Sustainable Development Week

This week from 30 May to 5 June is the European week of sustainable development. At a time when the United States is withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, we wanted to return to this concept, which is still too vague for most people. It is also an opportunity to show concrete examples of projects that contribute to this.

Sustainable development is a form of economic development aimed at reconciling the creation of economic and social wealth while preserving the environment. The latter is considered to be a heritage that must be passed on to future generations.

To make this notion of “sustainable development” more concrete and accessible, the UN has divided it into 17 objectives: the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). These include food security, sustainable agriculture, health and well-being, affordable clean energy, and sustainable water management for all. These goals provide a universal roadmap for addressing global challenges by addressing five cross-cutting issues: people, the planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships.

In fact, the United Nations regularly organizes campaigns to ensure that everyone has their own level and can be a full participant in this change.

A way to also fight against clichés like for example:

Cliché 1: Sustainable development concerns only environmental protection. Wrong! The social aspect (well-being, combating exclusion, etc.) is also the DNA of sustainable development.

Cliché 2: Sustainable development issues are only addressed at state level and at international conferences such as COP21. Wrong! Sustainable development is everyone’s business. Anyone can contribute to this through everyday actions: administrations, companies, associations, ordinary citizens..

The objectives of the Sustainable Development Week are above all to raise awareness and create a dynamic of ownership of the SDGs but also to start discussions to implement a rigorous monitoring of the progress made but also to identify areas for possible improvement.

DJOUMAN, a committed actor for sustainable development in Africa

The DJOUMAN platform is committed to making sustainable development in Africa a reality. The platform supports entrepreneurs who have projects that address the challenges of African countries. Whether in access to energy, waste management, the environment in general, financial inclusion or even education, DJOUMAN supports innovative start-ups in their development and facilitates networking with international partners (technical, industrial, financial…).

We are also initiating projects by uniting actors to address the SDGs.

Our daily work is also to highlight innovations that create impact and to inform our community about African news related to sustainable development. Our main objective is to be able to create a movement of actors committed to change in Africa, a community of professionals who wish through their activities to generate income by contributing to have a positive societal and environmental impact.

Concrete examples of start-ups contributing to sustainable development in Africa 

Sustainable Development Week is an opportunity for us to rediscover the startups in our network that are working every day to transform Africa. Among them:

IsaHIT: the ethical platform that allows disadvantaged people in Africa to earn additional income by doing small jobs online.

Wapimed to make health services accessible to as many people as possible in African countries.

Solarlife, which democratizes solar homes, clean cooking equipment to protect the health of users but also the environment.

Or The Pure Water Tech that wants to make drinking water more accessible to all in Africa.

And soon more innovative and sustainable initiatives to discover on our blog. Follow us on our social networks so you don’t miss anything!

Photo credits: UN