More than 6.000 adding their Voice to #MYWorld for Quality Education in Guinea-Bissau
More than 6.000 voices in Guinea-Bissau already joint the conversation around the Sustainable Development Goals and the number keeps growing. With MYWorld Bissau-Guineans tell their government that they are most concerned about a lack of quality education and good health and well-being in progress ofthe Agenda 2030. The MYWorld national campaign was launched by the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) in collaboration with UN SDG Action Campaign to scale up the visibility of the Sustainable Development Goals across the country.
“We hope the MYWorld campaign will bring a better understanding of the SDGs among Bissau Guineans at all levels. We hope it will be a tool for people to voice their priorities to their Government and have a say in the development priorities in their country.” — Rolla Hinedi, Public Information Officer UNIOGBIS
By taking part in the MYWorld survey Bissau-Guineans are empowered to have their say in the implementation of actions for the Sustainable Development Goals to reduce inequalities and improve life for all.
Using Data for Tailored Action
Volunteers collected more than 6.000 responses within the first few days gathering valuable data that helps local authorities to understand citizens’ perceptions of important issues.
Overall, current results show that more than half of the participants are already familiar with the Sustainable Development Goals and the vast majority of participants indicate Goals 1 (no poverty), 2 (zero hunger), 3 (good health and well-being), 4 (quality education) and 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) as these SDGs that they are most concerned about.
How do different groups relate to the SDGs?
Predominantly younger generations have engaged with the survey so far as the demographics highlight. The proportion of male participants is higher than the female response rate.
Older generations priorities good health and well-being over quality education but generally, both goals appear to be the factors the majority of Bissau-Guineans speak up for.
By taking a closer look at the data, interesting differences between specific groups can still be spotted related to Gender Equality (Goal 6) and Zero Hunger (Goal 2). 1/3 of women indicate Gender Equality to be of immediate concern to them, this number drops to 20% for male participants. Zero Hunger (Goal 2) is of more concern for participants with a disability, indicating that this group of people is more likely to be affected by malnutrition than others.
Setting A Clear Focus On Quality Education
Goal 4 targets to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education by 2030. However, at the moment Guinea-Bissau children receive only three years of schooling on average. Hence, it comes to no surprise that Quality Education is perceived to be the most important issue to tackle.
Adding their voices to MYWorld the citizens show Guinea-Bissau’s government where the focus of policies and political efforts should lie. Civil society can equally benefit from the data as it points towards fields that are in dire need of improvement. Civil society will thus be able to implement actions more tailored to people’s needs. Further, MYWorld empowers civil society and the government to monitor the progress on the Sustainable Development Goals from now on, to track the success of implemented actions.
Mobilizing citizens for the SDGs with MYWorld
The launch of the campaign in Guinea-Bissau showcases how MYWorld mobilizes different actors on the local and national levels to take SDG action.
Volunteerism
20 volunteers work tirelessly on informing and mobilizing the public for the Sustainable Development Goals using only leaflets and an app. So far, this marks the largest rollout of the MYWorld survey by using the app for collecting the data. That’s all that it takes to mobilize a crowd!
“The collection is going very well, but it is difficult. Everybody wants to choose all 17 SDGs. We tell them it is not possible, only 6, but they want them all.” — Volunteer
The campaign was launched on United Nations Day when citizens gathered in the city centre of Bissau to join the celebration with a football tournament and an evening filled with theatre, live music and a performance from the National Ballet.
Key Figure Participation
The event was also used as an opportunity to ask key figures to start a butterfly effect by sharing a commitment to take relevant actions for the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Rosine H. Sori-Coulibaly shared her wings: “ in order to contribute to a more just world, I will continue to fight for equal opportunities. “
Strong Partnerships
Apart from two volunteer organizations that supported the data collection, the mobile and internet provider Orange urged their own customers in Guinea- Bissau to take the survey. ‘What can you do to change the world?’, asked Orange customers in a message that linked to the MYWorld survey.
What has started in the capital of Bissau will spread across all nine regions of Guinea-Bissau over the next few weeks. Roaming across the country, Toca Toca’s, the local buses, are scaling up the visibility of the Sustainable Development Goals being branded with all 17 colorful icons.
About MYWorld 2030
History in the making! MYWorld is a global citizen survey to bring people’s voices into official debates about the Sustainable Development Goals. It is a unique framework providing a platform to ensure inclusivity, participation and accountability in the implementation, reporting and review of the Sustainable Development Goals. The survey is shared by hundreds of global, national and local partners around the world who work with us to gather people’s voices, making great efforts to ensure that no one is left behind. The answers feed into a global open database to help the UN and governments to monitor perceptions of progress on the SDGs, raise awareness of important issues and give a ‘people’s perspective’ from the ground, in real-time.
