Can Social Media Activism Really Save The World?

Can the issues around poverty, gender equality and climate change be solved through social media?

September 25, 2015 marks the launch of The Global Goals (For Sustainable Development), an initiative established by the United Nations (UN) to unite 193 world leaders to achieve three extraordinary goals by 2030.

The goals include: ending extreme poverty, fighting inequality & injustices, and fixing climate change. Easy, right?

Whilst the initiative seems like a monstrous task, this campaign differs through its use of social media to gain universal attention and encourage our leaders to dedicate themselves to these goals.

The project works in a multitude of ways – giving people the option to share a creative video, sign petitions, send mass emails to powerful political figures, et cetera.

As Global Goals has stated: the more people who know about Global Goals, the more successful they’ll be. It’s about telling everyone, whether it be through a selfie, a dizzy goal video (using football as a form of communication), or a lengthy post on social media; it all contributes to the ultimate aim of getting this initiative as much attention as possible.

In essence, the initiative is a reminder that any action counts, no matter how small.

Global Goals is not only about recognition of global issues – it’s also about understanding exactly what the issues and goals involve. Regardless of how small the task of each person seems, sharing these issues entails a complete understanding of what it actually means to have gender equality or a quality education.

Below are the seventeen goals being floated:

It’s hard to argue with those good intentions. However, Global Goals has some obstacles ahead of it.

It’s incredibly exciting to see the potential power of social media to ensure everyone’s voices are heard. Yet, it also becomes a challenge, as measure of discussion on the internet of the issues is by no means an accurate representation of whether the issues are actually being solved.

Global Goals hinges on the expectation that high-profile individuals who have a direct impact on solving these issues will listen if a message is loud enough.

It’s important to recognise that whilst Global Goals is an important project, it’s incredibly ambitious. I don’t say that to lower expectations – rather, to remind that Global Goals works best in conjunction with non-governmental organisations (such as UNICEF and World Vision) – who have the physical resources to foster change (and don't just exist online).

The biggest fear with Global Goals is that – at first glance – the tasks seem too simple.  Will simply sharing the goals lead to commitment to find solutions?

However, delving further into their website, it’s evident that they have aligned themselves with powerful foundations who have built their brand on physical action. Global Goals is just an extension of the many organisations (Amnesty International, United Nations Foundation) who are already stepping up to unite everyone and improve the future. It’s important because it encourages absolutely anyone to get involved, but it has the potential to be successful because the groundwork for change has already been laid out.

So don't fear its lofty ambitions. Global Goals is a simple initiative that earns support through online means; where so much has been possible in recent years.

Emily Lam is one of Student Edge’s student contributors. Learn more about the contributors program.