Introduction: The Need for an 18th Sustainable Development Goal—Communication for All

The 2030 Agenda for Development or what is known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is perhaps the most ambitious agenda collectively agreed by 193 countries in human history. In 2015, the UN Member States adopted the 17 SDGs as a framework that would help address the challenges being faced by humanity: from eradicating poverty, ending hunger, providing universal access to healthcare and education, addressing climate change to the partnering of individuals, philanthropists, and nation states to achieve the global goals. Yet, the framers of the 2030 Agenda for Development, comprising key stakeholders from all sectors of life, forgot to dedicate one goal to the role of communication and culture in achieving the SDGs. Such an oversight has attracted the attention of media and communication scholars, academics, and policy makers who understand that it is nearly impossible to achieve the SDGs without the articulation and embrace of the role of communication for development. The challenge for us is to revisit and reposition the field of Sustainable Development and the SDGs, and include communication and culture in it.