Through this month, UCLG and the UCLG Capacity and Institution Building Working Group have organized a series of webinars – facilitated by UCLG Learning and UCLG GOLD - on the role of Local and Regional Governments and their associations in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) reporting process. The three webinars gathered members and partners of the network to discuss successes and challenges regarding SDG reporting and how the local and regional level can be well-represented at this year’s HLPF.
UCLG’s preparations for the HLPF 2020
In 2020, parties will gather for the fifth time at the High-Level-Political-Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development to consult on the progress on the Agenda 2030. In preparation for this meeting, UCLG, as facilitator of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, is again preparing a report on the status of the SDG localization process and the involvement of local and regional governments and their associations in the reporting process. To support this effort and to further increase awareness within the UCLG network three webinars were organized on 15th and 16th of April. The virtual meetings provided an opportunity to promote UCLG’s learning tools for the SDG localization, in particular Module 3, and to share more information on the reporting process to the HLPF facilitated by the UCLG research team (GOLD). It also paid attention to the ongoing survey which will be basis for this year’s report to the HLPF.
Benin, Kenya and Costa Rica share experiences in interactive webinars
The webinar on the 15th of April, which was facilitated in French kicked off the webinar series. The session included a contribution of the Local Government Association of Benin which is currently together with a few other local government associations involved in a pilot project supported by the UCLG research team. Secretary General Segla Lihoussou illustrated the challenges for local authorities in Benin to get engaged in the national reporting process and shared their strategy to ensure the integration of the local and regional level in Benin’s second Voluntary National Review (VNR). On the 16th of April two webinars were scheduled. In the morning, the English session was accompanied by an input from the Council of Governors (CoG) and the County Assemblies Forum (CAF) from Kenya who are currently involved in the national reporting process. In the afternoon, the session was addressed to the Spanish speaking membership and partners and the Local Government Association of Costa Rica (UNGL) presented their strategy to participate in this year’s VNR.
The contributions of the three local governments associations and the discussion with the other participants stressed the importance for awareness raising and information materials on how the local and regional level can participate in the national reporting process. Furthermore, participants and speakers articulated the demand for further cooperation and learning on SDG reporting within our network. The webinar series also shed light on some of the challenges and limitations regarding SDG reporting such as the slow implementation of the local reporting and monitoring systems, the limited data management capacity of local authorities or the challenge to ensure a participative approach during the current COVID 19 emergency. However, the three webinars demonstrated a clear consensus along all participants that local government associations play not just a critical role in the facilitation of local reporting and data collection but also in the coordination of local and regional contributions to the VNRs.
Special interest in VLRs, VNRs and Learning
The three webinars showed the high interest from local and regional governments and their associations for the reporting process but also illustrated the effectiveness of local advocacy and cooperation to ensure a whole of society approach for VNRs that include the subnational level. Furthermore, there was a high interest in UCLG’s activities around Voluntary Local Reviews, pilot projects on VNRs and the established learning modules on SDG localization.
Do you want to learn more about this topic?
The webinars have been recorded an are available on the UCLG Learning YouTube channel!
- For further questions regarding SDG Reporting and this year’s HLPF (Survey) please contact: [email protected] and for more info regarding UCLG Learning activities on the SDG Localization please contact [email protected]
