ADA Annual Report
Table of Contents
Foreword.
1. Introduction.
2. Objectives.
3. ADA Activities: 2017-18.
3.1. Capacity Building on strategic planning.
3.1.1. National Level 9
3.1.1.1. CSO partnership for implementing SDGs: Hanoi, Vietnam, 24 April 2018.
3.1.1.2. ADA National Meeting on SDGs in Singapore: Challenges and Implications for Civil Society in Asia
1.1.1. Sub Regional Level:
Gl-ocal advocacy Leadership Academy – Central Asia, Almaty, Kazakhstan (10-12 December 2018) 10
1.1.2. Regional Level
1.1.2.1. Glo-cal Advocacy Leadership Academy (GALA): ‘Mainstreaming Peace and Human Rights in the CSO engagement with SDGs in Asia’ (23-30 August 2018), Colombo.
3.2. Outreach and Advocacy.
3.2.1. National Level
3.2.1.1. Sri Lanka SDG Network Meeting, Colombo, 26 April, Colombo.
3.2.2. Regional Level
3.2.2.1. Exchange program JANIC (Japan) and CCC (Cambodia)
3.2.2.2. ADA and Members Participation in the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development and Asia -Pacific People’s Forum in Sustainable Development
Asia-Pacific Civil Society Forum on Sustainable Development 2018, 25- 27 March 2018, BANGKOK, THAILAND: Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies in Asia and the Pacific.
3.2.2.3. APFSD Side Event: ADA-APSD-A4SD: CSO Engagement in VNR Process and Follow up Mechanism, 30th March, UNCC, Bangkok
3.2.2.4. LAC Forum on Sustainable Development -Santiago de 16-20 April 2018.
3.2.2.5. UNESCAP- Webinar Series on Stakeholder Engagement Module 1: An Introduction to Stakeholder Engagement in the 2030 Agenda, 19 September 18.
3.2.2.6. 2nd North-East Asian Multi-Stakeholder Forum on SDGs on 5-6 September 2018.
3.2.2.7. ADA and Members Participation in ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ ASEAN Peoples’ Forum: 2-4 November 2018, Singapore Polytechnic Graduates' Guild.
3.2.2.8. ADA AGM and Steering Committee – 24th January, Busan, 2018.
3.2.3. Global Level :
3.2.3.1. Busan Democracy Forum (BuDF) 2018: UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Democracy “Promoting Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in Asia and beyond“Grand Hotel, Busan, Republic of Korea, 22-24 Jan. 2018 (Mon.-Tue.)
3.2.3.2. UN High-level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace - 24-25 April, New York
3.2.3.3. Legitimacy, Accountability, and Transparency (LTA) Working group meeting: Tbilisi, Georgia, 30 May 2018
3.2.3.4. Affinity group of national associations (AGNA) AGM, Tbilisi, Georgia: 31-May – 1 June 2018
3.2.3.5. ADA Side Event: High-Level Political Forum (HLPF-2018)
3.2.3.6. FORUS General Assembly and Strategic week, Santiago, Chile (3-8 September)
3.2.3.7. World Human Rights Cities Forum – Gwangju, South Korea (18-21 October 2018)
“Strengthening Governance through Inclusivity: Integration of Leaving No One Behind in the Sustainable Development Agenda”- OGP Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting.
4. Summary of Activities - 2018.
6. Office Bearers for ADA 2019.
Foreword
Dear ADA Members/Partners, Colleagues, and Friends,
Greetings of Solidarity and Peace !!
I am pleased to share ADA’s annual report for 2018-2019. This report showcases the many ways in which we engage and support our missions at the national, regional and global level to realize the aims of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by working closely with our civil society members, partners, member states, UN institutions by linking development and human rights.
During the last 12 months, ADA accomplished many activities through outreach, research and advocacy and capacity development related to SDGs implementation, monitoring mechanisms and voluntary national reviews.
In our continued efforts to support the civil society in Asia, we have been organizing Gl-ocal Advocacy Leadership Academy (GALA) since 2013 and in 2018, two GALAs focused on ‘Peace and Human Rights in the CSO engagement with SDGs in Asia ‘were organized, one in Sri Lanka and another later in Central Asia, in Almaty Kazakhstan in our efforts to mainstream the central Asian civil society. This way ADA has also become truly Asia.
ADA has also been very active in voicing concerns of its members in various advocacy missions like Business of Human Rights conference in Geneva, Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development organized by UN ESCAP , while many members had opportunities to share their concerns and voices in the organized side event with the UNDP (Asia), High-level Political Forum (HLPF), UNGA UN High-level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, and other related events.
