SDG-18 Communication for All: The Tool We Need for Real Development and Social Change

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are an urgent call for action that has been many times relegated to a background position. This is mostly due to the fact that they are not as widely known as being effectively used in decision-making processes at all levels and sectors. What is called the new normal within the COVID pandemic presents us with a key opportunity to explore alternative ways in which the SDGs could be more inclusively applied, and the first step should be to create an SDG-18 in order to foster the realization of each of the 17 SDGs previously agreed upon by the UN, thus promoting development and social change. The technology, knowhow and all the necessary tools we need to have a more developed, inclusive, healthy and sustainable society already exist, SDG-18 should be the means through which these reach the people who need them the most. In this paper, we critically analyze and explore what available routes of action already exist and are not being exploited thoroughly, and which could be expeditiously developed or put to use in order to foster a more integrated communication system for development and social change within the SDG framework.