Inclusive Knowledge Societies are the way forward, as they build on the sum of human ingenuity, technical innovation and the power of information and knowledge.

They have the potential to achieve lasting, positive impacts on education, economic prosperity, social inclusion and environmental protection, taking us all forward to a new era of peace and sustainable development.

Highlighting the importance of freedom of expression is an indispensable element for flourishing democracies and for fostering citizen participation in the post-2015 development agenda. The rule of law is a prerequisite for, as well as an outcome of, governance and a sustainable and human rights-centred development agenda, and freedom of expression and the safety of journalists are prominent issues for the rule of law. UNESCO’s work in this area contributes to Goal 16 promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedoms.

UNESCO’s approach to media development is both knowledge-driven and context-sensitive, and it takes into account the challenges and opportunities created by the rapidly changing media environment. IPDC’s Special Initiative on Knowledge-Driven Media Development highlights the importance of generating and sharing of knowledge to advance media development and has special relevance to an inclusive approach to strengthening journalism education worldwide. This initiative contributes to Goal 16.

UNESCO’s work on the promotion of universal access to information, including through Open Solutions directly contributes to the achievement of Goal 9, which focuses on building resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation, particularly through increasing access to ICT. The YouthMobile Initiative(link is external) aims to teach young people to directly mitigate hyper-local issues of sustainable development by developing relevant mobile app solutions in local languages. The Initiative takes advantage of the explosive global growth, reach and affordability of smart mobile phones as well as the energy and intuitive skills of the digital net-native young people.