Prof. Dr. Robert Lepenies
Why we need independent critique to achieve the SDGs : the role of academics.
Blackshaw, Ruth & Lepenies, Robert & Max, Henrieke. 2016.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets contained in Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and negotiated between 193 diverse UN member states are by definition imperfect. Not a single country or person would have written the Agenda as it is if they alone had held the pen. But imperfection does not justify inaction. Academics should respond to the Agenda’s imperfection by seeking an active role in achieving the goals. Academics have a powerful asset to bring to the table: critique in its most honest form.