The Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies are a group of 38 member states, international organizations, global partnerships, and other partners committed to accelerating the delivery of the Agenda 2030 targets for peace, justice and inclusion (SDG16+). The Pathfinders is hosted by the Center on International Cooperation (CIC) at New York University (NYU).      

The Pathfinders launched the Roadmap for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies at the UN General Assembly in September 2017. An updated version was published at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2019. The roadmap provides a shared vision for how SDG16+ can be delivered and acts as a ‘docking station’ for those working on the implementation. It also identifies a limited number of high-profile ‘grand challenges’ that require sustained leadership and support if SDG16+ is to be achieved. In these areas Pathfinders aims to set policy and learning agendas, raise ambition and increase political will.

The Grand Challenges are:

           The Grand Challenge on Justice for All aspires to accelerate the delivery of SDG16.3. The Task Force on Justice, an initiative of the Pathfinders chaired by ministers from Argentina, the Netherlands, Sierra Leone and the Elders, launched a Justice for All report highlighting the urgency of people-centered justice to meet the needs of 5.1 billion people globally deprived of justice.

           The Grand Challenge on Inequality and Exclusion aims to identify politically viable and evidence-based solutions to tackle inequality and exclusion. The ministers and high-profile leaders from Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Uruguay, Canada, Republic of Korea and Sweden have launched a program of policy research with partners and formed a group of political champions to support implementation.

           In September 2020, Pathfinders launched the Grand Challenge to Halve All Forms of Global Violence by 2030, with a view to developing a shared agenda for action for policymakers worldwide.

The Roadmap also identifies National and International Delivery as areas where the secretariat provides catalytic support to the Pathfinder members to accelerate national implementation and forge a powerful international movement for good governance, peace, justice and inclusion. Building a positive, solutions-focused narrative is critical for driving action and raising ambition, as evident in successful global campaigns for disarmament. The evidence-based, community orientation of the climate change movement is also relevant.

Please subscribe to their monthly newsletter. You can also check out their website to learn more about what they do.