Priyanka Chopra takes the centre stage at UNGA for the 2nd time, meets Malala & Amanda Gorman to discuss sustainability goals

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and global icon Priyanka Chopra took the centre stage at United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday morning to discuss the next appropriate action to achieve sustainability goals.

Taking to Instagram, the actress shared some highlights from the day in a lengthy post. She said that the priority this year was Sustainable Development Goals and it was time to make it a reality.

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"Walking through the gates of the United Nations to speak at UNGA for the second time, as a proud representative of UNICEF, gave me real pause. At the top of this year’s agenda are the Sustainable Development Goals. Today was all about action, ambition and hope. It was about what we must do together to make the SDGs a reality, and we don’t have a moment to lose," her post read.

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The 40-year-old further said that it was a privilege to participate in the Transforming Education Summit for the second time. She repeated US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona's words that education is every child's birthright.

"It’s hard to believe that nearly 2/3 of children across the low-, middle- and high-income countries cannot read and comprehend a simple story. The system has failed them. As the US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona put it so candidly, education is the great equalizer, but if we continue to do what we have done, we are going to get what we have gotten. We owe every child this basic birthright, an equal chance to learn and reach their full potential," she added.

Chopra met Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai and American poet Amanda Gorman at the General Assembly.

In her post, the actress quoted Gorman's words from her speech, "I dare you to shape our fate. Above all, I dare you to do good, so that the world might be great."

Later in the day, the UN shared Chopra's speech on YouTube. The 'Quantico' star weighed in on some of the world's most pressing issues such as the Covid pandemic, climate crisis and poverty. She said that 'a just, safe and healthy world' is the right of every individual which can become a reality with global solidarity.

"We meet today at a critical point in our world, at a time when global solidarity is more important than ever. As countries continue to struggle from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the climate crisis appends lives and livelihoods, as conflicts rage, and as poverty displacement, hunger and inequalities destroy the very foundation of the more just world that we have fought for such a long time. These crises did not happen by chance but they can be fixed with a plan. We have that plan, the UN sustainable development goals - a to-do list for the world. These goals were created hand in hand with people around the world in 2015; together we have an extraordinary opportunity to change the world that we live in," she could be heard saying.

The UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador said, "all is not well with our world".

Stressing that the deadline to achieve the SDGs is fast approaching, Chopra said the present and the future of the world rest "in our hands".

"We owe it to our people, we owe it to our planet. We all deserve a just, safe and healthy world to live in... But time is running out. We are nearly halfway to the 2030 deadline to achieve these goals. In this room of our representatives of the very who signed up for those goals in 2015, leaders who can make that plan a reality, in partnership with all of us. So, today is about action, it's about ambition, but it is also about hope. It is about what we must do together to make the SDGs a reality," the 'Fashion' actress said.

During her lunch break, the actress spent some quality time with her daughter Malti Marie (MM).

According to the UN, the SDGs are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. The 17 Goals were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals.

The SDG Moment serves to place an annual spotlight on Sustainable Development Goals. It takes place as the world faces a deepening cost-of-living crisis that carries huge implications for the advancement of the SDGs, especially in developing countries.

(With inputs from PTI)