The United Nations Association of Bulgaria has turned 70. To mark the anniversary a conference was organized - Transforming our world: Agenda 2030 for Bulgaria. At the opening of the event, Ambassador Ivan Garvalov, chairman of the UN Association of Bulgaria pointed out that the young people attending the forum are the best illustration of the aims of sustainable development and are the people pushing the development of the nation forward.

At the forum it was made clear that more than 100 countries in the world have taken the first steps towards implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. That is why, in future, the UN Association of Bulgaria will turn its efforts towards organizing a public discussion on the issue and will take steps toorganize the first non-mandatory national review of the measures and the progress made on the agenda at a national level. By signing a declaration of the world leaders on the global aims of sustainable development on 25 September, 2015, all member countries assume the commitment to implement Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. The most pressing problems in the developing countries are still hunger, disease, poverty, education etc. In Bulgaria too there is much room for improvement in order to meet all of the 17 agenda objectives. The meeting was attended by the chairman of the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria Solomon Passi, who pointed to the initiative for a single mobile phone charger as an achievement Bulgaria can be proud of. The single charger saves51,000 tons of electronic waste annually, as well as over 13 million tons of carbon emissions. Out of the other achievements in the realm of sustainable development, Passi singled out universal Wi-Fi access on the territory of the EU, as well as the universal number 9 at hotels, similar to emergency number 112. In Solomon Passi’s words there is still work to be done on the European regulation on soil degradation on which around 40 bn euro is spent every year. Efforts are also being made to standardize TV remote controls.

Ilina Mutafchieva from the UN Association of Bulgaria commented on the results of a survey involving NGOs in Bulgaria on the national priorities, connected with the UN Agenda 2030for Sustainable Development, conducted at the end of 2017:

“There are 17 targets adopted by the UN in 2015 we must all make efforts to attain. The survey conducted highlights the targets we consider to be most important of all – high-quality education, good health, equality between sexes, a stable job and economic growth, reducing inequality among regions and sustainable towns and communities.”

According to Rozalina Nedkova, chairperson of the youth section of the UN Association of Bulgaria:

“Bulgaria offers many opportunities in this respect. Many of the young people going to study abroad leave with a clear objective that once they have amassed the knowledge necessary, they will return to their country, which is part of the agenda of Bulgaria’s sustainable development.”

English version: Milena Daynova

Photos: private library