Introduction

Education can play an important role – directly or indirectly – in advancing the achievement of each of the 17 SDGs. UNESCO argues that sustainable development for all countries is only truly possible through comprehensive cross-sector efforts that begin with education. SDG4 (Education) specifically sets a Target, education for sustainable development in all different contexts of life, living and society, in the following terms:

Education for sustainable development can be divided into two broad categories: (1) education and training of people who are engaged in collecting, processing, managing and making use of data and information related to the SDGs; and (2) education of students, academics, researchers, policymakers and members of the general public about sustainable development in all areas of life and a sustainable world. Several international agencies, such as the United Nations Statistics Division, and national agencies, like the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), aim to build multinational collaborations to develop training programmes and pathways for the education of people who are engaged in collecting, processing and making use of data and information for measuring achievements in different SDGs, Targets and the relevant Indicators. Similarly, international agencies like UNESCO and national bodies, especially the government departments of education in different countries, are working to develop specific programmes and pathways for educating students at all levels about the role and importance of the SDGs in different areas of learning and living. Side by side, libraries, being a primary social institution for promoting education and supporting lifelong learning, and various international library associations, like IFLA (International Association of Library Associations and Institutions) and national library associations like CILIP: the Library and Information Association in the UK, ALA (the American Library Association) and so on have introduced different strategies and initiatives for developing awareness and training programmes for promoting education around the SDGs in general, and the sustainability and climate change agenda in particular.

Introduction

In its meeting on 25 September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Resolution A/RES/70/1 that proposed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the associated Targets (UN General Assembly, 2015a) (see Figure 1.1). Although they were adopted as a UN Resolution in 2015, SDGs are successors of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted in 2000 (United Nations, 2013a). The SDGs are ‘universal goals and targets which involve the entire world, developed and developing countries alike’ (UN General Assembly, 2015a, 3). Alongside the continuing development priorities, such as poverty eradication, health and wellbeing, education for all and food security and nutrition, SDGs set out a wide range of economic, social and environmental objectives; promise more peaceful and inclusive societies; and define means of implementation of the Goals and Targets (UN General Assembly, 2015a).

More details of the 17 SDGs and the associated Targets are discussed in Chapter 3. Although countries around the world agreed to accept them, right from the beginning there was a debate on how the SDGs and their success could be measured. While the thematic areas covered by the SDGs are well connected with one another, and overall the SDGs as a whole are a more integrated system than the MDGs were (Le Blanc, 2015), the information systems, tools, standards and policies required to measure the achievements in each SDG needed to be developed and adopted by countries around the world.

The importance of, and need for, appropriate management, access, use and sharing of data and information for achieving sustainability in different sectors have been mentioned in several places within the UN, and also other international, policy documents (see for example, UN General Assembly, 2012; OECD, 2010) and information science literature (see for example, Nolin, 2010; Nathan, 2012; Chowdhury, 2013; 2014b; Chowdhury and Koya, 2017).

Several international and national policy documents have recognised the importance of management, access, use and sharing of data and information for sustainable development. For example, the canonical text on sustainable development, Our Common Future (United Nations, 1987), has clearly highlighted the need for improved access to information in a number of places.

Introduction

People are at the centre of the SDGs, and while some SDGs are directly aimed at improving people's lives and living, such as eradication of poverty (SDG1) and hunger (SDG2), health (SDG3), education (SDG4), clean water and sanitation (SDG5), and work and economic growth (SDG8), others are meant for society as a whole, like gender equality (SDG5), reduced inequality (SDG10), and peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG16). As discussed in Chapter 3, the SDGs can be grouped in different ways, for example, in five categories, called the five Ps:

• ■ People: SDG1, SDG2, SDG3, SDG4 and SDG5

• ■ Planet: SDG6, SDG12, SDG13, SDG14, SDG15

• ■ Prosperity: SDG7, SDG8, SDG9, SDG10, SDG11

• ■ Peace: SDG16

• ■ Partnership: SDG17.

Or they can be grouped in the three categories, as the economic, social and environment SDGs:

• 1 Economic SDGs

• (a) Life: SDG1, SDG2 and SDG3

• (b) Economic and technological development: SDG8 and SDG9

• 2 Social SDGs

• (a) Equity: SDG4, SDG5 and SDG10

• (b) Social Development: SDG11, SDG16 and SDG17

• 3 Environmental SDGs

• (a) Resources: SDG6, SDG7, SDG12 and SDG14

• (b) Environment: SDG13 and SDG15.

