Member News – Page 3

SDG-Watch Austria: A vibrant CSO platform challenging an inactive political system

Austria’s former federal president Heinz Fischer assured “Austria’s full commitment to the seventeen specific goals” (1), at a speech to the UN’s general Assembly on September the 27th in 2015. It could have been a historic moment – day 1 of an active Austrian role in the global sustainability transition.

But the Austrian government has done little to walk the talk since then, and a first report to the UN’s High Level Political Forum (HLPF) is only announced for 2020. It doesn’t surprise that CSOs don’t stand aside while they see a hopeful chance for a better future pass by, but take action in their hands. Exactly two years later, on September the 27th in 2017, around 100 organisations from all parts of civil society launched SDG Watch Austria – a broad CSO platform to stand up for an ambitious and consequent implementation. You can tell their passion for the SDGs from these pictures.

Austria’s government by now only delegated the responsibility for the implementation to the administration level. The „mainstreaming approach“ might sound good at the first moment, but it’s an approach on an administration level, and it has turned out to be quickly stretched to it’s limits. High level political commitment to boost SDG implementation is lacking.

The organisations of SDG Watch Austria consider the 17 goals integrated and indivisible, and an important chance for a better future, which needs an approach that is really meeting the „unprecedented scope and significance“ (2) of the 2030 Agenda. Founding the platform is a consequent step towards progress with the national contributions to the SDGs. It is a strong and positive sign as well as an offer to the government, to take this chance to work with this coalition and make a better future possible.

Learn more on http://www.sdgwatch.at or by following #SDGsumsetzen on facebook and twitter.

(1) https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/20803austria.pdf

(2) http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E

Latvian NGO network uses the SDGs to reach out to new people

In 18 places all over Latvia almost 500 volunteers of all ages and occupations came together to talk about the local implementation of the SDGs. The actions were part of a global day of action on the SDGs, to mark their second anniversary. Latvian NGOs gathered in the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation (LAPAS) have noted a boost in regional partners and supporters through its work on the SDGs. By working in SDG implementation we’ve clearly expanded our network beyond our members and into new communities that are eager to help with creating a better world.

The engagement came from various angles: community activists from schools, CSOs, local libraries and youth centres were some of the more involved actors – as well as the local decision makers and public officials that need to implement the SDGs.

To support these initiatives and provide more information, LAPAS produced a special SDGs section on its website with stories, methodologies and videos, and well as publishing and distributing 2,500 newspapers on the SDGs at the local, national and global levels.

The Latvian part of the global 25 September #Act4SDGs actions were only the first phase of LAPAS’ ongoing activities on the SDGs. These actions paved the way towards monitoring and reviewing Latvia’s national Voluntary Review in 2018. This campaign will be continued during the Global Education Week from 20 – 27 November all around Latvia.

Find more about LAPAS: www.lapas.lv

Spain: SDGs in Spain

On this 2nd birthday of the Agenda 2030, signs show that we are not going in the right direction – an increase of hunger for the first time in 15 years, temperatures have been over the historical average of the past 32 years, etc. UNSG António Guterres recently alerted that the global community was disintegrating into conflicts.

The 2030 Agenda provides the opportunity to solve or minimize the serious problems of the current international context. Nevertheless, implementation is not exempted from the risks: procrastination, political irrelevance, disconnection from people, and not facing the deep root causes.

According to the SDG index, Spain is far from achieving any goal due to lack of relevant government action. For the 2nd birthday of the SDGs, Spanish civil society organized a high-level event in Madrid with politicians, UN representatives, leaders and activists. Supported by the organizations of the coalition Future in Common, the event was a big success – it trended on the social media networks (#SpainSDG) and a government representative made a suprising and long-awaited announcement at the end that a high level inter-ministerial mechanism under the Prime Minister would run the implementation of the Agenda in Spain, something Future in Common had advocated for.

For civil society, this will be key to making the Agenda relevant. Currently, 70% of the European countries have yet to implement the Agenda into governance structures. For the next steps, civil society will advocate for an adequate gap analysis, a National Strategy, an adequate participation in the HLPF and a forward-looking position regarding the Future of Europe debate. The turtle is starting to move.

Ireland: SDGs in Ireland

Make Ireland Sustainable For All, in conjunction with All Together in Dignity (ATD) and the Irish Coalition 2030, marched through the streets of Dublin on 25 September to ask the Irish Government to Light The Way Again and implement the SDGs.

Over 50 people representing the Irish public and members of Coalition 2030, including WV Ireland, Irish Environmental Network (IEN) and ATD rallied and stopped at key landmarks in Dublin. The stops were chosen to highlight the universal dimension of poverty, inequality and climate change and also provided a poignant link between Ireland’s past and the opportunities it has to shape a more just and sustainable world, through the SDGs.

On O’Connell Bridge, in direct view of the city’s busiest crossing, the group hung a 35 metre banner – ‘Will Ireland #Light the Way Again?’. At each stop, representatives of Coalition 2030, Make Ireland Sustainable For All and ATD spoke of the transformational nature of Agenda 2030 and urged the Irish Government to fulfil its promise to ‘Leave No-One Behind’. Dóchas Chief Executive Suzanne Keatinge demanded that the Irish government meet its commitments to the SDGs, declaring the honeymoon period of the Goals over.

The event was broadcast live on social media under #Act4SDGs, received extensive coverage by the Irish Times and was featured on a number of national radio stations drawing attention to the anniversary among the wider Irish Public.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/irish-response-to-climate-change-woefully-inadequate-say-ngos-1.3233573

We were at the Global Festival of Ideas for Sustainable Development!

Members of SDG Watch Europe Steering Group Ingo Ritz and Leida Rijnhout participated in the Global Festival of Ideas for Sustainable Development on 1-3 March 2017 in Bonn. The Global Festival of Ideas is the first in a series of annual forums, hosted by the UN SDG Action Campaign and supported by the Federal Government of Germany. The Festival brings together leading thinkers, policy-makers and civil society, together with gaming experts and policy simulators, to deliver the world’s first playable policy conference.

Here the panel on policy coherence and Uchita De Zoysa – Sri Lanka, explaining the need for a format for country progress reporting, which should strengthen the governmental accountability.

Coalition2030: A new national SDG Coalition in Ireland!

Last week, Dóchas took part in the official launch of Coalition2030 in the Mansion House in Dublin, Ireland.

The event was attended by leading civil society and political figures, with Dóchas CEO Suzanne Keatinge and Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, Denis Naughten TD, addressing the standing room only crowd, which included people such as Martin Fraser, Secretary General in the Department of the Taoiseach, Leader of the Green Party Eamon Ryan TD and Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Seán Crowe TD. Other speakers at the launch included Sean Healy, Social Justice Ireland, Olive Towey, Concern Worldwide, Oisin Coghlan, Friends of the Earth and Brian Campfield, President of ICTU, who took part in a fascinating panel discussion.

The photo above (Maxwell Photography) features: Dóchas CEO, Suzanne Keatinge and the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, Denis Naughten TD.