On the menu in 2017: action!

After two years of negotiations on global frameworks (Sustainable Development Goals, Addis Ababa Action Agenda and New Urban Agenda), this year will be key to define their implementation. Local and regional governments have been very active in defining the global goals – particularly through the Global TaskForce of Local and Regional governments (of which PLATFORMA is a member) – and are now taking the lead to localise the global agendas.
In spring 2017, the European Union is defining how it will contribute with its development policies (EU Consensus on Development and the Mid-Term Review of the External Action Instruments) and with its internal policies (A Sustainable Future for Europe). Simultaneously the European institutions are revising their take on policy coherence for development – a key principles to achieve the SDG targets overall and to localise the global goals in particular.
While PLATFORMA is actively engaged in these policy-making processes to defend the interest of the local level, local and regional governments across the world have not been waiting for these documents but are already taking action. We can clearly show that the local level will be key for the success of the SDGs and that localisation is a multi-level process not just a means of implementation.
For many PLATFORMA partners, localising the SDGs is one of the main topics to be addressed and we will showcase this at the European Development Days (EDDs) and Assises of decentralised cooperation. The EDDs represent the largest gathering of development players: it is an ideal moment to showcase the contribution of local and regional governments to sustainable development.
Meanwhile, PLATFORMA’s partners will coordinate four pilot cases of national multi-stakeholder dialogues on development to test and later showcase modalities for local governments to contribute to the principles of development effectiveness. At the territorial level, the European Days of Local Solidarity (EDLS) in October will be even more pan-European for their second edition.
PLATFORMA will also closely follow up on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda one year after the Habitat 3 conference in Quito – particularly on the actions the European Commission has committed to deliver. With the URBAN intergroup of the European Parliament, we will assess the impacts of the New Urban Agenda, one year on.
At the end of this year, look out for major events on the European Neighbourhood policies in which PLATFORMA will share the conclusions from the coordination actions in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. Other events worth of include a European edition of the Policy Forum on development and a European Union-African Union (EU-AU) local leaders summit.
In short: 2017 will be a year full of opportunities to take action and to showcase where local and regional governments are already making a difference.