Why the 18th SDG, the SDG of Love & Joy, is now SDG 0

If you have visited this blog and website before, you will probably be familiar with “the 18th SDG” – the Sustainable Development Goal on Love and Joy.

If this is news to you, I warmly invite you to read the blog post on SDG18, to watch the little video on “What do love and joy have to do with sustainable development” and visit the video series on “Love and Joy for Sustainable Development – in practice!”

Ever since I’ve been sharing this idea of the 18th SDG on love and joy, I have seen hundreds of eyes sparkle, smiles light up faces and gasps of emotion and enthusiasm. This SDG truly resonates with many, if not all, human beings.

When attending the Findhorn Conference on Climate Change and Consciousness, in April, the promotion I made for this 18th SDG and the importance of acting from a space of love and joy, rather than fear and guilt, was warmly welcomed. Some participants even committed, as a follow-up to the conference, to do all they do for the environment with love and joy! (Regenerative agriculture with love and joy, climate advocacy with love and joy, and so on…) Wonderful, isn't it?

On the last day of the event, as I was once more sharing the concept of the 18th SDG with a fellow participant, he suggested: “Why don’t you call it SDG 0? – it’s the foundation of all the other goals!”

"SDG ZERO??? Really?"

While a part of me did not like the sounds of this “zero”, often associated with a form of nothingness and void or even failure, the idea grew on me and many others have since joined in suggesting it feels right. SDG 0 it is.

Indeed, are love and joy not the alpha and omega of Agenda 2030, its starting point and end goal, its broader vision?

I look at the round zero at the heart of the circle of colours which composes the SDG logo, and see that this “hole” in the middle can actually be the “whole”, the essence, the space we are all invited to fill with our creativity, our passion and compassion. It gives its wholeness to this Agenda 2030 which, beyond an agenda for sustainable development, should and will be an agenda for regeneration…

It is the space of infinity and mystery, reminding us of the mysterious forces that animate life and yet are not visible to us, such as the force of love.

So… how will you contribute to this wholeness and bring SDG 0 to life today?