Presentation
Presentation
In 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations. Since then, the awareness of this set of universal goals and the localizing process amongst local and regional governments (LRGs) has greatly increased. Following the valuable lessons learned from the conclusion of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) era, UCLG, UNDP and UN-Habitat have made a great effort to reach LRGs and foster their engagement in the achievement of the SDGs. Within this process, the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, UNDP and UN-Habitat have drawn up a roadmap for localizing the SDGs. The Training Modules dedicated to the SDGs implemented by UCLG, UNDP and UN-Habitat and the provincial council of Barcelona constitute in-depth approaches to help motivate and empower local and regional governments and their partners in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, which has proved very successful so far. Each year, a group of countries submit their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) to the UN High-Level Political Forum to present their progress in achieving the SDGs. Countries must submit at least 2 VNRs between 2015 and 2030, in which the participation of LRGs is essential. The Associations of LRGs (LRGAs) play an especially important role in this, as they must ensure that LRGs are appropriately considered within the national reporting process and, at the same time, provide sufficient support to monitor their efforts. Last year, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), with the support of its regional sections and the Capacity and Institution Building (CIB) working group, made an important contribution by both helping members to get connected to the VNR process and to prepare their own input on the progress of LRGs towards achieving the SDGs. This resulted in the UCLG report “National and Subnational Governments on the way towards the Localization of the SDGs”. Further to the work of associations, many individual local or regional governments have started to align the SDGs and are also carrying out reviews. Modelled on the Voluntary National Review (VNR), which all countries are invited to present to the United Nations, these Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR) are useful at the local, national and global levels and reflect on successes and challenges in a more immediate way. The Annex contains examples of reviews and of LRGs participation in national reviews.
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