Compassion & the SDGs
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a blueprint for all major sectors related to health, environment, and economic development. Yet the role of compassion as a fundamental driver in establishing the SDGs and the necessity of compassion for achieving them remains an untold story.
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The Case for Compassion
Through a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation, the University of Edinburgh Global Health Academy and FACE are collaborating to make the case for compassion as a guiding principle for and as a unifying thread to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.
After publishing a position paper in The Lancet, we launched a year-long social media campaign (#compassion4theSDGs) starting in January 2023. This campaign emphasizes the integral nature of compassion in the SDGs through an examination of individual SDGs (released on relevant “world days”) and case studies.
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Explore the SDGs
Click the boxes below to explore compassion’s integral role in each of the sustainable development goals.
October 17
International Day of the Eradication of Poverty
October 16
World Food Day
April 7
World Health Day
January 24
International Day of Education
March 8
International Women's Day
March 22
World Water Day
February 28 - March 3
World Sustainable Energy Days
May 2 - 3
World Economic Forum Growth Summit
January 16 - 20
World Built Environment Forum Week
March 21
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
October 31
World Cities Day
September 29
International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste
Nov 31 - Dec 12
UN Climate Change Conference
June 8
World Oceans Day
April 22
Earth Day
September 21
International Day of Peace
December 20
International Day of Human Solidarity
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Compassion & the SDGs
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Case Studies: Compassion in Action
Chile’s Valhalla Project
Valhalla spent the first 18 months of the project listening, building trust, educating, and negotiating meaningful partnership agreements. These compassionate design principles simultaneously enabled the project to address global challenges while meeting local needs.
Asili Social Enterprise
Asili is a Congolese social enterprise that flips the script. It reinvents humanitarian aid as as startup capital for self-sustaining businesses, designed and operated by and for the people that need them.
Podcast: A Case for Compassion in SDGs
Want to learn more about compassion and the SDGS? Listen to this episode of Stories of Impact with Richard Sergay and Tavia Gilbert, sponsored by the Templeton World Charity Foundation.
Our Partners
Contributors
Liz Grant, MA, PhD, FRSE, FRCPE, MFPH; Assistant Principal of Global Health, University of Edinburgh
Heather Buesseler, MPH, Consultant, FACE
Corinne Reid, Professor of Psychological Therapies, University of Edinburgh
Hallelujah Anteneh, Communications Coordinator, Task Force for Global Health
Menna Clark, Sustainable Goal Analyst, University of Edinburgh
Wendy Ball, Global Health Academy Senior Fellow, University of EdinburghÂ
David Addiss, MD, MPH, Director, FACE