Train of trainers is moving fast the journey continues in 2018!

As we approach the 2018 Voluntary National Reports for Sustainable Development, many cities are still grappling with SDG Localization, Implementation and monitoring, which makes National reporting significantly more difficult and SDG localization a matter of urgency.

Since the UCLG Learning strategy was to “train the trainers” for localizing the SDG, the learning modules for localization have been used in more than 25 events by our network. By the end of this year, more than 250 people participated already in a learning session and we can welcome more than 90 new trainers that will help us to share our strategy with more people. We can also proudly announce that our network includes now 40 regional and local governments and nearly 50 cities, in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, that are actively involved in our learning sessions. 

In particular, the Latin American members were extremely active and Flacma and Mercociudades have identified the localizing of the SDG as key in their strategy for collaboration.  For next year, Flacma is planning an SDG training in their next bureau in January in Chile, and the Santafe region will do a gathering of regions to compare progress on the SDG localization agenda. With this activity, 120% of the commitments made by the trainers will be fulfilled.  

However, recent news indicates that it’s time for (localization in) Africa! 

Our partners in Southern Africa are actively working on proposals to ensure that cities are capacitated to fulfill the objectives of the New Urban Agenda and that the SDG’s are actively implemented at a city level.

Initially, the Namibian Association of city managers - NALAO and local authorities - ALAN, have been mandated to implement a training program that would cover the areas of  localizing the SDG’s, capacity building, advocacy and raising awareness of the current sustainable development discourse. They are currently pursuing opportunities for funding, and have been engaging without network for possible training opportunities in late February.

The Ethekwini Municipality - City of Durban - president to the UCLG committee on Strategic Planning - CUSP, has further announced their intention to organize an event on localizing the SDG in 2018! In late January or early February the eThekwini Municipality would look to partner with NALAO and ALAN to host a Training of Trainers for South Africa and Namibia. The event will be  a partnership with MILE, SMILE and the USP Committee.  The 1-2 day Training would take place in Durban and offer a maximum of 15 places.

The Train the Trainer session will use the SDG Toolkit and course material developed by UCLG, in particular the module 2, to deepen the knowledge on localizing the SDG. Experiences from various cities, including South Africa, Malawi and Namibia,  will intensively connect to the USP Committee and there will be also a focus on the implementation and alignment of planning and development strategies.  

Second, the eThekwini Municipality and UCLGAfrica, in particular MILE (Municipal Institute of Learning) also plans to organize a localizing SDG Africa conference!. The 3 day event which is scheduled for March or April 2018 will be hosted in Durban and would see the eThekwini Municipality partner with key organizations at a Global, National, Regional and Local level to discuss and develop practical ideas on SDG-Localization.  

These events are an important step in the SDG localization process in the African Region. We are happy to share with you this news as it presents a strong step forward towards the localization of the SDGs in the Southern African Region and the continent.

Please see this message as an invitation to articulate your interest in cooperation, participation or support.

We also invite you to get active in the SDG trainers mailing list (Mobilize) to exchange ideas and to bring stakeholders together

We are looking forward to a successful year 2018!

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