ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the launch of the goals both within and outside the United Nations (UN) and the initial efforts by multiple stakeholders to implement the goals. With a thunderous standing ovation, on September 25, 2015, the 193 member states at the UN unanimously adopted "Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", with the several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at its core. Within the UN, world leaders and other high-level officials welcomed the goals and committed to their implementation. Outside UN Headquarters a multimedia public awareness campaign introduced the goals to people around the world. Others noted the important transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the SDGs. Richard Curtis worked with a Swedish-based communication company, The New Division, to create colorful icons of the SDGs to engage the public. The SDGs in Action smartphone app was developed and mobile phone operators texted almost one billion people about the SDGs and spread the word to 5.2 billion customers.
