Achieving SDG #16: Everyone “has a fundamental role to play in the writing of a new page of history”
Although “we are often inclined to circumscribe the meaning of SDG 16 to opposing war”, Claudia Rotondi, Professor at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, challenges us to look beyond this objective to see what each individual can contribute towards achieving this Sustainable Development Goal, in her paper “Our antibodies: knowledge and accountability”, for the SACRU Insights initiative.
Considering war as the main target can “move away from a direct and personal engagement.” Therefore, countering this belief,“it must be remembered, then, that this objective has broader horizons: it aims to make peace and inclusiveness the basis of social coexistence; it links peace and inclusiveness to justice and the promotion of sound institutions, free from opaque and corrupt practices.”
Gloria Mussetto, Ph.D. student in Sociology, also argues that everyone “has a fundamental role to play in the writing of a new page of history: a page full of hope, peace and reconciliation".
And according to the professor and coordinator of the graduate programme in international cooperation policies for development, the university has the ability to create, “through the dissemination of knowledge but also through the university community’s behaviour, the most favourable environment for the development of the antibodies suitable for counteracting those attitudes that prevent the attainment of goal 16 in everyday life.”
Beyond stopping war, the researchers highlight that SDG 16 is about how the “conviviality of differences, people, as part of civil society, can contribute to building positive peace with their daily choices.” And to achieve “it is necessary for government, civil society and companies to work together to find innovative solutions to conflicts and illegality, promoting restorative justice process to build social bonds that can look to the future,” concludes Gloria Mussetto.
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