Localization seminars for local engagement in achieving Sustainable Development

April 30, 2021

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The Moamba district located in the Mozambique capital Maputo, in late April 2021, was the latest to host a ‘Location of the Sustainable Development Goals’ seminar, one of a series of seminars conducted by UNDP led SDG Localization Project.

The Seminar, had more than 50 participants, including a representative of the National Directorate of Planning and Budget in the Finance Ministry, Members of the Provincial Council of State Representation, District Administrators, Mayors from Municipalities of Maputo Province, UNDP employees, among others.

The objective of the seminars is to engage the highest level of Governance structures on the implementation of the SDGs at the local level, thus strengthening their inclusion in the planning, budgeting, monitoring and reporting processes at the local level; to sensitize the public about the importance of the SDGs and their application in public policies and their relationship with the planning processes carried out in the different provincial, district and municipal institutions; and, know how initiatives and projects aim to include the most vulnerable groups as beneficiaries of development programs to ensure community participation and that no person is left behind.

The SDG Localization Project in the Provinces of Maputo and Cabo Delgado is financed by the Andaluza Agency for International Cooperation and the Art UNDP Brussels, a UNDP initiative, established to promote and support the localization of the SDGs, ensuring that partnerships and experiences effectively contribute to UNDP’s overall corporate commitment on supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The seminar addressed issues related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, status of implementation of Agenda 2030 in Mozambique, a reflection on financing for development, among other topics.

Speaking opening session, Maputo Province Secretary of State, Vitória Diogo, outlined some of the major global challenges the world faces noting that “The SDGs which are objectives agreed upon at the global level require local governments commitment to achieve its goals including poverty eradication of and hunger, improvement of access to basic services, the reduction of maternal and child mortality, promotion of gender equality,  dealing with climate change and promoting economic sustainable development.

Ms. Diogo further underlined the need for unified efforts and synergies by all stakeholders in the SDGs implementation, including governments, the private sector, civil society, development partners among other interested parties. “For the SDGs to succeed we also need to ensure adequate resource mobilization, and knowledge transfer including development technologies and capacity development of human resources. These actions require our strongest commitment and energetic action by governments, new partnerships and international solidarity. “

UNDP Mozambique Country Office Deputy Resident Representative, Francisco Roquette said that “The Program for the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals is concerned with promoting the coordination of the development process through the establishment of an articulation platform to ensure local development. in a sustainable manner, based on the constant dialogue between local actors.”

The Deputy Representative stressed that it is important that the SDGs, as a global priorities, aggregated in national and local development plans, implemented and achieved at local level in cities, territories and communities so that there are balances and synergies between the economic, social and environmental, among center and periphery, and between public and private. “This project has exactly this objective,” Mr. Roquette concluded.

For her part, the Regional Coordinator of the Andaluza Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AACID), Esther Alonso, concluded that “Agenda 2030 is universal, transformative and based on respect for rights. It is, to this day, the most public plan for the eradication of extreme poverty, the reduction of social inequalities and the protection of the planet.”

“This Agenda is a concrete and practical call in favor of people, the planet and prosperity. It encourages us to take courageous and transformative measures, which are urgently needed, to set the world on a path towards sustainability and resilience. SDGs localization is a fundamental process for the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda, as it allows each approach and strategy to be adapted to the needs of the local context, thus achieving more coherent and effective policies that promote the participation of all actors, the role of subnational and local governments and their appropriation in the process being essential," Ms. Alonso concluded.