Given that data is now considered as the ‘oil’ for the digital era (Economist, 2017), ICT (information and communication technology) and data form the foundation of progress in all the SDGs and their Targets. Access to the internet has significantly impacted society – people's lives and living. It is now considered as one of the key requirements for making progress in any area of life and living in the digital era. Therefore, it is the key Indicator to measure the growth of the information society.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises that ‘the spread of information and communications technology and global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies’ (ITU, 2020, 1). Therefore, the SDG Indicator 17.8.1 specifically aims to measure how people in different countries access the internet, and can help to measure the digital divide.

Though ICT and data form the foundation of progress in all the SDG Targets, the level of access to, and use of, the internet for access to information is still a far-off goal for many people, and this creates a digital divide in society.

Introduction

A significant amount of research literature on different aspects of data, information and sustainable development has appeared in the recent past. A quick search on the Web of Science database in May 2023 using the search string (((SDG*) or (sustainability) or (sustainable development))) and (((data) or (information))) produced:

• ■ 32,919 results in the research area of Computer Science, out of which there were 24,608 articles and 565 books

• ■ 8,632 results within the discipline of Information and Library Science, out of which there were 8,353 articles and 252 books.

Although this is not a comprehensive search on the topic, it gives a sense of the volume of research activities around the SDGs in the computer science and library and information science disciplines.

Some publications date back to the 1990s, but research in this area within the library and information science discipline grew rapidly over the past decade – from 202 publications in 2011 to 1052 in 2021 and 1405 in 2022. In addition, there have also been professional research and development activities within the computer and information sciences area, but most of such research focused on sustainability and climate change in the form of the green ICT, green libraries, etc. This chapter discusses some of the academic as well as professional research, especially around data, information, people and society in the context of the SDGs. It tries to point out some key progress and trends, as well as some gaps in research, and highlights some key challenges. Research and development activities, and some of the associated challenges, within the library and information sector are discussed in Chapter 11.

The overall SDG research landscape

A review, based on the research literature appearing in the Web of Science database (Nakamura et al., 2019) shows the growth of research, in terms of publications, on health, and sustainability in which ecosystems and biodiversity appear top of the list. Bautista-Puig et al. (2021) report on a scientometrics study that aimed to investigate the trend of research related to the SDGs around the world. This study covered research between 2000 and 2017, and the topics included both the SDGs and MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), which were the predecessors of the SDGs.

Introduction

In a 2022 UN report, the Secretary-General of the United Nations commented:

While considerable progress has been made in building stronger data and statistical systems for Sustainable Development Goal monitoring, significant data gaps still exist. Gaps in terms of geographical coverage, timeliness and the disaggregation levels of global Indicators make it difficult to fully comprehend the pace of progress, differences across regions and who is being left behind. Greater investment in data and strengthened data capabilities will be crucial in getting ahead of crises and triggering earlier responses, anticipating future needs, preventing crises from becoming full-blown conflicts and designing the urgent actions needed to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

(UN Economic and Social Council, 2022, 3)

Co-operation, capacity building and data sharing have been identified as some of the key requirements for achieving the SDGs, and SDG17 has been specifically created to ‘strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development’ (UN Statistics Division (n.d.d). However, several reports and research publications point out that although we are more than halfway through the period of achieving the Targets (by 2030) since the SDGs were first adopted by the global community in 2015, several data-related challenges still exist. The Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data (CTGAP) report (World Bank, 2023) notes that many gaps remain, particularly with regard to national statistical capacity in low- and middle-income countries, and financing of data and statistics. Data gaps, timeliness and availability of data have been identified as some of the key challenges for achieving success in the SDGs. Some of these challenges have been discussed in Chapter 4, and some more are discussed in this chapter in the context of specific SDGs and countries.

Data gaps

Availability of reliable and comparable data on SDGs is often a major challenge. Analysis of the Indicators in the Global SDG Indicators Database (United Nations, 2021, 5) reveals that:

• ■ fewer than half of 193 countries, or areas, have internationally comparable data for 5 of the 17 SDGs

• ■ the lack of country-level data is particularly worrisome for SDG13 (climate action), where, on average, only about 1 in 6 countries have data Available

Introduction

‘The SDGs are meant to improve the lives of individuals, protect the planet and help ensure a prosperous future for all. In summary, the SDGs are meant to protect the interest of the public’ (Vargas and Lee, 2023, 25). Many people in today's digital age have access to data; however, all citizens should have access to the relevant data and information for their learning, living, citizenship and so on. Therefore, everyone in society should not only have access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the internet, but they should also have the proper skills to navigate, access and use information. It echoes with the United Nation's 2030 Agenda, which focuses on several communication and information issues: ‘SDG5 highlights the importance of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as tools for women's empowerment, while SDG9 promotes universal internet access. ICTs are also mentioned in SDG4 and SDG17. SDG16 calls attention to the importance of access to public information legislation and to the imperative of protecting journalists, trade unionists, and human rights defenders’ (Vargas and Lee, 2023, 27).

