United Nations, ‘Thomas & Friends’ launch collaboration to introduce Sustainable Development Goals

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NEW YORK: The United Nations and Mattel, Inc, launched a collaboration at New York Headquarters to introduce the Sustainable Development Goals to pre‑school audiences through the animated children’s series Thomas & Friends.

Through the collaboration, elements from 5 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are incorporated into nine of the 26 episodes of the new season of Thomas & Friends, which premieres on Nick Jr. in the United States, with global roll-out in the coming months. The specific targets represented in the episodic content are Goal 4 on Quality Education; Goal 5 on Gender Equality; Goal 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities; Goal 12 on Responsible Consumption and Production; and Goal 15 on Life on Land.

The collaboration will further come to life with short-form early childhood educational videos, parent tips and interactive activities available on a new website, www.AllAboardForGlobalGoals.com, that was launched in English, with more languages on the way. In addition to the five Sustainable Development Goals already present in the episodes, content featuring Goal 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation is also available on the website. The short-form content and parent‑targeted materials are intended to help pre-schoolers around the world learn more about sustainability and start meaningful conversations between parents and children at the household level.