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Over the previous decades, the globe has been changing at a fast pace. Not so long ago, if you wanted to communicate with a friend on the other side of the globe, you would send a letter and it could take weeks to arrive! 

Now it’s different. People from all over the world are more easily connected to each other. You can start the day by eating a banana from Ecuador and end the day talking to a friend on the other side of the world: if you live in Europe, your friend could be in Australia! This is a great change in our lives: more information, more communication, more exchange across the whole world. We call this ‘interdependence’.” 

Because of interdependence, world problems are harder to solve. Since we are all interconnected, if one part of the world uses most of the resources (food, oil for cars etc.,), the other parts of the world have not enough. Poverty and inequalities are not only local problems but also global and need to be solved all together in collaboration.

Right now there are 30 million children growing up poor in the world’s richest countries. Their parents may not have enough money for food, clothes, housing, toys and school materials!

Hey, that’s not fair! We should change the situation! New actions are needed to end extreme inequalities and poverty. We can all live differently through everyday actions. We should choose dignity and equity over poverty and inequalities.

Some people have already started working to make the world a better place for communities, families and children! The United Nations, an international organisation composed of world leaders from 193 countries, agreed upon  17 goals for a better world by 2030. 

Goal nº10 focuses specifically on reducing inequalities and states that a life with dignity should be available to everyone around the globe. This is a human right, meaning a right that everyone holds. Such rights are written in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has been translated in over 500 languages. It’s an international law that 48 countries voted in favour of in 1948. Nowadays, the principles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are  embedded in the laws of over 90 countries.

Now it is up to all of us, governments, schools and communities to work together and build a better future for everyone. We can all help to make sure that we meet the Global Goals by 2030.

But, what can children and schools do? Schools can help achieving a better and more just world by:

Step 1. Start learning more about the causes of poverty and inequality.

Step 2. Identify problems in your school and wider community and work together to look for solutions to them. For example, you could hold a classroom debate about poverty in your school district 

Step 3. Share ideas with people different from you, for example, people who live in different places or are a different age. When you interact with others, learn to value different opinions. 

Step 4. Act and start changing situations of injustice in your school and community! 

You can suggest ways to make your school more welcoming to newly arrived pupils such as signs in their own languages. 

Everyone can be a part of creating a world with greater justice, equality and human rights for all.