The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) organized a regional workshop for Latin American and Caribbean countries that will present their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in New York in July 2020. The workshop was part of the ECLAC - Germany (BMZ / GIZ) cooperation program “Sustainable Development Paths for Middle Income Countries for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean”, which aims to generate tools and training opportunities for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the region.
The workshop took place on 3-4 February 2020 in the Celso Furtado meeting room at ECLAC Headquarters in Santiago, Chile, as a preparatory activity for the fourth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development (which will take place on 28- 31 March 2020 in Havana, Cuba). The 11 countries of the region that will present their VNRs in 2020 (Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago), as well as other countries that have already presented their VNRs on more than one occasion in previous years, were invited to the regional workshop.
The objective of the workshop was to strengthen the capacities of countries for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in general, and preparation of their VNRs in particular, including through critical aspects, such as the identification of gaps and priorities, data and statistics for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) monitoring, as well as other key elements such as planning, budgeting and financing. Furthermore, the lessons learned from the first HLPF cycle between 2016 and 2019, and a reflection on how to promote a “second generation of VNRs” as an acceleration tool for the fulfillment of the SDGs, was addressed.
The workshop promoted peer-learning based on concrete experiences of the participating countries. The theme of the session was introduced by a representative of ECLAC, a government representative or an expert. Participants were asked to present the experience of their country in brief interventions (3 minutes) on the topic in each session, using the guiding question(s) that appear in the program. It was recommended to present concrete cases of progress achieved and challenges faced to foster dialogue and exchange with all participants.
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Monday, February 3, 2020 |
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9:00-9:15 |
1. Welcome · Welcome remarks by Joseluis Samaniego, Director of the Division of Sustainable Development and Human Settlements of ECLAC · Remarks by Manfred Haebig, Principal Advisor of the ECLAC-German Cooperation Program, GIZ |
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9:15-9:45 |
2. Introduction of participants and workshop expectations · Discussion between participants moderated by María Ortiz, Program Officer, Office of the Executive Secretary |
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9:45-10:30 |
3. Overview of implementation and progress of the 2030 Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean and lessons learned from the first cycle of VNRs · Moderation: Romain Zivy, Chief of Office, Office of the Executive Secretary · Presentation by Joseluis Samaniego, Director of the Division of Sustainable Development and Human Settlements of ECLAC (15 minutes) · Discussion among participants (30 minutes) |
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10:30-11:15 |
4. Joint reflection: What is a second-generation VNR? · Moderation: María Ortiz, Program Officer, Office of the Executive Secretary · Presentation by Javier Surasky, CEPEI (10 minutes) · Discussion among participants (30 minutes) |
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11:15-11:30 |
Coffee breack |
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11:30—12:45 |
5. Implementation of the 2030 Agenda since 2015: institutional frameworks, and appropriation of the SDGs through national and subnational planning instruments · Moderation and introductory presentation: Paulina Pizarro, ILPES (5 minutes) · Presentation by country expert (5 minutes) · Discussion among participants, moderated by Paulina Pizarro (35 minutes) o o What has been the impact of the institutional / new regulatory frameworks on the implementation, monitoring and follow-up on the SDGs? o What actions has your government taken to align its national and subnational planning instruments / plans with the SDGs? · Each participant presents his/her country experience (3 minutes each) |
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12:45-14:00 |
Lunch |
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14:00-15:45 |
6. Integrated public policies for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda · Moderation: Francois Fortier, ILPES o What are the 3 most important measures you would suggest to achieve a holistic implementation of the 2030 Agenda? o What are the 3 things that you most need to know or have access to in order to implement these measures? · Each participant presents in plenary (25 minutes) · Introductory Presentation: Francois Fortier (10 minutes) · Group Work Exercise (50 minutes) · Discussion in plenary (20 minutes) |
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15:45-16:00 |
Coffee break |
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16:00-17:15 |
7. Measuring the SDGs: Data gaps / statistical capabilities and data visualization · Presentation of the overview of measuring and reporting on the SDGs in LAC, Abdullahi Abdulkadri, ECLAC Subregional office for the Caribbean (10 minutes) · Presentation of ECLAC SDG Gateway, Alynn Sánchez, ECLAC’s Statistics Division (5 minutes) · Presentation by Hope Perkins, Institute of Statistics of Jamaica (10 minutes) · Discussion between participants (45 minutes) o What challenges have you faced and what progress has your country achieved in measuring the SDGs? o What practices can be followed when negative SDG trends are identified? o How can data be presented to support decision-making? · Each participant presents his/her country experience (3 minutes each) |
