Have you ever thought about who makes our world such a fair and peaceful place? The United Nations do. It is an organization of 193 countries where every country has an equal say in how to govern our world.

After the World Wars, people had enough. They didn't want another war, there had been too many hardships and many loved ones had lost their lives. Then, in 1945, the UN was established. At first, it only had 51 members, but since then it has flourished and it now has 193 member countries. The UN now has many goals beyond preventing conflict, they want to promote gender equality, justice, and they want to improve living conditions for people all around the world, especially people living in poorer places where food and drink are scarce. When it comes to making decisions, every country has an equal say. Each country has one spokesperson who will speak on behalf of the country, then every country will have one vote and actions are made according to the result of this vote. The UN has really made a positive influence on the world we live in and it continues to help and change our world for the better.

In 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals were created. They are a set of 17 goals each trying to tackle climate change, poverty and world peace and justice. We have a challenge though, we have to try and achieve all 17 of these goals by 2030. Goal number 17 is partnership for the goals. If we want to achieve these goals we must unite and work together to make our world a better, more environmentally friendly and safe and happy place to live in, not only for us, but for generations to come. The goals were made to make people aware of the situations happening around us and make us act upon them, it is a job for everybody.

Goal number 16 is focusing on what the UN was originally established for, peace, justice and fair and right decisions made by our leaders. It means that a country should be democratic, everybody should have an equal say. It is important to me as I think peace and justice is a major part of making sure the world is a better place. With peace everyone can live happily and harmoniously, with justice everyone can have an equal say and decisions can be made fairly and rightly. Goal 16 is one of the most important goals that can have a huge, positive influence on our world.

Sticks and Stones, our topic, is about conflict. It is about how conflict starts, ends and ways in which we could avoid conflict. SDG number 16 is peace, justice and strong institutions. This is linked to our topic as the more we learn about conflict, the easier it will be to achieve this goal, because if we know about conflict then we will be better at knowing how to try and stop conflict. 

Be involved in your country’s decision, make your voice heard, stop gender inequality. These are all ways in which we can try to achieve goal 16. If we want justice then we have to take an active role in our country's decisions. If we want peace then we need to speak up. You need to make your voice heard. Stand up for your beliefs. You are never too small to make a difference.