Localizing the SDGs

On the occasion of the World Summit of Local and Regional Government, ahead of the Habitat III Conference , the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (GTF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) launched a website www.LocalizingTheSDGs.org – a pioneering knowledge and information sharing platform on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) universally agreed by world leaders in September 2015 in New York.

On locally led actions

“Local actors have a key role to play in translating the SDGs into reality and the platform will be a useful resource for them in this process”, said Barbara Pesce-Monteiro, Director of the UN and UNDP Office in Brussels. “To ensure that the SDGs contribute to a substantive improvement of people’s lives, sharing best practices as well as challenges is key”.

The platform provides concrete tools and practices for local policy makers, development practitioners and other relevant actors to support countries in the implementation and achievement of the Global Goals locally. Users can upload and share their experiences, tools, as well as engage in real-time discussions with all participating partners on the SDG localization. 

For instance, it includes: a Roadmap to localize the SDGs; the experience of the Government of Valencia, Spain in integrating the SDGs in its regional strategies and plans; a tool to collect data at the local level based on the Brazilian experience, and a guide developed by UNDP to support local governance in fragile and conflict affected settings.

The 2030 Agenda entirely embraces this local perspective underlining that “many of the investments to achieve the SDGs will take place at the sub-national level”. While there is the need to face critical challenges, many of them being global concerns with a strong local impact, local and regional governments are key to fulfilling the new development agenda. They have a critical role in setting priorities, executing plans, monitoring results and engaging with local businesses and communities.

#LocalizingSDGs