the problem. Again, it is important not to think about big solutions but to think about what can be done first.