EnlightAID, a framework for all sustainable development
By: Verónica Celis Vergara
Tags: Sustainability, Transparency, Enlightaid, Sustainable Development, Sdgs

EnlightAID, a framework for all sustainable development

A few weeks ago I wrote an article about the UN Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. It showed the importance of Goal 16 as a foundation for the other goals to be built on. As you may have read, Goal 16 is called Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions and it aims, among other things, to the eradication of corruption. This particular goal is the basis upon which the EnlightAID concept was conceived. Our team embarked on the task of creating something that has never been done before, to give real-time transparency to the use of donations and investments in social and environmental projects. With this work, our aim is to contribute to the correct use of funds meant for social and environmental causes, thus contributing to reducing corruption in this sector. As you may already know, the UN estimates that 30% of the resources allocated to aid is diverted as a result of acts of corruption which means that billions of dollars are lost every year, robbing all of us of the positive that could have been achieved with those funds. Even though the goal that fits EnlightAID the most is Goal 16, we have chosen this one as the foundation to achieve all of them

How does EnlightAID align with the other SDGs?

It is really, very simple. Organizations such as NGOs, charities and foundations can join EnlightAID in order to fundraise with transparency, show impact, create volunteering opportunities and work together with people and companies to achieve social and/or environmental goals. An organization will create a profile that will allow them to do all of that, and more. Each one of the organizations will choose at least one of the EnlightAID causes that address the kind of work they do with their projects. We know that sometimes one organization will be working towards more than one goal which is why they can choose up to three out of the eight available causes. For this article I thought it would be a great idea to share with you what these goals aim for and how they align with the UN’s SDGs, so here it goes!

Women & Children, as the name indicates, this cause is oriented towards projects and actions that are aimed at protecting women and children and advancing their rights. This directly aligns with Goal 5, Gender Equality, and Goal 10, Reducing Inequalities of the SDGs. Both of these goals aim at achieving equality, Goal 5 in terms of gender to empower all women and girls and goal 10 addresses it in terms of the differences among countries. Organizations who have to chosen to work within the Women & Children Cause Category will be developing projects that, among other things, contribute to end all forms of discriminationof women and girls everywhere, eliminate gender violence and exploitation, eliminate practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation, contribute to ensure social, economic and political inclusion for everyone regardless of their age, sex, disability, origin, religion, ethnicity, economic status, etc. Furthermore, organizations working on this cause can also be working towards eliminating discriminatory policies, laws and practices, along with other lines of work that contribute to ensure women and children have the best chance to develop their full potential and that promote equality among all human beings.

Hunger & Poverty, this cause is in line with the first two SDGs, Goal 1: No Poverty and Goal 2 Zero Hunger. These two SDGs have as objective to “end poverty in all its forms”¹ and “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”². Organizations working in the Hunger & Poverty Cause will be working towards those two objectives, and can cover aspects such as creating programs that can ensure people have a living wage over 1.90 dollars a day³, which is the current line of poverty. Furthermore, this Cause targets also the reduction of multidimensional poverty. “Although often defined according to income, poverty can also be defined in terms of the deprivations people face in their daily lives”⁴, multidimensional poverty “identifies how people are being left behind across three key dimensions: health, education and living standards, comprising 10 indicators such as lacking access to clean water, adequate nutrition or primary education. People who experience deprivation in at least one third of these weighted indicators fall into the category of multidimensionally poor.”⁵ Furthermore, the Hunger and Poverty Cause addresses also ensuring food security and agro-sustainability, especially for the most vulnerable people and regions on the planet.

Environment, this Cause is oriented towards targets covered by Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, Goal 13: Climate Action, Goal 14: Life Below Water, and Goal 15 Life on Land. Organizations working towards the Environment Cause might be developing affordable and reliable sustainable energy, doing research in clean energy production systems, working towards providing affordable housing and giving slums basic services, designing inclusive transport systems, participatory processes for sustainable human settlements, reducing negative impacts created by cities, or supporting relationships between urban, peri-urban and rural areas. These organizations could also be working to strengthen the adaptive capacity to climate change of different regions, promoting the integration of climate change measures into policy, establishing mechanisms to raise the capacity for climate change related planning in vulnerable regions, reducing marine pollution, protecting marine and coastal ecosystems, establishing land and marine environment restoration initiatives, addressing ocean acidification and contribute with ending overfishing. Organizations who have chosen to be part of the Environment Cause can also be creating initiatives to increase scientific knowledge and research capacity in topics related to marine and land ecosystems, promote the implementation of sustainable forestry management practices, develop projects to prevent soil degradation and erosion, work on the conservation of biodiversity, take action to end trafficking and poaching of protected flora and fauna, create landscaping plans to protect endemic vegetal species and enhance the global support to protect environment defenders, among many other initiatives.

Education & Culture, as the name indicates, this cause aligns with Goal 4: Quality Education. As the SDG, the aim of this cause is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”⁶. To achieve this, organizations working in the Education & Culture Cause can be working towards providing free, quality and equitable access to education for all children. They may also have initiatives oriented towards ensuring affordable and quality education at a tertiary level, ensuring women and men have access to skill building. These organizations can also be working towards eliminating gender disparity in terms of access to education, and contributing to safeguard cultural heritage, among other objectives. With the Education & Culture Cause, EnlightAID goes beyond the SDGs to include culture that transcends access to education, we believe that sustainable development must also include access to culture in a broadened spectrum, which is why we wanted to open the doors to organizations working in the arts and music spectrums. Understanding that art and music have a fundamental value in our societies and as such should be accessible to all of the members of our global society, regardless of age, gender or socio-economic background.

Freedom of Speech, this Cause is related to Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, which targets among other things to ensure access to information and to protect fundamental freedoms⁸. Organizations which have chosen to work in this Cause may represent independent media outlets committed to provide pluralistic information to all citizens.

Healthcare & Sanitation, this cause is aligned with Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being and Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. It has been created to promote access to healthcare, sanitation and water management for all. Organizations working in this Cause might be developing projects to give access to safe drinking water in vulnerable economies, the creation of sanitation and hygiene infrastructure in slums, projects that increase water-use efficiency in all sectors, as well as initiatives to contribute reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, research on epidemics and other health related issues, and ensure universal access to healthcare and access to medicines and vaccines, among others.

Natural Disaster Relief, this Cause aligns with both Goal 13: Climate Action and Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Organizations working on this cause might be creating projects to strengthen resilience towards climate disasters in all regions, responding to this kind of challenge requires, in many cases coordinated action among organizations, companies and governmental entities in multiple countries which is why organizations working in this Cause might be also working towards establishing partnership policy and collaboration agreements.

Social Business, entrepreneurship is one of my personal favorite topics as I believe it is a fundamental part to building sustainable development. As a team we believe that donations can take us really far, but it is only by including entrepreneurs that we can truly have the best chance of meeting the SDGs goals by 2030. This Cause is aligned with Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goal 9: Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, and Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Social Businesses working on this Cause can be working towards sustainable innovation and research, ending modern slavery and human trafficking, promoting sustainable tourism, developing sustainable infrastructure, supporting the further development of tech4good initiatives, developing circular economy models, among other initiatives.

Of course, these are only some ideas of what the organizations will be working on. As you might be thinking, these are some incredibly complex and big goals we are aiming for, and yes they are. That being said, we believe they can be achieved as long as we work together, combining the efforts of regular people like you and me, companies, non-governmental organizations and governments, and if we can ensure the resources we invest are used well. What do you think?