Application Deadline: July 30th 2019
IPI and the UN Human Security Unit (HSU), in collaboration with the Government of The Gambia, the Senegalo-Gambian Permanent Secretariat, the UN Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team in The Gambia are pleased to announce the expression of interest and call for applications to participate in a forum on Localizing the 2030 Agenda: Building on What Works. The forum will take place on 28-29October 2019, in Banjul, The Gambia.
The forum aims to bring together community leaders from West Africa who are working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to generate knowledge, build skills, strengthen relationships, and exchange strategies. The forum will include 60 leaders and key participants from five to eight contiguous West African countries: Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.
Community leaders working in a variety of geographic and thematic areas will come together to learn from and with each other about how best to work together to address key challenges and leverage opportunities. This forum provides a unique opportunity to break out of traditional silos that often keep government officials, UN representatives, members of civil society, and entrepreneurs from working together. It will offer a space to share how to craft inclusive peace and development strategies that put people and communities at the center, not only as recipients but as empowered agents of change.
Grounded in a spirit of multilateral cooperation and a sense of optimism for the future of West Africa, and in the context of heightened polarization and inequality and declining official development assistance, we can generate knowledge on and scale up a wide range of peace and development initiatives and support networks led by local champions through the human security approach. Therefore, the forum will also bring together global and regional practitioners working to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
As the international community seeks answers on how to localize the 2030 Agenda, many of the solutions can be found in communities and the knowledge and agency of local leaders. The Forum will provide an opportunity for UN country teams to meet local leaders and reflect on how to build an inclusive process for achieving the SDGs that leaves no one behind and puts people in the driver’s seat.
Participants’ Profile
The forum is designed for leaders at all levels—from regional to local—working on issues related to development of their communities and peace within the context of the 2030 Agenda. Given the collaborative nature of the forum, the leaders will be selected in a way that ensures a diverse range of experiences and focal areas.
The first forum on Localizing the 2030 Agenda: Building on What Works is designed for leaders who:
- Currently reside in Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone;
- Have a history of movement-building or change-making in their community;
- Work in an area related to the themes of peace, development, and/or the environment;
- Are involved in a transformative initiative in their community that is cross-sectoral and multi-dimensional in nature and possibly also cross-border;
- Are available to travel to The Gambia from October 28 to 29, 2019;
- Are 18 years of age or older;
- Are proficient in English or French or, ideally, both;
From each of the eight West African countries we are seeking participants with each of the following profiles:
- A government official with vast experience promoting development and peace initiatives, currently working on, or recently involved in, elaborating the UN development assistance framework (UNDAF) and/or in integrating the 2030 Agenda into the national development plan;
- A local official or authority (e.g., mayor) doing transformative work on peace and development and working in an inclusive manner with their community;
- A representative of an African-based, grassroots-level organization or association working at the community level, including those engaged in cross-border collaboration;
- A local leader doing transformative development, peace, and/or environmental work in their community (e.g., entrepreneur, innovator, peacebuilder, local chief, mediator, leader of a women’s or youth group, elder, religious leader).
Eligible candidates will be provided with air travel, accommodation, and a small stipend for expenses for traveling to The Gambia on the dates of the forum.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the 2019 Localizing the 2030 Agenda Forum