Andriani
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My name is Andriani. I studied in the beautiful city of Thessaloniki in the Pedagogical Department of Primary Education. I currently work as a teacher and I am also volunteering for YEU, as a board member and a coordinator of YAS! project.
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I first heard about the SDGs through YEU and specifically through the project “Local to Global” that we implemented in 2020. Even though the SDG goals were adopted by the UN Member States in 2015, not many people in Cyprus (including me) were familiar with them. “Local to Global” aimed at raising awareness about the SDGs, using activities based on non-formal education. My knowledge about the SDGs was further expanded through “YAS! project” and the work of seven passionate volunteers.
In my opinion, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a complete guide with clear goals and targets that each member state should focus on, in order to achieve the desired results. Instead of generally talking about “improving our world” or “creating a better future”, now we can aim at specific goals, the achievement of which can lead us to our vision. All member states have committed to the achievement of the goals by 2030 and have already made progress in some SDGs. Of course, more commitment is needed and especially by the Cypriot government, as it is one of the countries with the lowest performance.
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Based on the most recent data, Cyprus struggles with the achievement of almost all the SDGs. I believe that one of the reasons that this is happening, is because people are not well informed of the situation and the government is not making a big effort in informing them.
"In my opinion, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a complete guide with clear goals and targets that each member state should focus on, in order to achieve the desired results."
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The goal I feel most strongly connected to is the SDG 4 that concerns Equal Education, because of my profession. In 2013, as a university student, I had the opportunity to visit a Roma community in Greece and came across a situation that shocked me· about half of the kids in the community did not go to school, mainly because the educational system was not appealing to them and did not respond to their needs. Not many people believe that this could happen in a European country, but it does. Worldwide, millions of children are out of school and about half of the children that do go to school, are not reaching the minimum level of competence in reading and numeracy. Inequalities in the educational system have become much more visible with COVID-19. How can a student participate in an online lesson, if his/her parents cannot afford a device that is working properly, or if the internet connection is unstable because they live at a remote area?
Education should be a priority in every country and community and no child should be left behind, but the educational system does not work that way. Many students are uncapable to follow the quick pace of teaching and cannot absorb the knowledge, while a small percentage is benefited from education as it is structured in a specific way and follows only their needs. Thus, the educational system needs to provide more flexibility and focus on connecting schools with the society, as this is the way to creating active citizens and researchers of knowledge.
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Which SDG are you most interested in if you could choose one?
The goal I feel most interested in is the SDG 4 that concerns Equal Education, because of my profession.
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What would be the SDGs that need more action and attention here in Cyprus?
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All the SDGs are equally important and require big changes, but if I had to choose three SDGs that Cyprus should focus on, I would suggest the SDGs 16, 11 and 4. The goal for “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” is important because of the division of the island but also the many cases of corruption. Secondly, we should focus on the goal for “Sustainable cities and communities”, because there are many good examples in other countries that we can use in Cyprus and it is a shame we haven’t made any significant progress on that. Lastly, we need to invest in education, as this is the greatest tool to raise awareness, inform and promote critical thinking.
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For the people reading the interview, what are your recommendations regarding the SGD’s, either for them to take an action, either to educate themselves? If you could send one message out to the people, what would that message be?
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With our performance on the SDGs, we are ranked at the bottom of the list. We can only go upwards from here! So talk about the SDGs, spread the info and act, however you can!
Tackling the SDGs is not possible if people do not know about the SDGs! So, firstly people need to be informed about the UN 2030 agenda and the responsibility we have as individuals and as a country to achieve the goals by 2030. The Cypriot government should immediately start acting on the achievement of the SDGs and create campaigns for awareness raising.
Many NGOs and companies have been working towards that, but without the government’s support and collaboration, their actions cannot have the desired outreach. Furthermore, immediate focus should be given on the governmental law, so that it agrees with the SDGs and is applied without exceptions. In Cyprus we have come across multiple situations in which the implementation of the law did not take place because it was against a big company’s interest or some politicians’ interests, which is unacceptable. Lastly, equally important is the individual effort. We can all do some smaller or bigger changes in our lives, that can lead closer to the achievement of the SDGs and the creation of a better world.
