Excellencies,Distinguished Delegates,Representatives of philanthropic organizations,Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you all for participating in this pioneering event that has brought the philanthropic sector to the United Nations to share their experiences in advancing the 2030 Agenda.
On behalf of UNDESA, I thank our organizing partners, including the United Nations Office for Partnerships, the SDG Philanthropy Platform, the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisers, the European Foundation Center, Synergos and the United Nations Foundation.
I hope you have all been inspired by the experiences shared today by the excellent speakers. I also hope that what you have heard and learned, can help stimulate new partnerships to build a more prosperous, inclusive and sustainable world.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
During the past few days, the ongoing discussions at the High-Level Political Forum have demonstrated the strong leadership of governments and the active engagement of stakeholders in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
It is encouraging to see how the Goals have been mainstreamed into national policies, regional programmes, business actions, education curricula and, most importantly, in the daily lives of communities and citizens.
This is also echoed in the more than 500 SDG Good Practices that DESA has compiled from almost 100 countries. These Good Practices have been made available in an online database to serve as an inspiration for Member States, the UN system and other stakeholders alike.
As we have heard today, the role of philanthropic organizations is becoming more prominent, as they align their planning and grant strategies to the SDGs.
We have seen how diverse philanthropic actors can be. They have different approaches, sizes, formats, priority themes, geographical scope and diverse ways of contributing towards the SDGs.We have heard how they support the SDGs in several ways: from raising awareness to being catalyzers of change, from promoting cross-SDG partnerships towards new approaches to forging coalitions that can help to scale up solutions.
Yet, there is significant potential to further step up philanthropic engagement in SDG implementation.
We need to find entry points to take advantage of the interlinkages across the 2030 Agenda; and apply the wealth of knowledge and technology we have at hand to accelerate progress. This will require working across silos and considering the effects that any single action can have across multiple development goals.
There is also a need to ramp up investment in sustainable development, with well-designed incentives for the private sector, and significant increases in public and other sources of funding. Crucially, we need to build capacities and help countries transform good ideas into concrete projects.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Now is the time to focus on actions that will accelerate SDG implementation. We count on your creativity, your ability and willingness to take risks, your hands-on approaches, your knowledge and experience, and your investments to make the SDGs a reality for all.
This year is a landmark for the United Nations and the SDGs. Heads of State and Government will meet at the SDG Summit in September to take stock of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
It is also an opportunity for all stakeholders, including the philanthropic sector, to come forward with new actions to accelerate implementation.
I want to encourage philanthropic organizations to register such SDG Acceleration Actions in the lead-up to, and during the SDG Summit, using a dedicated online platform established by UN DESA. You have a critical role to play in supporting our path towards a more sustainable and resilient future.
We look forward to expanding and building our dialogue and to creating further synergies between the United Nations, Member States and philanthropic organizations, in support of SDG implementation.
Thank you.
Thank you all for participating in this pioneering event that has brought the philanthropic sector to the United Nations to share their experiences in advancing the 2030 Agenda.
On behalf of UNDESA, I thank our organizing partners, including the United Nations Office for Partnerships, the SDG Philanthropy Platform, the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisers, the European Foundation Center, Synergos and the United Nations Foundation.
I hope you have all been inspired by the experiences shared today by the excellent speakers. I also hope that what you have heard and learned, can help stimulate new partnerships to build a more prosperous, inclusive and sustainable world.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
During the past few days, the ongoing discussions at the High-Level Political Forum have demonstrated the strong leadership of governments and the active engagement of stakeholders in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
It is encouraging to see how the Goals have been mainstreamed into national policies, regional programmes, business actions, education curricula and, most importantly, in the daily lives of communities and citizens.
This is also echoed in the more than 500 SDG Good Practices that DESA has compiled from almost 100 countries. These Good Practices have been made available in an online database to serve as an inspiration for Member States, the UN system and other stakeholders alike.
As we have heard today, the role of philanthropic organizations is becoming more prominent, as they align their planning and grant strategies to the SDGs.
We have seen how diverse philanthropic actors can be. They have different approaches, sizes, formats, priority themes, geographical scope and diverse ways of contributing towards the SDGs.We have heard how they support the SDGs in several ways: from raising awareness to being catalyzers of change, from promoting cross-SDG partnerships towards new approaches to forging coalitions that can help to scale up solutions.
Yet, there is significant potential to further step up philanthropic engagement in SDG implementation.
We need to find entry points to take advantage of the interlinkages across the 2030 Agenda; and apply the wealth of knowledge and technology we have at hand to accelerate progress. This will require working across silos and considering the effects that any single action can have across multiple development goals.
There is also a need to ramp up investment in sustainable development, with well-designed incentives for the private sector, and significant increases in public and other sources of funding. Crucially, we need to build capacities and help countries transform good ideas into concrete projects.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Now is the time to focus on actions that will accelerate SDG implementation. We count on your creativity, your ability and willingness to take risks, your hands-on approaches, your knowledge and experience, and your investments to make the SDGs a reality for all.
This year is a landmark for the United Nations and the SDGs. Heads of State and Government will meet at the SDG Summit in September to take stock of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
It is also an opportunity for all stakeholders, including the philanthropic sector, to come forward with new actions to accelerate implementation.
I want to encourage philanthropic organizations to register such SDG Acceleration Actions in the lead-up to, and during the SDG Summit, using a dedicated online platform established by UN DESA. You have a critical role to play in supporting our path towards a more sustainable and resilient future.
We look forward to expanding and building our dialogue and to creating further synergies between the United Nations, Member States and philanthropic organizations, in support of SDG implementation.
Thank you.
File date:
Tuesday, July 16, 2019