ByIANSlife

January 25, 2022 (IANSlife) Kande S. Summers, a 12-year-old British-born Jamaican novelist, made headlines as the youngest Flag Bearer at the Global Goals Show, which kicked off the current Sustainable Development Goals Week at Al Wasl Plaza.

Expo 2020 Dubai is hosting a Global Goals Week from January 15 to 22, bringing people from all over the world together to make progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for a brighter and more equitable future for all by 2030.

Kande is a Jamaican student who was born in the United Kingdom and currently lives in the United Arab Emirates. Her debut work, 'Going Home: Diary of a Teenage Alien,' was released in November and has already made headlines. She was the youngest of all the flag bearers at the opening ceremony, which featured top CEOs and other dignitaries, and she was the flag bearer for the 14th Goal: LIFE BELOW WATER. Expo's latest Theme Week, hosted in collaboration with the United Nations, is centred on collective progress toward the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

During SDG Week at Expo 2020 Dubai, the Jamaica Pavilion will commemorate and celebrate the Global Goals by promoting a unique Jamaican idea of Sustain-a-Livity. The Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA) developed Sustain-a-Livity, which incorporates the United Nations Industrial Development Organization's Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development principles: Advancing Economic Competitiveness (Economic); Creating Shared Prosperity (Social); and Safeguarding the Environment (Environmental), with the JSEZA adding Supporting the Rule of Law, Transparency, and Accountability (Governance). "One of the primary accelerators for the SDGs is tourism." Our National Development Plan - Vision2030 strives to encourage sustainable tourism in Jamaica, which is intended to benefit not just the country's tourism industry, but also to protect the country's natural and cultural resources and generate economic growth across the board," stated Donovan White, Director of Tourism of Jamaica. 

"The SDGs are official Government of Jamaica policy," said Ainsley Brown, Senior Director: Regulations, Policy, Monitoring & Enforcement at JSEZA. "We have taken great care to commemorate and celebrate them at Expo through the Sustain-a-Livity idea." Sustain-a-Livity is a truly Jamaican term that reflects our entire commitment to the SDGs. Sustain-a-Livity is more than a concept; it's a way of working, living, and doing business that makes Jamaica, as our National Development Plan – Vision 2030 states, "the location of choice to live, work, raise families, and conduct business."

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