Flemish mayors explain the Sustainable Development Goals in video
In a short film launched by the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG), the mayors of the region of Flanders, Belgium, explain what the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are. The local level is serious about the SDGs: a recent survey conducted by VVSG, shows that six out of ten Flemish municipalities have incorporated the SDGs in their strategic policy plans.
The fight against child poverty, providing quality education, combating climate change, investing in a new residential care centre, a safe living environment,… It is crystal clear that local governments are indispensable if we want to achieve the SDG. How they are advancing the SDGs differs from one municipality to another and depends on their concrete policy choices, but incorporating them in local strategic plans is an important step for energizing a local SDG dynamic.
In addition, local governments act as a facilitator to get a range of local actors on board. Cooperation remains key. Together with citizens, schools, companies, civil society and higher levels of government, municipalities are the engine that fires a bottom-up transition towards a sustainable future.
Local governments play an important role in awareness-raising and many Flemish municipalities make sure the SDG’s appear at events, in their communication, in city buildings and in the streetscape. To support its members, VVSG has produced a short film in which Flemish mayors explain, in their own local dialect, what the SDGs are.
