Superheroes, CEOs, and Miracles As a kid, I always looked for heroes as role models to inspire me, for someone or something that is extraordinary to bring the best in me. So, naturally, I was fascinated by comic books and fairy tales. So many superheroes with superpowers, and fairy creatures were created. Some are caped, some drive cool vehicles, use great gadgets to fight villains or magic wands to grant wishes. They all had great valor, and always seemed to save us from unthinkable threats and dangers. But these are only in comic books, and fairy tales. They were very entertaining, tickled my imagination, but I was not inspired. Outside comic books and in real life, we have specialized saints and deities to grant us every orison we ask, help us with every real day-to-day life issue like health, money, peace of mind, emotional fulfillment, better life, family, protection, love, the list just goes on. We pray, plead, ask, and look-up to them for grace, solace, and inspiration. And they have granted, saved and fulfilled thousands of wishes. They are real, they walked the earth long time ago, and now they are dead. I find post-mortem efforts and assistance of saints and deities less inspiring: It takes long years of devotion and recital of holy scriptures and prayers. And even though, they are scrutinizingly selective on whom to answer, and what wish to grant. Maybe it was not their goal to help us after all, and it was just a personal quest, hence the not so inspiring hermit life they lived on earth. So, I moved my spotlight to high-profile executives, and people with impact. They have themselves reached goals most people have set to themselves but still haven’t gotten remotely close to achieving. They live the life and own the things we all aspire to have. We follow them, read their news, know details about their lives, but they are oblivious to us, and our daily struggles. They are solving their problems, and occasionally give us advice here and there and what was the major contributor to their success. Am I drifting hero-less on this planet? Uninspired? Far from it. Away from superpowers, magic wands, mystical entities, and high profile executives, I found that – “extra” – ordinary people are the most marvelous, intriguing, and inspiring role models to follow. Among the few ordinary people that inspire me, I consider Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments, my super hero. In a speed of a thought, Dan increased the minimum wage of his 176 employees to USD 70,000, allowing them to live in dignity. Dan succeeded, in one quick decision, to do what world most powerful organizations funded by multiple governments aspire to do in 30 years, while devoting titanic efforts to the matter. It took Dan a salary cut of 1 million dollars to make this miracle possible. He didn’t hesitate to be part of the solution, challenge the status quo, and operate from a higher consciousness. This little stunt inspired a lot of people, but also infuriated some. It has defied the rules and mathematical equations of brilliant economists, and financial geniuses. A lot of capitalists are betting on Dan’s failure. Because for them, huff all you want, that is the way things need to happen on this planet: to financially struggle all your life is the norm. I am inspired by people like Dan, who put the well-being of everybody at equal length, who quickly create encompassing solutions and don’t wait around for someone else to implement them. I am inspired by the people of “here and now’, everyday people who use whatever power they have to act mindfully, and impact the lives of others on a large scale. I love people who don’t linger, who act, and make a change happen. These people have the super power of being HUMAN. Why can’t we operate our business from a higher consciousness? How much will it affect the executives of Microsoft, Walmart, Amazon and the likes out there, to take a salary cut and raise the minimum wage of their employees? To live in dignity and abundance is the birth right of every human being on this planet. Not having to worry about daily futile worries – like paying bills – is the most crucial milestone that we as human beings should strive for. I consider a super hero, every decision-maker, or person in power on this planet that shatters the dams of abundance created by the villains and create abundant opportunities for themselves, others and their economy. It can be done, it has been done. Our aspiration should not be to overcome lack and need, but to grow, develop, and thrive. By Aline Kayrouz, Chief Marketing Officer At Pyliser Group To know more about the author, visit this link.
