Prime Minister of Aruba Discusses Why  Tomorrow's Future Starts With Today's Actions

“Our decisions and our actions send ripple effects across time, shaping the future,” stated the Prime Minister of Aruba, Evelyn Wever-Croes. 

Prime Minister Wever-Croes delivered her statement at the United Nations Summit of the Future Action Days, which were held on September 20th and 21st at the UN Headquarters. The goal of these two days was to bring together world leaders and youth activists to develop agreements towards sustainable development and a brighter global future for all. 

In her address to the General Assembly, the Prime Minister stated, “By making thoughtful and responsible choices now, we ensure a positive intergenerational impact benefiting those who will inherit this world.” The decisions we make today impact the world future generations will inherit tomorrow.

“This is why I look to the future with what I call realistic optimism. But there is a catch: we need to act now, and we must act collectively,” she said. That is why at the Action Days, youth, private sectors, businesses, civil societies, nonprofit organizations, world leaders, and government representatives gathered to discuss how effective work could be done.

At the center of the Action Days was dialogue around the Pact for the Future and its annexes, The Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations. The Pact was set to be adopted just days after the Action Days, with 56 pledges across 5 themes, all of which aim to create a more sustainable and equitable future. As Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes stated, "The Declaration represents a significant milestone and it will be annexed to The Pact for the Future during the Summit of the Future, an event that provides a rare once-in-a-generation opportunity to create lasting change."

At the Summit of the Future, sustainable development was a key point amongst world leaders. The concept of sustainable development originated with Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway. Serving as Norway’s first female Prime Minister from 1981 to 1996, she is known as the “Mother of Sustainable Development” for pioneering the idea and working towards its early agenda. Brundtland served with the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), which published the report “Our Common Future” in 1987. It is also known as the Brundtland Report which defined sustainable development as, "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The work of Brundtland in the area of sustainable development led to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where sustainable development was discussed in depth. Decades later, in 2015, member states of the United Nations created the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of Agenda 2030 because they realized that global problems, such as climate change and poverty, were increasing. The intent of focussing on 17 goals was to ensure they were achieved by 2030. This explains the rationale behind the current Summit of the Future. The purpose is to evaluate where countries currently stand with respect to accomplishing the SDGs by 2030. The Pact for the Future is key to achieving this by renewing commitments by countries to sustainable development. 

Climate change was also an important theme in the Prime Minister’s speech. "Clearly, what we do or don't do affects everyone now and in the future. The devastating hurricanes and floods in our Caribbean region are a stark reminder of this reality." Fortunately, the Pact for the Future has important goals towards climate change and ensuring a sustainable future.

Furthermore, the Pact has key goals for world peace. "Today is the International Day of Peace, which was designated by the General Assembly as a time of nonviolence and ceasefire. Unfortunately, today is not a day without conflict, as the violence in the Middle East, Sudan, and Ukraine shows." However, with the Pact, world countries will make commitments for safety, peace, and harmony. According to the Prime Minister, even if some conflicts are still being resolved, "that doesn't mean we should stop working towards a better future."

As Prime Minister Wever-Croes concluded, “It is our collective responsibility to champion impactful and long-lasting solutions.”