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Briefing Report: From Global Conversation to Global Action – Making the SDGs Work

This guest post was written by Angelo Piro, one of the School of Diplomacy’s UN Youth Representatives. Angelo is a student majoring in Diplomacy and International Relations and Economics at Seton Hall University. Angelo’s focus has been on the role of international organizations in development and good governance. He is fluent in English and Spanish, and has a working knowledge of Russian. Angelo has studied at Dubrovnik International University, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and has interned with the Permanent Mission of Honduras to the United Nations and the Office of US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). He writes for the Diplomatic Envoy, and is a member of the Seton Hall United Nations Association.

 

On September 25, heads of state from all around the world gathered in the General Assembly Hall to put their final seal of approval on the Sustainable Development Goals, the world’s new global agenda for the next fifteen years. But, with something of this magnitude and importance, there is no rest for the weary. Just hours after the passing of the SDGs, some of those same world leaders gathered together again to discuss the implementation and future of the SDGs, in an event hosted by the UN Development Group. The Promise 2015 panel included the Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki Moon, the Chair of the UN Development Group, Helen Clark, and heads of state from Norway, Germany, Viet Nam and Kenya, as well as representatives from civil society.

From the outset, the historic nature of the Goals was made evident. In his opening remarks, Ban Ki Moon highlighted the differences between the now ended MDGs with the new SDGs, making note of the latter’s universality and inclusive nature. Helen Clark made efforts to demonstrate how the new agenda is no longer a top down or silo approach. The interconnectedness and inclusiveness of the new goals, according to Clark, will contribute to a consistent and stronger outcome of new efforts. Both also made a great deal of a truly innovative portion of the goals: a focus on partnerships. New emphasis on South-South cooperation, triangular cooperation, and public-private partnerships will strengthen the implementation of the SDGs, and adding new sources of development finance other than donor states.

Of particular interest at this round table were the gathered heads of state, who discussed their nations’ existing work on the SDGs. Angela Merkel of Germany and Erna Solberg of Norway both discussed the new paradigms within their countries now that they are included in the new Goals. Merkel spoke of Germany’s priorities in climate change and health issues, and highlighted how Germany will be one of the first countries to present their plan and progress to the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the international level of review for the agenda, in 2016. PM Solberg spoke of Norway’s leadership in energy as well as their engagement of the public with the goals. Both stressed the importance of the private sector in implementing the SDGs within developed countries. Foreign Ministers from Kenya and Viet Nam, both leaders in the implementation of the MDGs, spoke of the lessons their nations had learned from the MDG process. They also applauded the inclusion of peace and security as prerequisites to development, a key difference from the MDGs. The ministers also spoke of the profound need for mainstreaming of the new agenda within their publics and governments as well, with the Foreign Minister of Kenya reminding us of her countries outstanding contributions to the MyWorld2015 Survey, which was the beginning of global public engagement on the SDGs. Overall, all those who spoke seemed confident in the world’s and their state’s capacities to see the ambitious hopes of the agenda fulfilled.

One of the most interesting points came from the Secretary General of CIVICUS, a global partnership of NGOs and civil society organizations. In his speech, which quoted everyone from Gandhi to Elvis, Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah made sure to highlight the important role of civil society and the public in the future of the SDGs. According to Dr. Sriskandarajah, not only must the public be engaged in supporting and implementing the agenda, we must also work to make the agenda famous. Through hashtags, media attention and an informed public, he believes civil society can make the world and its leaders accountable to the promises it had just made, but only if everyone knows about the goals. So, with the beginning of this new era of development, civil society must transform from a provider of services and information, and must be creators of public attention, making the SDGs famous and the world accountable for their completion.

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