The Sustainability Leadership Programme – Localizing SDGs in the Eastern Partnership Countries is a tailor-made leadership programme specifically designed for Belarussian, Georgian and Ukrainian regional and local government officials, politicians and CSO representatives in charge of strategic planning and with the capacity to promote sustainable change on national, regional or local levels.
The Swedish independent think tank Global Utmaning and in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offices in Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia is implementing a tailor-made leadership programme focusing on building capacity for sustainable local and regional development in Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine and the Nordics. The project is funded by the Swedish Institute.
On 25 September 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs. The 2030 Agenda marks a paradigm shift in the way national governments define and pledge to make sustainable development happen and stresses the importance of close cooperation between governments, sub-national and local governments, civil society, academia and the private sector in achieving the SDGs. The 2030 Agenda also highlights the need for establishing information exchange platforms for learning and adoption of policies and sharing and co-creation of new knowledge.
Given the ambitious targets set out in the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs and the role that the urban and local level has in implementing these targets, the Sustainability Leadership Programme aims to strengthen the capacity of key-stakeholders on local and regional levels to integrate the SDG targets into regional and local development strategies and action plans and monitor the progress towards the SDGs.
The Sustainability Leadership Programme aims to support multi-level governance and strengthening capacities of Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine to implement SDGs on sub-national levels through peer-learning and knowledge sharing. The programme is an opportunity for key actors to develop networks, capacity and engage in knowledge exchange with national and international peers.
The programme aims to:
- Contribute to the implementation of Sweden’s aid strategy for reform cooperation with Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans and Turkey and the EU EaP ‘20 deliverables for 2020’;
- Foster dialogue and cooperation on the 2030 Agenda between Sweden, the EU, the UN and the Eastern Partnership countries;
- Strengthen the role of the EaP cities and regions as change leaders and key players for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and support multi-level governance and localizing of SDGs, by involving representatives of regions and cities and provide participants with respective skills and tools.
- Promote national and international exchange of experience, peer-learning and capacity-building regarding SDGs implementation.
- Team up “expert partners” in Sweden and EaP countries to assist the EaP countries to elaborate their national, regional and local sustainability strategies.
- Apply experiences, results, good examples and the network of experts from the Baltic Leadership Programme “Localizing the SDGs” in support of synergy making and cross-regional cooperation between the BSR and the EaP countries.
The Programme is implemented in close cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia, The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, UN-Habitat, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant organisations.
The Programme
The programme is organised into three modules that will increase participants’ skills for sustainability leadership by providing practical tools, knowledge and best practices on strategic planning processes, planning and co-creation of the public services, setting the targets and indicators for monitoring the progress and communication of the results and outcomes.
Due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, activities in the programme will be digital until further notice. Dates for transnational modules 2021 are tentative.
Module 1. National webinars “Acquaint & Explore”
September 2020
The aim of the national webinars is to provide an opportunity for participants to share experiences and challenges on addressing the SDGs at the national and local level, as well as to interact and explore how to use the SDGs as a strategic policy- and action guiding framework for development of the local and urban strategies. National webinars will be organized as an opportunity for participants of the leadership programme to begin interacting with each other, to partake in web-based presentations from experts and Nordic peers, and engage in the design of the agenda for transnational modules.
Module 2. Transnational training “Learn & Share”
May 2021
The module will gather stakeholders from Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine and the Nordics to develop capacity on how to apply systems thinking and how the SDGs can be localized and used to mainstream a sustainability perspective across all administrative levels and activities. Peer-learning on development of local and regional strategies and action plans among participating cities and regions will provide an overarching framework for the module, which will inspire and inform participants about best practices from the Nordic countries. Participants will also explore the sustainability targets and indicators for monitoring the progress of regional and local strategies. The aim is to learn from each-other, share experiences, challenges and good examples of cross-sectorial cooperation for sustainable development in local and regional settings in the areas such as urban planning, climate change, energy efficiency and public service provision.
Module 3. Transnational training “Lead & Engage”
June 2021
The final module will focus on practical examples of integrated urban development, smart city solutions and co-creation platforms and engagement of the citizens & youth in developing innovative solutions for the local implementation of the SDGs. Best practice exchange on SDGs reporting and communication, as well as linkages with the national and international sustainability strategies. The module will also explore how to use the 2030 Agenda as a framework for stronger cooperation between national and international peers and partners. Through expert facilitation, the leadership programme will constitute a platform for capacity building, as well as inspiration, sharing good examples, knowledge exchange and networking, supporting the translation of SDGs into practice. All three modules will closely follow an action-oriented approach where peer-learning, experience sharing, invited experts and trainers sessions, as well as interactive group works, are at the core of the modules.
Activities
Localizing SDGs in the Eastern Partnership countries – leading and engaging for change
Call for Applications: The Sustainability Leadership Programme
Resources
Localising Sustainable Development Goals in the Baltic Sea Region: A Handbook
Contact us for more information.
Joel Ahlgren, project manager Sustainability Leadership Programme
Photo by Victor Xok on Unsplash
