DiplomatArtist.com has raised the platform “Do Animals Need a UN Ambassador?”; but perhaps an equally relevant question is “Does our Sustainable Future Need Animal Ambassadors?” To raise awareness and realization of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals:
(1) No Poverty; (2) Zero Hunger; (3) Good Health & Well-Being; (4) Quality Education; (5) Gender Equality; (6) Clean Water & Sanitation; (7) Affordable & Clean Energy; (8) Decent Work & Economic Growth; (9) Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure; (10) Reduced Inequalities; (11) Sustainable Cities & Communities; (12) Responsible Consumption & Production; (13) Climate Action; (14) Life Below Water; (15) Life on Land; (16) Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions; (17) Partnerships for the Goals
the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has enlisted three stars from both the human and animal kingdoms as Goodwill and premier Animal Ambassadors. Award-winning actor Michelle Yeoh from the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and Ang Lee’s Academy Award-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is partnering with two pandas who were born in China at the Chengdu Panda Base in the Pandas for Global Goals Campaign.
Says Michelle Yeoh enthusiastically about her adorable, cuddly, furry friends: “Our aim is to show that each and every one of us can play an active part in reaching a globally shared vision of a future without poverty, inequality or climate change.” UNDP Administrator Helen Clark explained “these pandas symbolize the plight of the world’s diminishing wildlife in the face of climate change and the loss of natural habitats, and addressing the loss of biodiversity,”which is one of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The public is challenged in a contest to “NAME the Pandas. For more contest information, see http://pandas.undp.org/en/
On a serious note which needs to be addressed:
Unfortunately, June’s annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival is scheduled again this year. For those not familiar with this relatively new( traditional??) festival, see “Dog Fight.” At the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China, killing is a celebration not borne out of hunger, necessity, or tradition – it started only in 1995 with China’s consumer society rise. The dogs are beaten and boiled alive for presumably the more flavorful and traditional consumption. Additionally, many of these dogs are stolen and undergo horrific conditions to the slaughter.
Although it will be too late for many dogs this year, my two contest panda names are: PING4dogs & PONGbeats#Yulin ! Testament to a recognized inter-species co-existence, these two pandas just could be a dog’s best friends.
For more stories, see: DiplomatArtist.com Category Archives: “Animal Welfare Ambassadors” and “Environment Ambassadors”
By, Susan Sacirbey @DiplomaticallyX