2.4 From Italy to the World: Agenda 2030 in local planning Venice City Solutions 2019 has represented an important opportunity for comparison and exchange of good practices between regional and municipal public administrations all over the world committed to achieving sustainable development objectives. The session dedicated to the localization of SDGs has allowed, on the one hand, to make administrators aware of the use of indicators and targets of sustainable development objectives and, on the other hand, has enhanced the key role of local authorities both in the definition of the national strategy for Agenda 2030 and in the construction of partnerships. The testimonies offered have contributed to compose a mosaic of approaches, awareness and specific needs to which Agenda 2030, with its formidable capacity to adapt in different contexts, is able to provide answers. The journey in stages of Venice City Solutions 2019 to discover the most interesting experiences in the localization of the SDGs starts from the Veneto Region and continues with the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Municipality of Verona and the Municipality of Capaci (Palermo), and finally moves beyond national borders and overseas to involve the Autonomous Community of Catalonia (Spain), the Municipality of Cascais (Portugal), the Municipality of Nicosia (Cyprus), the City of Bruges (Belgium), the Municipality of Barcarena (Brazil) and the Municipality of Nguemelendouka (Cameroon). The African continent has also been represented by Madagascar and Senegal, where strategies for the integration of the Development Goals and the involvement of populations have been launched. 64
The questions that guided the speakers’ interventions concerned the challenges that obstruct the implementation of SDGs at local level and in terms of multi-level governance, how to involve stakeholders in the area, and the tools to measure progress and results of the policies and interventions promoted. Finally, with regard to the contribution to the localization of the SDGs of international organizations, the presentation of the case studies showed that they are more involved in the African context. This is probably due to institutional fragility and the difficulty of establishing partnerships with local stakeholders and through the involvement of citizens who need external and international stakeholders in order to achieve their goals.
“The European approach to international cooperation is “local” - Paolo Ciccarelli, Head of Unit DG DEVCO, European Commission
Following the adoption by the United Nations of Agenda 2030, the Reflection Paper “Towards a sustainable Europe by 2030” was published at European level. The document laid the foundations of the commitments that the European Union intends to make in order to achieve the Development Goals, and it serves as a guide and support for other countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America that intend to pursue the same path. The achievement of the 2030 objectives requires the sub-national level and the involvement of citizens. This approach, which today seems obvious, is very different from the one adopted previously in the field of international cooperation, when
