CURIOUS MINDS MEMBER WINS 2018 UNSDG ACTION AWARDS

Richard Dzikunu a member of Curious Minds and a Youth Power accountability advocate with Restless Development in the U.K has won the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UNSDG) Action Awards which took place in Bonn, Germany.

Richard is one of Restless Development 20 young experts from youth-led community-based organizations in Africa and Europe, who have designed and implemented a national monitoring framework to hold government accountable for achieving the SDGs. As an advocate for women and girls’ rights, Richard with support from Restless Development, worked with a team to provide Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and contraceptive services for young people in Ghana. He further provided education to rural mothers on how to reduce maternal death and ensure safe delivery. On the front of the United Nations, Richard has been actively involved with UN processes; including attending and speaking at High-level Plenary Sessions on the SDG and how the youth can be partners in its implementation through their involvement in policy, research, and innovations. At the just ended 72nd United Nations General Assembly, he advocated strongly for developing countries to mainstream gender activities into their development plans. He was one of 16 young leaders, who joined a panel of expert including the Managing Director of the International Monetary fund, Christine Lagarde, during the 2017 European Development Days Summit in Brussels.

The UNSDG Action Awards draws attention to the need to learn from change-makers from across the globe and celebrate the most impactful and innovative achievements contributing to the global sustainable development movement. The first edition received over 740 nominations from 7 continents and 125 countries, ranging from Zambia to Fiji, Benin to Norway, civil society and grassroots initiatives to public sector and municipal government projects, as well as private sector engagements. Finalists are carefully reviewed by 12 prominent figures within the global SDG community. The Awards recognize initiatives in seven categories: mobilizer, includer, communicator, visualizer, innovator, storyteller, and connector.

The Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Development is the world´s annual event to celebrate, empower, and connect the global community driving Action for the SDGs. It is organized by the UN SDG Action Campaign with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The festival connects an inspiring mix of business leaders, activists, UN representatives, academia, governments, innovators, global organisations, and the media from across the globe. Taking place in Bonn each year, the festival provides a dynamic and interactive space to showcase the latest innovations, tools, and approaches to SDG action and connects organizations and individuals from different sectors and regions to exchange, build partnerships, and make the impact of their solutions scale.

The UN SDG Action Campaign is a special initiative of the UN-Secretary General, administered by United Nations Development Plan (UNDP) to create awareness about the 2030 Agenda, empower and inspire people across the world to achieve the SDGs while generating political will and to help make the goals attainable by 2030.

According to Richard, memories of his over 10 years work with Curious Minds kept resonating in him. “It did not take a day to become the budding youth activist I am now. It took a lot of mentoring, training and capacity building to get to this point. From reciting poems to Ministers, performing sketches to an audience of CSOs and attending my first child rights conference, Curious Minds has been my foundation”. Says Richard. According to Richard Curious Minds is like a mini school where he spent most of his hours after school. “I gained my public speaking confidence, presentation and writing skills from the Coordinator, Mr. Kingsley Obeng-Kyereh. At the time I was receiving the award, all of the fond memories of learning at Curious Minds came back to me” concluded Richard.