Rethinking Strategies to Achieve the SDGs
Rethinking Strategies to Achieve the SDGs We currently find ourselves a third of the way through the Sustainable Development Goals timeline. Recently, ‘The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020’ painted a disturbing picture of the stagnant progress towards achieving the SDGs by their 2030 deadline. The report also highlighted the damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SDGs progress. The strides towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth, energy provision, and infrastructure development were all falling short before COVID-19 even existed. Now, in the wake of a global pandemic, insufficient progress of achieving the SDGs has been amplified. Across the globe, 190 countries and territories have planned, introduced, or adapted social protection measures in response to COVID-19. The reactionary measures are in place to address the pandemic’s socioeconomic impacts. However, it has created a unique opportunity to reinforce attempts to build a more sustainable and fair system and achieve the SDGs commitments. Each country will attempt bespoke solutions to overcome their social, economic, and environmental impacts of the pandemic, where local level recovery efforts will need to be reinforced and supported. Meanwhile, the collective responses must equate to coordinated action that matches the global scale of COVID-19 to counter the universal risk of falling short on the SDGs. These specific priorities that must be addressed to enable the world to build back sustainably in a unified manner with the multilateral system being crucial to supporting their implementation include: (1) Maintaining past progress made towards eradicating basic deprivations Regressing on the existing progress towards the SDGs not only endangers the opportunity to eradicate basic deprivations, but also reduces the ability to respond to future shocks, especially for the most vulnerable global populations. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to ensure that the progress that has already been achieved continues by supporting those at immediate risk of poverty, hunger, or disease, while facilitating their safe return to work or education and access to health care. (2) Accelerating the universal provision of quality essential services Ensuring universal access to services such as quality healthcare, education, and basic income security, coupled with access to clean water and sanitation, clean energy, and the internet must become core to strategies of recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Meanwhile, by guaranteeing the delivery of such core services and continuing the support to marginalized groups including women will create an environment which promotes economic empowerment. These measures will also ensure COVID-19 responses to redress the long-standing inequalities intentionally, strongly and permanently. (3) Strengthening official development assistance The International Development (Official Development Assistance ODA) is still a core component of the financial responsibility to achieve the SDGs. Leaders in the donor community must maintain their efforts to encourage other nations to fulfill and strengthen their ODA commitments. (4) Encouraging private investment Incentivizing the private sector to achieve SDGs progress, support job creation, and increase incomes into developing nations and those with fragile state systems should be considered a priority. Therefore, a nation should only select the investments that will contribute towards the progression of the Goals. (5) Empowering and building the capacity of civil society organizations Civil society organizations have a major role in accelerating the progress toward the SDGs, by communicating and implementing the goals and holding governments to account. Governments should work alongside civil society organizations (CSOs) and the global community to progress towards SDGs and create an opportunity for a universal cooperation that ensures no one will be left out. A focus on civil society funding mechanisms is needed to ensure that civil society organization particularly small ones in the Global South have the needed knowledge and skills to align their initiatives with the SDGs. (6) Encouraging private sector involvement Governments and civil society organizations should take on leading roles to communicate the SDGs to a wide private sector audience. 2030 agenda is relevant to all business, from large cooperation to SMEs, and there is still a long way to go to get all companies engaged. Governments should encourage the private sector to incorporate the goals into their strategic business plans and their usual practices. We need impact-focused models involving all stakeholders. New Impact-based business models can be developed where the delivery of positive impacts is a driver of business success. This model can play a major role in bridging the financing gap for the SDGs, while their digital components can help reduce costs. (7) Domestic implementation of the SDGs There must be a strategic and comprehensive policy approach and commitment to ensure proper implementation of the SDGs. Governments must ensure that all their departments engage with the SDGs and fully understand the implications of the Goals on their department’s policies and programming to insure domestic implementation is on track. (8) Data for development Data plays a vital role in enabling national governments to track progress against the SDGs, and for citizens and civil society to hold government to account on areas where they are falling short. Additionally, it is essential that gender data remain a priority commitment of the global community, to enable the design of gender-fair bailouts, subsidies and other economic recovery measures. (9) Reporting against the SDGs Governments should report annually on their contribution to SDG progress. This would be a helpful internal process for governments, to assess where they are successful and where their efforts are falling short. Thus, it can be used as an insightful indicator to plan and take further action(s) or reprioritization(s) of efforts. There is no magical solution to overcome all challenges at once, but there are a number of strategies that must be taken immediately to get us back on track. Achieving the transformative vision of the SDGs by 2030 requires a major realignment of most countries’ national priorities toward long-term, cooperative, and drastically accelerated action, design a ‘human-centered COVID-19 response and recovery that tackle these challenges and build a ‘better normal’. By Dr. Hanaa Al Banna, Judge At CSR Accreditation UK, Senior Researcher To know more about the author, visit this link.
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