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17:15-18:15 |
8. Continuity and transition · Moderation: Guido Camú, Head of the Public Information Unit of ECLAC (10 minutes) · Reflection by the UN System and Roberto Valent, Resident Coordinator of the UN System in Argentina (5 minutes) · Reflection by Igor Garafulic, Resident Coordinator of the UN System in Peru (5 minutes) · Discussion between participants (40 minutes) o How has your country ensured the continuity of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the face of government change? o What good practices, lessons learned, and challenges stand out from this experience? · Each participant presents his/her country experience (3 minutes each) |
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18:15-18:30 |
9. Joint reflection of the first day |
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Tuesday, February 4, 2020 |
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9:00-9:15 |
10. Welcome and summary of first day · Introduction by Beatriz González, Program Officer, Office of the Executive Secretary (5 minutes) · 2 participants (15 minutes) |
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9:15-10:45 |
11. Civil Society participation: Good practices and lessons learned · Moderation: Luis Flores, Secretariat of the Commission, and Mareike Eberz, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, Office of the Executive Secretary (5 minutes) · Presentation by Mabel Bianco, President of La Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer (FEIM) and representative of the civil society coordination mechanism with the Forum of LAC for Sustainable Development (5 minutes) · Presentation by Javier Surasky, CEPEI (5 minutes) · Presentation by representative of Oriana López, Organización Balance Promoción para el Desarrollo y Juventud (5 minutes) · Discussion among participants (70 minutes) o What participation mechanisms have you used to engage civil society in your VNR? o What good practices, lessons learned, and challenges stand out from your experience? o In what sections of the VNR or in which step of the VNR development could the contribution of civil society have a greater impact? · Each participant presents his/her country experience (3 minutes each) |
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10:45-11:00 |
Coffee break |
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11:00-13:00 |
12. Partnership and contribution of the private sector in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the VNRs · Moderation: Vera Kiss, Economic Affairs Officer, Office of the Executive Secretary, and Teresa Moll de Alba, Senior Advisor, Global Compact Latin America and the Caribbean (10 minutes) · Panel discussion on country experiences with integrating private sector contributions into VNR processes (30 minutes) o Presentation of the experience of Chile: Hugo Cabrera, Head of the Department of Inclusive Development of the Ministry of Social Development and Family, Chile and Margarita Ducci, Executive Director, Global Compact Local Network Chile o Presentation of the experience of Colombia: Leonor Esguerra, Director of Sustainability and Shared Value, Bogotá Chamber of Commerce · Q&A with participants (20 minutes) · Exercise in small groups to design a process to integrate private sector contributions into the VNR process and incentivize the alignment of corporate practices with the 2030 Agenda (40 minutes) · Report back results and final comments (20 minutes) |
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13:00-14:30 |
Lunch |
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14:30-16:00 |
13. Financing gaps and strategies for the SDGs · Moderation and introduction: Esteban Pérez-Caldentey, Head of the Development Financing Unit, Economic Development Division (10 minutes) · Presentation country (10 minutes) · Discussion among participants (50 minutes) o What financing strategy for the SDGs has been implemented in your national context? o What are the biggest gaps identified? o What challenges and opportunities do you see to close these gaps? o What role has the bilateral / multilateral cooperation played / can play to fill these gaps in your national context? · Each participant presents his/her country experience (3 minutes each) |
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16:00-16:15 |
Coffee |
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16:15-17:45 |
14. Dialogue with Resident Coordinators How is the VNR process linked with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework in your country? • Moderation: Romain Zivy, Chief of Office, Office of the Executive Secretary • Presentation by Resident Coordinators on their support in the preparation of the VNRs and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda (60 minutes) o Silvia Rucks, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Chile o Alice H. Shackelford, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Costa Rica o Roberto Valent, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Argentina o Igor Garafulic, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Peru • Discussion among participants (30 minutes) |
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17:45-18:30 |
15. Conclusions and closing: towards the HLPF and the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development · Moderation: María Ortiz, Program Officer, Office of the Executive Secretary · Presentation on the Forum of the Countries of Latin America on Sustainable Development by Jimena Arias, Social Affairs Officer, Secretariat of the Commission (10 minutes) · Discussion among participants (20 minutes) · Closing remarks, Manfred Haebig, Principal Advisor ECLAC-BMZ / GIZ Program · Closing remarks, Romain Zivy, Chief of Office, Office of the Executive Secretary |
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