MANILA, Philippines – The world needs new hacks to solve old problems, said United Nations resident coordinator Ola Almgren during the Social Good Summit 2016 on Saturday, September 24.

Almgren said development workers must continuously innovate, take advantage of technological advances, and come up with new hacks that will correct what has proven to be ineffective solutions to the world’s longstanding problems.

“Innovation for development is identifying more effective solutions that add value for the people affected by developmental challenges,” Almgren said. 

The United Nations has adjusted its targets from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expired last year, to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will be measured by 2030.

The work to achieve the SDGs is the collective burden of the government and the civil society, he said. 

“Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will require all of us to contribute – private sector, academe, civil society, you, and me,” Almgren said. 

“No contribution is too small to make a difference,” he added.

The SDGs is a set of 17 goals that world leaders have set to reach by 2030. Compared to the MDGs, the SDGs are said to be more measurable with its 169 targets and 230 indicators of those targets.

Almgren challenged the summit’s participants, most of them millennials, to share the burden.

“We are seeing the largest youth population the world has ever known… Children and youth have the greatest stake in the future they want to see,” he said.

“The SDGs is a plan. Our challenge to you is [to identify] what’s your role in the plan,” he said. – Rappler.com