A key aspect of the Speak Truth To Power program is the central idea of human rights defenders. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals also embraces this idea of the impact of the individual person. Of course, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are meant to be achieved by Member States as a whole by 2030. However, this cannot be sustainably achieved without the actions of individuals. This is clearly represented in the Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water. SDG 14 seeks to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”. Our lesson plan on coral reefs will help students understand this SDG.

Each target within this SDG provides, not only benchmarks for UN Member States to meet, but also, forms of action for individuals to take. The following lessons will provide students with pathways for action towards achieving these goals. The Sustainable Development Goal 14 is reflected in the monumental human rights document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Articles 2, 6, 25, 27, and 28 directly correlate with specific targets within SDG 14. Moreover, every single article in the UDHR can be connected to this goal because of the interdependent nature of both the Sustainable Development Goals and human rights.”