Social challenges

Challenges or social issues are problems that affect communities or groups of people in a society and that are commonly based on multifactorial causes and require complex solutions. Social issues are understood as products of their time and are understood differently or from different perspectives throughout history. In other words, what is seen as a social challenge today was not necessarily so 50 years ago, and the actions taken by society at the time highly likely shaped or, to some extent, affected the current challenge.

The understanding of what is qualified as a social challenge is also marked by political and ideological convictions, but, as a rule, there are great global pacts between nations that guide and regulate these readings, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and similar regulations. Among these major milestones is the 2030 Agenda, also called the Sustainable Development Goals, proposed by the United Nations (UN), which presents 17 interconnected goals in “[a] global call to action to end poverty, protect the environment and climate and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity,” as indicated by the UN itself on a dedicated website on the subject.

Social challenges: the local point of view at global issues

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow invites students and teachers to discuss the social challenges present in their communities, understanding a direct connection between global problems and local issues, with the belief that solutions proposed in certain schools or territories can impact or inspire new actions around the planet.