The Rockefeller Foundation will host more than 30 events over six days to engage partners and spur action on the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), against the backdrop of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

While some complain about the traffic congestion in midtown New York, or deride the gathering as simply a “talk shop,” if you dig a little deeper, this can be a week of great progress and purpose.

The Rockefeller Foundation team has approached this week with a sense optimism about what our global community can – and must – achieve to reduce poverty, improve health for millions of people around the world, and address climate change.

Yesterday, we hosted our second annual “17 Rooms” convening, which brought together 200 leaders across philanthropy, government, civil society, academia and business to develop new ideas and collaborations to advance the SDGs and measure progress.

Within these 17 Rooms, leaders from grassroots organizations and environmental organizations worked alongside CEOs of global companies not just to highlight problems, but to actually develop solutions. This type of leadership and collective action is what’s required to ensure no person suffers the indignity of living in subsistence poverty.

The SDGs cannot be achieved by anyone working alone. We need to recommit to the SDGs and bring a renewed sense of urgency to the effort of building a world in which everyone can be hopeful about the future.  We need to transform our economies to include women and those who are left behind, as we make a transition away from carbon to a more sustainable economy. Achieving these major transformations at a time when our politics are broken and trust in institutions is at an all-time low requires all of us to take on more responsibility to lead.

Read the full article about collective action to achieve the SDGs by Dr. Rajiv J. Shah at The Rockefeller Foundation.