As discussed in Chapter 6, it is widely recognised that access to adequate ICTs in general, and access to the internet in particular, is a prerequisite for access to data and information. However, access to the ICT or the internet alone cannot ensure that people are able to find and meaningfully use the data and information in the appropriate context of their living, learning, work and myriad other activities and events that take place in today's digital society. To make appropriate use of ICTs and the internet for accessing data and information, people need to acquire a set of digital skills. This chapter discusses what constitutes digital skills, and how they impact people's life, employment, work, health, etc.; and, more importantly, what digital skills mean in the context of the SDGs.

Digital literacy and digital skills

‘The concept of digital literacy has been defined in numerous ways over the last two decades to incorporate rapid technological changes, its versatility, and to bridge the global digital divide’ (Radovanović et al., 2020, 151). Generally speaking, digital literacy, or digital skills, is the set of skills or competencies required for optimum access to, and use of, ICTs in general, and the internet in particular, for communications, access, management, and use of information.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were proposed by the United Nations (UN) and adopted as UN Resolution A/RES/66/288 in 2015 are a set of 17 universal Goals and 169 associated Targets that have implications for everyone in every country and society, at present and in the future. Consequently, countries around the world signed up to the UN Resolution, accepting and agreeing to work towards achieving the Targets of the SDGs by 2030. Numerous reports, research papers, books and web resources have since appeared, discussing the benefits, progress, challenges and needs for co-operation and collaboration for achieving the SDGs that touch upon almost everything in each country, each society and each individual in the world.

This book offers an information science perspective on measuring the performance and assessing progress in achieving the SDGs. The primary focus is on the role and use of data, metadata and information in measuring the achievements and progress in different SDGs, and the standards and tools developed by international and national agencies to support this work. The book introduces the concepts and principles of information science and data management to people without a specialist background in those areas and similarly promises an introduction to the concepts and principles of sustainable development and sustainable information, before moving on to consider the current state of collection, management and use of different kinds of data for the SDGs at global and national levels, followed by chapters dealing with particular issues and specific Goals and Targets.

Overall, the book discusses the role and importance of data, information, people and society in achieving the Targets of the SDGs. It discusses the different types of metadata required for capturing data and information related to the Targets of different SDGs and various associated challenges, such as data availability and completeness, and even challenges associated with metadata and data collection, such as qualitative versus quantitative data for some Targets and Indicators. Appropriate data, charts and tables have been used from different reports and statistics from the various UN agencies, OECD and EU, as well as national agencies such as the ONS (Office for National Statistics) in the UK.

Introduction

‘There is no truly sustainable development without access to information and no meaningful, inclusive access to information without libraries’, remarked Donna Scheeder, the former President of IFLA (Scheeder, 2019). Libraries, and the information services sector in general, can contribute hugely to achieve the UN SDGs by:

• • Promoting universal literacy, including media and information literacy, and digital literacy skills

• • Closing gaps in access to information and helping government, civil society and business to better understand local information needs

• • Providing a network of delivery sites for government programmes and services

• • Advancing digital inclusion through access to ICT, and dedicated staff to help people develop new digital skills

• • Serving as the heart of the research and academic community

• • Preserving and providing access to the world's culture and heritage. ‘Programmes for children, women, adults and other marginalized populations’ make an important contribution to achieving universal literacy. (https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/contribution-libraries-sdgs)

‘Literacy is imperative in developing sustainable and inclusive societies’, says Arne Carlsen, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) (Carlsen, 2015). SDG4 intends to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This implies that all people, ‘irrespective of gender, age, race or ethnicity, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, children and youth in vulnerable situations, should have access to learning that helps them acquire the knowledge and skills needed to exploit opportunities and to participate fully in society’ (UNESCO, 2015b). As discussed in Chapter 9, education for sustainable development has been identified by UNESCO as a core requirement for achieving success in the SDGs.

However, education for sustainable development has yet not been fully embedded in information sciences curricula. A few discussions and thoughts have been put forward by some researchers and professional associations, which are discussed in this chapter. Similarly, some research papers have been published in the recent past by researchers and professionals in the information science discipline, and initiatives have been taken by the information services sector in examining the role of information for sustainable development. Some of these research and development activities are discussed in this chapter with a view to showing some key trends, as well as challenges.

Introduction

As mentioned in Chapter 1, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in the United Nations Resolution (A/RES/70/1) in 2015. However, the terms ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable development’ have been in existence for quite some time, and have become key issues of discussions around global development. A report published by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, called Our Common Future, which is also known as the Brundtland Report, provided the ‘classic’ definition of sustainable development as:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the USA argues that sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and ecological requirements of present and future generations (EPA, 2010).

