Cepei encourages multi-stakeholder dialogue and the use of data for sustainable development by inviting countries to advance towards the 2030 Agenda. This year, throughout the month of March, the five Regional Commissions of the United Nations (Arab Countries, Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia Pacific) organized their own 2021 Sustainable Development Forums in which they shared experiences and good practices to measure progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Cepei, as a Think Tank of the Global South, made a special coverage on the main outcomes of the five forums with a special emphasis on the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The ambition of the 2030 Agenda
This year the main topic of the forums focused on the effects of COVID-19 and how the global public health crisis has affected the commitments made by countries regarding the 2030 Agenda.
Economic Commissions, participants and attendees of the five regional forums shared the most urgent issues of each country, the lessons learned, and the importance of strengthening regional dialogues as part of the preparatory process for the High-Level Political Forum.
Cepei’s Governance for development area developed a series of infographics that show the general panorama of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the midst of the pandemic:
1. Regional Forum of the Arab Countries
This year’s meeting follows the postponement of its 2020 session due to COVID-19. The central theme was Accelerating Progress on the Post-COVID 2030 Agenda. One of the main results of the 2021 meeting this year was to verify the insufficient level of progress in the region towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030.
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2. Asia Pacific Regional Forum
Even when promoting a sustainable and resilient recovery from COVID-19 was the title of an official session, it became an issue that cut across all discussions. The situation of the most vulnerable groups to face the impacts of the pandemic emerged again and again as part of the discussions.
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3. Regional Forum of Latin America and the Caribbean
There is no doubt that the results of this fourth regional forum in Latin America and the Caribbean on sustainable development will provide critical inputs for the High-Level Political Forum in 2021. LAC countries still have opportunities to enhance their contributions to build a posthumous world. -more sustainable pandemic.
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4. Africa Regional Forum
With huge virtual participation, the 7th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development extensively discussed the impacts of COVID-19. A renewed narrative, which refers to the Decade of Action and the dedication to rebuild better, is the cornerstone for the future implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
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5. Regional Forum of Europe
The impacts of COVID-19 were the main topic in all the meetings of the 5th Regional Forum of Europe. Links between post-pandemic reconstruction, data production, digital transformation, and social protection were identified and highlighted.
In addition, Cepei also presented its work – two reports- for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) The Environmental Dimension of Governance of the 2030 Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean (SPA), and The Integrated Approach and Environmental Dimension of Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (SPA), with the aim of contributing to decision-making, and the importance of the environmental dimension on the path to sustainable development and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Data for development and the 2030 Agenda
The Regional Forum of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development, stated that the national recovery and response plans after COVID-19 must be aligned with the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.
At the launch event of the SDG Gateway platform, Cepei’s Data for Sustainable Development area presented the theoretical and analytical work carried out together with the Statistics Division of ECLAC.
This is an analysis developed between April and August 2020 that analyzed 45 measures taken by the 33 countries of the region. These were registered, categorized and published in the COVID-19 Observatory of ECLAC.
More details here
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