SDGs Design Thinking for Future Generations

~Towards an Era Where Small Actions Create Big Changes~

🌱 Are we responsible for the 'future'?

“I hear the word SDGs often, but I don't know what I can do.”
Have you ever felt that way?

• Plastic waste issues

• Climate change

• Disparities in education and poverty

These may seem like problems that are 'far away,' but they are actually closely connected to our 'daily lives.'

Until a few years ago, I myself thought that 'environmental and social issues are things for experts to tackle.' But my perspective changed after my child was born.
'What will the Earth be like when this child grows up?'
When I thought about that, I couldn't help but take action.

In this article, I will combine 'SDGs' and 'design thinking' to deliver a [practical approach] for creating a society where future generations can live prosperously✨

What are the SDGs? Let's organize them again

🧩 The Basics of SDGs

SDGs stands for 'Sustainable Development Goals.'
These are 17 goals set by the United Nations to be achieved by 2030.

• No Poverty

• Quality Education

• Gender Equality

• Climate Action

and others, covering all areas of environment, society, and economy.

The 17 specific goals

💡 Misconceptions about SDGs

• 'Things for large corporations and governments to work on'

• "It has nothing to do with me as an individual"

• "It's just about posters and slogans"

While these images tend to come first, in reality, the "daily choices" of each and every one of us shape the future.

What is Design Thinking? Its Relationship with the SDGs

🤔 Design Thinking = "A problem-solving method that starts with empathy"

Design thinking is an approach to viewing problems from the user's perspective and thinking of creative solutions. Originally used by designers and in the IT field, it has recently been gaining attention in the context of the SDGs as well.

The 5 Steps of Design Thinking

1. Empathize (Empathize)

2. Define (Define)

3. Ideate (Ideate)

4. Prototype (Prototype)

5. Test (Test)

When this way of thinking is applied to the SDGs, it becomes a power to stand by the people on the ground and design the process to a solution together, rather than just "doing something that seems good."

What We Can Do Today for Future Generations

👣 Practical Examples of SDGs Close to Home

• Carry a reusable bottle (Environment)

• Choose fair trade products (Economy)

• Be conscious of gender equality at work and at home (Society)

• Support local ethical brands (Local Economy)

For example, in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, "SDGs x Design Thinking" workshops were introduced in elementary schools. The way children explored local issues and actually turned their ideas into reality became a hot topic.

Such [actions in educational settings] are also attracting attention as future-oriented SDG implementation.

The "citizen's imagination" nurtured by design thinking

🔍 Toward an era that values "dialogue" over "correct answers"

From traditional learning that "seeks correct answers" to the power of "posing questions."
To realize the SDGs, rather than tracing existing answers, we need aposture of accepting diverse values, engaging in dialogue, and trial and erroris required.

This means not only for companies and governments, but also forevery individual citizen to become a stakeholder in design.

Tips for utilizing SDGs x Design Thinking

📌 3 actions you can take right now

1. Write down the "fuzziness" in your own life

2. Participate in a place for dialogue with people who share the same problem awareness

3. Try a small experiment (e.g., plastic-free life once a week)

💡 The point is that "it's okay not to be perfect."
A sustainable future begins with a "step that is not afraid of failure."

🌎 Summary: The future we draw begins here and now

• SDGs are a compass for future generations

• Design thinking is the "guidepost" toward that

• Small individual choices will eventually create major social change

To rethink "sustainability," which was once someone else's problem, as your own, now is the time to utilizeSDGs x Design Thinking.

🔗 Reference Links

• United Nations Information Centre | What are the SDGs

• IDEO | What is Design Thinking (English)

• Ethical Association

If you found this article even a little bit helpful, I would be very happy if you could 'like,' 'comment,' or 'follow'!
*I basically follow back 100%.

You can find my self-introduction article here.

Click here for Nakashi's SDGs Magazine.

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