27-29 October 2019 – Banjul, The Gambia

Grounded in a spirit of optimism for the future of West Africa, the Forum—the first of its kind in the sub-region—aims to stimulate an exchange of ideas amongst a diverse group of leaders from national governments and municipal authorities, to the UN system, bilateral and regional entities, entrepreneurs, and community representatives coming from Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.

Organized in partnership with the Government of The Gambia, the Senegalo-Gambian Permanent Secretariat, the UN Country Team in The Gambia, the UN Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS), and the International Peace Institute (IPI), the Forum offers an important opportunity to break out of traditional silos and provides a platform to develop lasting partnerships that leave no one behind and put people and communities as the main drivers of the SDG implementation process.

Lessons learned and best practices from the Forum will inform the development of operational programmes that scale up local initiatives and accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.

Programme Note [EN] [FR]

Agenda [EN] [FR]

Participants’ Roles at the Exchange Forum [EN] [FR]

List of Participants (Link)

Festival: Celebrating The Gambia Through Culture (Link)

Social Media Partner Toolkit (Link)

UNTFHS Programme: Localizing 2030 Agenda in West Africa (Link)

UN Trust Fund for Human Security (Link)

International Peace Institute (IPI) (Link)

The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) depends more than ever on the ability of local and regional actors to promote integrated, inclusive and sustainable development. Localizing the 2030 Agenda is a process to empower local stakeholders and leverage their comparative advantages by mobilizing their specific economic, cultural, social and creative resources. It is aimed at making sustainable development more responsive and relevant to local needs and aspirations.

To this end, the UN Trust Fund for Human Security brings more than 20 years of experience to tackle multidimensional challenges facing vulnerable communities. It guides localized analysis, planning and implementation among UN entities in collaboration with a broad range of partners. It promotes disaggregated analysis to collectively identify needs, address gaps and build on existing capacities, leveraging the ingenuity and initiatives of local actors and ensuring that no one is left behind.

Today, there is an urgent need to bolster local action to accelerate the SDG implementation. This Exchange Forum is an important milestone in that direction.