The sixth annual Ibn Khuldoon Model United Nations (IKMUN) conference will revolve around the theme "A Decade of Action". The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are composed of seventeen interconnected global goals set to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all". The goals were adopted in 2015, by the United Nations General Assembly, to achieve prosperity, peace, and equality by 2030. The 2030 Agenda is the successor of the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which aimed at eradicating poverty in developing nations by 2015.
The following inter-dependent Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were signed in 2000 by 191 member countries:
to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
to achieve universal primary education;
to promote gender equality and empower women;
to reduce child mortality;
to improve maternal health;
to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases;
to ensure environmental sustainability;
to develop a global partnership for development.
Criticism around the legitimacy, the process of choosing and setting the goals, the process of measuring and reporting progress, and the lack of emphasis on aspects of development has affected the members' ability to meet the MDGs by 2015. Thus, the SDGs emerged to represent the roots of the challenges countries face. The Sustainable Development Goals are universally applicable, no matter the country's development status. By taking into consideration all parties, the SDGs allow each country to decide on the most efficient and practical way to implement projects and policies to meet them.
With only a decade left, called "a decade of action" by world leaders, the United Nations called for a Sustainable Goals Summit to call for action and allow countries to get on track. The United Nations General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammed-Bande states "It is necessary to think of new ways of accelerating SDGs actions for those that are still behind in meeting the goals."
The Ibn Khuldoon Model United Nations conference has taken on the responsibility of connecting delegates from the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The team has noticed the lack of knowledge and awareness on the importance of such goals in our local community. Therefore, each committee will revolve around several SDGs that the delegates must sustain throughout their resolutions. As a result, the entire conference will feature all seventeen Sustainable Development Goals throughout the two days.
"We must step up our efforts. Now." UN Secretary-General António Guterres