These definitions of sustainability focus primarily on the environmental sustainability. However, there are two more dimensions, economic sustainability and social sustainability; the three together are often called the three pillars of sustainability. They are interrelated and interdependent. To achieve sustainable development in any area, there is a need for an integrated approach to these three dimensions of sustainable development (DEFRA, 2009). Thus, sustainable development calls for a convergence between the three pillars of economic development, social equity, and environmental protection (Drexhage and Murphy, 2010).

Appropriate integration of economic, environmental, and social development activities to achieve the SDGs has remained a mission for the United Nations. A number of topics and issues related to sustainable development have been identified by the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development (UN DSD), some of which are social and economic while others are related to environment or natural resource management. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) organised a conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20 – that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 20–22 June 2012 (United Nations, 2013b). The objective of this conference was to take stock of the 20 years of actions at all levels to promote sustainable development, and to discuss the future and the way forward.

Introduction

The 17 SDGs proposed by the United Nations and adopted as the UN Resolution A/RES/66/288 (UN General Assembly, 2015a) are:

Goal 17 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. The SDGs are ‘universal goals and targets which involve the entire world, developed and developing countries alike’ (UN General Assembly, 2015a, 3). At the centre of the SDGs, there are the human rights, equality and sustainability issues; and together the SDGs are designed to achieve (United Nations, 2012):

■ Inclusive economic development by:

• – eradicating income poverty and hunger

• – reducing inequalities

• – ensuring decent work

• – productive employment.

■ Inclusive social development by enabling/ensuring:

• – adequate nutrition for all

• – quality education for all

• – reduced mortality and morbidity

• – gender equality

• – universal access to clean water and sanitation.

■ Environmental sustainability by:

• – protecting biodiversity

• – stable climate

• – resilience to natural hazards.

■ Peace and security by achieving:

• – freedom from violence, conflict and abuse

• – conflict-free access to natural resources. Descriptions, logos and other details of the 17 Goals are available on the UN website (https://sdgs.un.org/goals) and widely discussed across a range of UN and other websites and research literature. See for example:

■ Indicators – Sustainable development Indicators – Eurostat (europa.eu)

■ research papers (e.g. Duane et al., 2022; Farisyi et al., 2022; Filho et al., 2021; Helfaya and Bui, 2022; Kuc-Czarnecka, Markowicz and Sompolska- Rzechuła, 2023; Le Sourd et al., 2021; Popescu, 2022; Sondermann and Ulbert, 2021; Stauropoulou et al., 2023; Xiao et al., 2023)

■ reports (e.g. UN SDG Data Portal: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/dataportal; Regional Forum on Sustainable Development to Define a Road Map for Operationalizing Africa's Decade of Action (UN Economic Commission for Africa, 2020).

The 17 SDGs can be categorised under several themes. For example, A/RES/70/1 Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (un.org); (OECD, 2022) puts forward 5 Ps:

• 1 People, to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment: SDG1, SDG2, SDG3, SDG4 and SDG5

• 2 Planet, to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change: SDG6, SDG12, SDG13, SDG14, SDG15

Introduction

‘The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice’, points out the UN SDG website (United Nations, n.d.a). As discussed earlier in the book, and especially in Chapters 6 and 7, access to digital technologies and digital skills are the essential prerequisites for being part of, and making contributions to, the SDGs. SDG9.c sets a specific Target for access to ICT and the internet as follows:

Specific Indicators have also been set for measuring success in improving access to the internet and information. For example, Indicator 17.6.1 is designed to measure ‘fixed Internet broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed’, and Indicator 17.8.1 is designed to measure the ‘proportion of individuals using the Internet’ (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, n.d.d). Similarly, Indicator 16.10.2 is designed to measure the ‘number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information’ (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, n.d.c).

However, access to digital technologies, or introducing legislation for access to information, do not alone guarantee that everyone will be able to access and use information and data required for their everyday life, work, citizenship and contributions to the SDGs. An important set of literacy and skills set – known as information literacy or information skills – is required for this. Information literacy, or the UNESCO's concept of media and information literacy (MIL), enables people to discover, access and make optimum use of data and information required in the context of everyday living – learning, work, healthy living, citizenship, and so on.

This chapter discusses the importance of information literacy in general, and in the context of the SDGs in particular. Drawing on the definition and importance of information literacy, and analysis of some of the latest data on the information literacy and information skills of people in different parts of the world, this chapter demonstrates how concerted efforts are needed to improve these skills for achieving success in the SDGs.