New York City, NY, 4th September 2026, ZEX PR WIRE, Karunamaya Vesna Blazhevska has worked within United Nations Sustainable Development communications since 2008. Her work involves helping large, complicated ideas about the environment and international cooperation reach ordinary readers. She has decided to turn some of that thinking into a short, practical challenge that anyone can try, using seven days as the frame.
The idea is simple. Each day points to one Sustainable Development Goal and one small action tied to it. Nothing on the list requires special equipment or money. Blazhevska says she designed it that way on purpose.
“Big goals get people excited for a week and then they quit,” she says. “I wanted something a person could actually keep doing after the challenge ends.”
The seven-day plan
Day 1, climate action. Skip one car or rideshare trip. Walk, bike, or take transit instead.
Day 2, affordable and clean energy. Unplug devices that sit idle overnight. Blazhevska points out that standby power adds up over a year, even if it feels small on any single day.
Day 3, quality education. Spend twenty minutes reading about one environmental topic you do not already understand well. She suggests picking something specific, like ocean plastic or soil health, rather than a broad subject.
Day 4, gender equality. Support or promote the work of a woman colleague or a woman-led project you respect. Blazhevska frames this as a habit of attention, not a one-time gesture.
Day 5, responsible consumption. Try one full meatless day. This is the piece of the challenge closest to her own life. She has been vegetarian since 1991, avoiding meat and fish while still eating cheese, eggs, and yogurt. “I’m not asking anyone to do what I do for thirty-five years,” she says. “I’m asking for one day, to see how it feels.”
Day 6, life below water. Cut back on single-use plastic for the day. Bring a reusable bottle or bag instead of a new one.
Day 7, peace. Have one respectful conversation with someone whose views differ from yours, without trying to change their mind. Blazhevska sees this as connected to her interest in harmony among different faiths and backgrounds. “Peace starts in small exchanges before it shows up anywhere bigger,” she says.
Why she built it around small steps
Blazhevska says her communications work has taught her that people respond to specifics, not slogans. A goal like “protect the climate” is hard to act on directly. Turning off a device or skipping a car trip is not.
She also says the challenge reflects something she has learned from her own long-standing habits. Her vegetarian diet has lasted more than three decades not because she set out to prove something, but because it became ordinary. She hopes the same happens with small climate habits: that they stop feeling like a challenge and become routine.
“None of these seven days ask for something dramatic,” she says. “They ask for something repeatable.”
How to take part
Blazhevska is encouraging people to pick any single day from the list and try it this week, rather than waiting to start all seven at once. She says starting small and staying consistent matters more than doing everything at once.
She also notes the challenge is meant to be shared informally, among coworkers, friends, or community groups, rather than tracked through any formal program. “The point isn’t a certificate,” she says. “The point is that seven habits are easier to keep than one big promise.”
To read the full interview, visit the website here.
About Karunamaya Vesna Blazhevska
Karunamaya Vesna Blazhevska is a Communications Assistant with the United Nations Department of Global Communications, based in New York City. She has worked there since 2008, with a focus on communication tied to sustainable development and international cooperation. She holds a degree in Economics from the Faculty of Economics in Skopje, part of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in North Macedonia, and grew up in what was then Yugoslavia. She has been a vegetarian since 1991 and has a long-standing interest in spirituality, peace, and harmony among different faiths.
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