REPORT OF NGO MAJOR GROUP AFRICA’S PARTICIPATION AT THE 4TH PARTNERS FOR REVIEW MEETING IN TBILISI; GEORGIA FROM APRIL 11 – 12, 2018
2030 Agenda review, on national, regional and global levels, shall “promote accountability to our citizens, support effective international cooperation in achieving this Agenda and foster exchanges of best practices and mutual learning. It will mobilize support to overcome shared challenges and identify new and emerging issues.” (A/RES/70/1 §73)
The NGO Major Group Africa participated in the just ended 4th Partners for Review Meeting which took place in Tbilisi; Georgia from April 11 – 12, 2018.
The fourth Partners for Review network meeting, organized by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), was hosted by the Administration of Government of Georgia (AOG) and carried out in joint cooperation with the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
The Partners for Review consolidates a network of stakeholders from government, civil society, academia and the private sector involved in national review processes. By focusing on lessons learned and knowledge sharing, the network enables demand-oriented learning on new and emerging challenges of SDG review, follow-up and implementation on the road to 2030.
The meeting aimed at address cross-cutting challenges of national implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the imperative of strengthening stakeholder participation and engagement, both in national review processes and VNR preparations at country level.
The key objectives of the 4th Partners for Review meeting were as follows:
– Enable peer-to-peer dialogue on common challenges and solutions by
– Giving an introduction to prospective reporting countries about the next steps and activities for VNR preparations by presenting best practice from countries who have already reported at the HLPF
– Deepening discussion and exchange with countries who have already presented their VNR and set up national review mechanisms regarding follow-up activities after receiving recommendations at the HLPF
– Create a safe space for communicating challenges faced during VNR preparations
– Identify and communicate good practices and success factors
– Learn from a comparative analysis conducted by P4R as regards the VNRs at the HLPF 2017 to facilitate national implementation and
– Consolidate the Partners for Review as a community of practice for national implementation. Participants at the meeting benefitted from peer expertise in the issues of (i) effectively coordinating and synchronising the work of ministries, parliaments and government institutions with regard to
reviewing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda (whole-of-government approach), (ii) institutionalising the active involvement and participation of non-government stakeholders (whole-ofsociety approach), (iii) improving data collection and management and (iv) strengthening national review and monitoring mechanisms by taking into account the regional and sub-national levels.
Mr. Kofi Kankam; the NGO Major Group Organizing Partner for West Africa who represented the NGO Major Group Africa at the meeting led a working group on the topic ” Alignment of the 2030 Agenda with the 2063 African Agenda”. Attached is a copy for his full representation.
In his closing remarks, the leader of GIZ, Mr. Thomas showed his appreciation to all delegates and entreated all participants to ensure to put into use all that has been learned and shared. He further advised we all make it to the HLPF and promote the concept of the VNR to ensure governments are put on their toes in the implementation of the SDGs.
The next Partners for Review meeting was scheduled for October 2018 in Berlin; Germany and the meeting was successfully brought to a close by the leader of GIZ.
