Celebrating UN DAY in North Macedonia| Sustainable Development must become a top priority for all

Sustainable development must be a top priority for all, in all our actions and decisions. This is the conclusion of the event organized to mark UN Day in North Macedonia today in the Skopje City Park, gathering representatives from all segments of the society, from the state institutions and the civil society to the private sector and academia, and the representatives of the diplomatic corps.

“Not only do we remain fully committed to the Paris Agreement, but, at the peak of the pandemic, we adopted a revised ambitious national contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Many of the climate action plans are directly linked to the Sustainable Development Goals and correspond to the European Union Green Agenda,” President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski said. “For a better future, it is crucial to have a shared vision for the development of the country. In this short period ahead of us, we must direct our joint efforts towards the key goal, and that is: to create a future for the youth here in North Macedonia.”

Pendarovski explained that at the very beginning of his term he initiated the project “MKD2030” as an authentic strategic framework for development of North Macedonia until the end of this decade. He also fully supports the forthcoming development of a National Development Strategy 2021-2041, as part of the same, complementary process for building of a whole-of-a society vision of the future.

“Through education, we should prepare today, the citizens of the future who will be aware of economic and social inequalities and will work to overcome them, who will be seen as part of nature, not as its masters, who will responsibly use new digital technologies. It is necessary to educate a generation of people who will respect the dignity of differences,” President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, said.” I am convinced that the United Nations, as a unique international organization, will play an irreplaceable role in building such a future for the world in the 21st century.”

In a specially recorded video statement for the marking of UN Day in North Macedonia, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev stressed that the basic principles of the UN - peace, prosperity, and equal chances for all are values without expiration date for us and for all future generations.

“In that sense, our strong commitment to align national priorities and policies to the Sustainable Development Goals is a proof of our determination to bring longer and better lives to all of our citizens,” Zaev said.

Rossana Dudziak, UN Resident Coordinator in North Macedonia said that we must understand that the Sustainable Development Goals are a commitment to better future for all of us and that they do not belong to the UN, to the Government, or to any other organization or a group of people.

“The SDGs belong to all of us. Whether our efforts are based on the Agenda 2030, the European Union accession process or the national priorities, we are in principle working on the same platform, and ultimately on the same goal - accelerating sustainable development for the sake of all”, Dudziak said. “We have to put those commitments in practice. We must implement a sustainable approach in all our actions or inactions, in all choices that we make during the day, every day.”

Dudziak noted that the sustainable approach must be an integral part of all conscious and unconscious actions, from the food that we eat, to the impact that we make, on ourselves, on our families, friends, on our communities and on our planet.

“We must understand that we must work on this jointly. We must put all our differences and misunderstandings from the past behind us. We must ensure that there is no greater priority than sustainable development for all,” she said. 

Dudziak also used the opportunity to announce the forthcoming multi-year open advocacy campaign called “I care” / “Се грижам “. The goal of the campaign will be to mobilize organizations from all segments of the society, as well as individuals from all walks of life, and to get them to actively contribute to our shared pledge for greener, better, and more sustainable future.

“As it is an open platform, everyone can join and advocate for improving the living standards, for more decent and green jobs, for the universal rights to quality, accessible and affordable healthcare, education, and necessary social and child protection and for ambitious climate action and protection of biodiversity. With this campaign we want to instil the sustainable approach in all of us, to make the changes needed and to get the future we want,” Dudziak said.