Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure is all about building a strong foundation for our societies. This includes physical things like reliable roads, bridges, and internet access (infrastructure), as well as supporting businesses (industry) that are clean and sustainable. It also emphasizes innovation: coming up with new ideas and technologies to solve global challenges.
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure is all about building a strong foundation for our societies. This includes physical things like reliable roads, bridges, and internet access (infrastructure), as well as supporting businesses (industry) that are clean and sustainable. It also emphasizes innovation: coming up with new ideas and technologies to solve global challenges.
Introduction to Goal 9
A curriculum designed for Goal 9 that inspires the values and competencies behind this mission for grades 5-12.
Featured Lesson: Creative Writing
Tiny Tales, Big Ideas: Flash Fiction for a Smarter World
Dive into Goal 9 through the lens of creative writing. This lesson provides hands-on activities and creative exploration designed to bring the concepts to life for students.
Lessons
Musical Exploration
Explore Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation through musical exploration.
Building a Better Future with Street Art
Explore Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation through art.
Tiny Tales, Big Ideas: Flash Fiction for a Smarter World
Explore Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation through creative writing.
Mirroring Tomorrow: Dance for Builders & Bright Ideas
Explore Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation through dance/movement.
Ancient Voices, Modern Ideas: Drama for Global Goal 9
Explore Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation through drama.
Making Music for Great Jobs
Explore Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation through music.
These learning objectives are organized into five categories that together form a comprehensive approach to understanding and engaging with this goal.
Knowledge
- •
Identify and define the key aspects of infrastructure (e.g., roads, schools, hospitals), innovation (new ideas/inventions), and industry (where things are made) that contribute to a better world.
(Cr1.1.MS, Cn10.1.MS) - •
Recognize the importance of building strong and lasting things, developing new ideas, and ensuring industries are fair and sustainable for everyone.
(Cn10.1.MS, Cn11.1.MS) - •
Understand that Global Goal 9 is about helping communities and countries grow stronger through smart building, new ideas, and responsible industries.
(Cn10.1.MS, Cn11.1.MS)
Discourse
- •
Explore and describe how messages and ideas about building, inventing, and progress are expressed through various art forms (visual art, creative writing, dance, drama, music) by reflecting on visuals, words, movement, sounds, and stories.
(Re7.1.MS, Re8.1.MS) - •
Participate in respectful discussions about challenges and opportunities related to infrastructure, innovation, and industry, considering how progress can benefit all.
(Re9.1.MS, Cn11.1.MS) - •
Communicate their own thoughts, feelings, and ideas about Global Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure through creative expression in various artistic mediums.
(Cr3.1.MS)
Attitudes
- •
Develop curiosity and appreciation for the ingenuity involved in building, inventing, and creating, fostering an understanding of how these efforts improve lives.
(Re8.1.MS, Cn10.1.MS) - •
Appreciate the importance of sustainable practices in industry and infrastructure development to protect the planet and ensure long-term benefits for everyone.
(Cn11.1.MS) - •
Cultivate a sense of optimism and initiative towards finding solutions and contributing to innovation and progress in their communities.
(Re9.1.MS)
Capacity
- •
Develop critical thinking skills by observing and discussing how different artistic elements can represent challenges, processes, and solutions related to industry, innovation, and infrastructure.
(Re9.1.MS, Cn10.1.MS) - •
Practice collaboration and communication skills through engaging in group art projects, shared writing activities, and coordinated movement, drama, or musical performances to tell stories about building a better world.
(Cr2.1.MS, Pr5.1.MS) - •
Develop creative expression skills through purposeful experimentation with diverse artistic mediums to communicate their understandings and feelings about Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.
(Cr3.1.MS)
Action
- •
Identify simple and age-appropriate actions they can take to support new ideas, be resourceful with materials, and contribute to building a better community.
(Pr6.1.MS, Cn11.1.MS) - •
Participate in collaborative artistic projects that creatively express messages of hope and support for Global Goal 9.
(Cr3.1.MS, Pr6.1.MS) - •
Reflect on their personal role in fostering innovation and contributing to sustainable development, encouraging a sense of responsible global citizenship.
(Re9.1.MS, Cn11.1.MS)
Empowering youth to become active agents of change in the pursuit of building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation. Recognizing that even small, consistent actions, sparked by their creative explorations, can contribute to a larger global impact.
Taking Action Beyond the Classroom
Here are ways your students can extend their learning and apply their understanding of Global Goal 9 in their wider community and beyond.
Become Innovation Communicators: Choose a favorite piece created in the lessons, and share with family, friends, or local community groups (like a school event, digital portfolio, or community group). This allows them to use their art to tell a powerful story about why strong infrastructure, smart industries, and new ideas matter for everyone.
Concrete Action: Aim to share their creative work related to Global Goal 9 with at least three people outside of school.
Community Innovation Walk: Inspired by exploration of infrastructure and industry, go on a Community Innovation Walk in the neighborhood with a friend or trusted adult/family member. Look for examples of infrastructure (roads, bridges, schools, local businesses, etc.) and signs of innovation (solar panels, new buildings, public Wi-Fi, etc.). Create a quick sketch or write a short piece about an example that was found and its connection to Global Goal 9.
Concrete Action: Students explore their local community and identify one example of infrastructure, industry, or innovation, documenting it with writing or a sketch.
Future of Tech Idea Journal: Building on the understanding of innovation, keep a Future of Tech idea journal. Use simple drawings or short notes, stories, or poems to brainstorm small inventions or new ways technology could solve a problem in daily lives or the community.
Concrete Action: Students regularly add a new invention idea or innovation to their journal.
Research a Builder of Tomorrow: Research a real person (from history or today) who has made a significant positive impact on infrastructure, industry, or innovation, either locally or globally. This could be an engineer, an inventor, an architect, or someone who started a sustainable business. Write a short paragraph, create a drawing, or prepare a brief presentation about this Builder of Tomorrow, explaining how their actions connect to Global Goal 9. This helps to see real-world examples of impact and positive change.
Concrete Action: Research and present one Builder of Tomorrow to share with family or the class.
Benchmarking Progress
A quick view of the official UN targets for this goal paired with the indicators that track global progress. Use these to connect classroom inquiry with real-world data.
Target 9.1
Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.
Indicators
- 9.1.1
Proportion of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road
- 9.1.2
Passenger and freight volumes, by mode of transport
Target 9.2
Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry's share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries.
Indicators
- 9.2.1
Manufacturing value added as a proportion of GDP and per capita
- 9.2.2
Manufacturing employment as a proportion of total employment
Target 9.3
Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets.
Indicators
- 9.3.1
Proportion of small-scale industries in total industry value added
- 9.3.2
Proportion of small-scale industries with a loan or line of credit
Target 9.4
By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities.
Indicators
- 9.4.1
CO2 emission per unit of value added
Target 9.5
Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending.
Indicators
- 9.5.1
Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP
- 9.5.2
Researchers (in full-time equivalent) per million inhabitants
Target 9.a
Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States.
Indicators
- 9.a.1
Total official international support (official development assistance plus other official flows) to infrastructure
Target 9.b
Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities.
Indicators
- 9.b.1
Proportion of medium and high-tech industry value added in total value added
Target 9.c
Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020.
Indicators
- 9.c.1
Proportion of population covered by a mobile network, by technology