169 to 1

Why 169 to 1?

Back in 2015, the world gave us a bold new framework: the Sustainable Development Goals. Seventeen ambitions. One shared deadline. A total of 169 targets. But for all the promises, most people never got the full story, let alone a clear next step. We gave the world goals. We never gave them roles. We didn’t fail the SDGs because we didn’t care. We failed them because we never told people what they were supposed to do on Monday.

So I started asking a different question. What if we just made it simple?

One institution. One target. That’s it. Done well.

And then, what if we multiplied that by 169,000?

That’s not the whole world. It’s just 0.01 percent of the academia, clinics, businesses, NGOs, youth programmes, councils, and cooperatives on the planet. But it’s enough. Because change never starts with everyone. It starts with the few who choose to act, anyway. I’ve spent the last two decades solving problems in places where no one was waiting for a UN roadmap. Schools trying to patch leaking roofs. SMEs juggling deadlines. Startups, clinics, and community groups just trying to make tomorrow work.

I’ve seen what happens when you give people systems they can actually use. And I’ve seen how quickly momentum spreads when action feels possible, practical, and real.

That’s why I created 169 to 1.

Not as a campaign, but as a system rooted in clarity, structure, and honest follow-through. No fluff. No empty slogans. No gold stars for vague intentions. This isn’t about ticking boxes for global impact. It’s about making change visible, local, and measurable. It’s about doing it without spreading people too thin or burning them out. Most global plans fail because they expect too much from too few. We are turning that around. We are asking just enough from enough people and giving them the tools to make it stick.

And yes, this is personal.

My daughter Daphne, like so many of the current generation, was born the same year as the SDGs. She’s ten now. By the end of this challenge, she’ll be fifteen. And one day, she’s going to ask me not just, “What did you do?” but, “Dad, how can I get involved?”

I want to give her a real answer. Something honest. Something that works. Something she can walk into and participate to build her future, not just read about. That’s what this is. A starting point for a better legacy. One institution. One target. Sixty months of real action. No more waiting. No more wondering.

And so… I will leave you with this one final thought…

The truth is… the world doesn’t need more awareness. It needs activation. We don’t need a miracle; we need a method. We don’t need 8 billion people to do everything; we just need 0.01% to do something: clearly, consistently, and courageously. This is the math of hope. This is how we move from dead or dormant goals to living breathing action. From delay… to dignity. And from dreams… to actual delivery. Either way… the foundations are in place. Now it’s your move.

And,  the only real question is:

What’s stopping you from acting now?

Because history tells us:

It’s always the small things, done by ordinary people,  that end up building the world. And this world? Is still worth building. And who knows… maybe in 2031, I’ll be back here with you all — not to pitch a new idea, but to show you what one ripple became, and to invite you all to share your stories and your legacy for the future.

Thank you.