A 2023 ECOSOC Partnership Forum Side Event, 31 January 2023

Leveraging Interlinkages Among SDGS Through Inclusive Partnerships with Local Communities was held as an official 2023 ECOSOC Partnership Forum virtual side event hosted by Stakeholder Forum on 31 January 2023. The session discusses recent innovative partnerships that are driving action on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level and highlights the contributions that transnational multistakeholder partnerships can make in this regard as well as the challenges involved. A key theme was how transnational partnerships such as these can leverage interlinkages between SDGs at local levels to empower communities to improve local SDG implementation.

We brought together a wide range of experts, policymakers, and practitioners with knowledge of the SDGs’ interlinkages and transnational partnerships involving local communities. Panelists share knowledge and project findings from a range of partnerships that have sought to address challenges at the local level related to SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG7 (clean energy) SDG9 (sustainable industry), and SDG11 (sustainable cities and communities). On the other hand, we heard about the effectiveness of transnational partnerships in fragile states, recent progress in engaging stakeholders in mapping SDG interlinkages at the local level, and frameworks and tools to enable integrated and collaborative approaches to SDG implementation.

The full video recording can be found here, and an audio podcast recording will be available soon. You can also download the presentations by Katarina Veem, Thomas Rebermark, Professor Raymond Saner, Dr. Landry Egbende, and Dr. David Horan.

You can also download a written version of the statement delivered by Jan-Gustav Strandenaes (coming soon) and the text from the webinar chat.

The expert panel:
• Opening message by Jan-Gustav Strandenaes, Stakeholder Forum, on the importance of partnership effectiveness in findings ways to engage local stakeholders.
• Katarina Veem, University of Technology Sydney, Institute for Sustainable Futures on “Multi-stakeholder partnerships in Asian textile industry – supporting manufacturers and building capacity,” on social spillovers at local levels from industry supply chains.
• Ms. Dimitra Xidous, Co-Principal Investigator of the Horizon Europe-funded “Connecting Nature” Project at Trinity College Dublin, on engaging local communities in nature-based solutions at the city level.
• Thomas Rebermark, Director, Swedish Water House, Stockholm International Water Institute, on “Multi-stakeholder partnerships for integrated cross-sectoral collaboration”.
• Professor Raymond Saner, CSEND, on SDG interactions concepts, tools, and processes that partnership practitioners can use to account for SDG interlinkages in implementation.
• Landry Egbende, School of Public Health, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on “Achieving the 2030 Agenda in DRC: Which SDG to prioritize?”
• Dr. David Horan, Stakeholder Forum and Trinity College Dublin, on frameworks to build multistakeholder coalitions and inclusive partnerships based on interlinkages between SDGs.