The 2030 agenda for development, or what is known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is the most ambitious agenda collectively agreed upon 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, and addressing climate change; to the partnering of individuals, communities, and nation-states to achieve global goals. Yet, the framers of the 2030 agenda forgot to dedicate one goal focused on the role of communication in achieving the SDGs. It is nearly impossible to achieve the SDGs without the articulation and embrace of the role of communication in development. Today, development has become a communication issue, and communication is a development issue. How could such a vital pillar of life be missing in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals? Volume 1 provides an overview of what the contributors have termed as the 'missing link' between existing SDGs: Communication for All.

Jan Servaes (PhD) is the former UNESCO Chair in Communication for Sustainable Social Change. He is the Editor of the Lexington Book Series Communication, Globalization and Cultural Identity and Springer book series Communication, Culture and Change in Asia.  Muhammad Jameel Yusha'u is the Editor-in-Chief of Africa Policy Journal at Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author of Regional Parallelism and Corruption Scandals in Nigeria and co-editor of the Palgrave Handbook of International Communication and Sustainable Development.

Chapter 1. Introduction: The Need for an 18th Sustainable Development GoalCommunication for All.- Chapter 2. Communication and Information Poverty in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Case for SDG 18Communication for All.- Chapter 3. Significance of Communication Studies to SDGs: (Re)setting Global Agendas.- Chapter 4. Sustainable Development Goals and Communication as a Commons in the Context of Extractive Capitalism: Tensions and Possibilities.- Chapter 5. Six Information and Communication Dynamics That Call for the Adoption of an 18th Sustainable Development Goal.- Chapter 6. The Role of Strategic Communication in Gender Equality Activism and Collective Action: Illustrating the Need for SDG18.- Chapter 7. Media Literacy and Conflict: Understanding Mediated Communication for the Achievement of Peace and Development.- Chapter 8. Creating Safe Communication Spaces Amidst the Disinformation Quandary.- Chapter 9. Communicating the SDGs: Formulating Performance Metrics for Higher Education Institutions.- Chapter 10. SDG-18 Communication for All: The Tool We Need for Real Development and Social Change.- Chapter 11. Conclusion: SDG18The Soul of An Ambitious AgendaCommunication and the Match Towards Sustainability in the COVID-19 Century./