ADA worked with its members by successfully engaging in national outreach SDGs campaigns in (the VNR countries for 2018) in Sri Lanka, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, Singapore and Bhutan. ADA helped the CSO in engaging with the government in the VNR process and capacitated them on CSO reporting in the process. CSOs in Vietnam, Lao PDR, and Sri Lanka were able to prepare their own report and presented them during the side event organized by ADA during High-Level Political Forum, New York, in 2018.
One of the important outcomes of the outreach and training program is that the participants got more clear ideas on Sustainable development goals especially goal 16 and 17 and they were able to create some national level indicators on SDG 16. Another important outcome has been the creation and finalization of guidelines on CSOs engagement on VNR issues and SDGs mapping (CSO-government engagement) from these countries. The national level advocacy missions /support has been able to generate more awareness on sustainable development goals, and their implementation and review mechanisms, engagements with the government and UN institutions, knowledge on participation in various regional and global mechanism and furthermore avenues for ADA’s membership. ADA has also been able to corroborate national-level data on CSO-government engagement in the SDGs ahead of preparing the position paper on the subject.
In our continued efforts to realize our mission, we are very grateful to our donor and partners, European Union, Forus International, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for supporting us not only in understanding and in achieving our mission throughout Asia but helping us at every stage apart from actively engaging our activities. We are also very thankful to Code-NGO for being our financial agency and providing us necessary support tirelessly. I also acknowledge the Steering Committee of ADA, our senior advisors, and secretariat for their continuous support, guidance, and execute to achieve ADA’s mission and vision. More than anything, I would like to acknowledge the support of our members and partners in 26 countries and continued support from the AP-RCEM, UN ESCAP, UNDP Regional hub at the regional level and TAP Network, CIVICUS, AGNA, A4SD, Transparency International, Innovation for Change (I4C) at the global level. We are truly humbled for your trust in us as a regional platform in Asia and we hope to receive the same trust in support in the future.
Thanking you.
Sincerely,
Saroeun SOEUNG
On behalf of ADA Steering Committee
Executive Director of Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC)
- Introduction
The Asia Development Alliance (ADA) is an international network of national or sub-national multi-sectoral NGO/CSO platforms (NP) or umbrellas in Asia engaged in development issues in the context of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
ADA is a regional (Asia) network among members of International Forum of National NGO Platforms (IFP), CIVICUS AGNA and other NPs engaged in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
ADA is a regional space and process for policy dialogue with governments and international organizations such as the UN, ADB and other stakeholders on issues related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Objectives
- Capacity Building to strengthen the capacity of ADA members to achieve objectives, exchange, and learning of various national and regional platforms in Asia and IFP
- Advocacy to strengthen policy advocacy and campaign for effective implementation of SDGs at various national, regional and global levels.
- Membership and leadership to strengthen membership base and internal governance process for effective decision-making and project management
- ADA Activities: 2017-18
Global Overview
During the last 12 month, ADA tried to accomplish many activities through outreach, research and advocacy and capacity development by being part of leading SDGs campaigns at national, regional and global levels aiming at strengthening the capacities of CSOs and encouraging them to contribute through advocacy and being part of SDGs implementation monitoring mechanisms and voluntary national reviews .
In August, 2018, ADA organized its annual regional capacity building training 6th GALAA 2018 under the theme ?Mainstreaming Peace and Human Rights in the CSO engagement with SDGs in Asia in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 23 to 30 August 2018 in partnership with INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre as a local host and International Forum of National NGO Platform (IFP) and Transparency, Accountability and Participation (TAP) Network as international partner organizations. GALAA 2018 has also helped participants to learn about nexus approach titled ?transformative and integral approach to SDGs‘ that is a conflict-sensitive, gender-sensitive, climate-sensitive and human rights-based approach to SDGs by linking SDG 5, 13, 16, and 17
Later in December 2018, ADA organized its second GALA training in Almaty for CSOs from Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan) from 10 to 12th December 2018 at Almaty, Kazakhstan. The selection of the day was crucial and thoughtful since 10th December is also celebrated as the World’s Human Rights Day and this year it marked the 70th Anniversary of UN General assembly’s adaptation to Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The training also focused on linking human rights with development (SDGs) since the advocates of both (HR and development) work in a silo.
ADA has also been part of various advocacy missions like Business of human rights conference in GENEVA, Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development organized by UN ESCAP , organized side event with the UNDP (Asia), High level Political Forum (HLPF), where apart from organizing the side event with the UNDP, it also participated actively other side events organized by partners and stakeholders , UNGA UN High-level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace - 24-25 April, New York on 24-25 April while the concrete steps were taken for the historic Inter-Korean Summit on 26 April on peace-building in the Korean peninsula, Asia and beyond !
ADA also got engaged in national outreach SDGs campaigns in (the VNR countries for 2018) in Sri Lanka, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, Singapore and Bhutan and helped the CSO in engaging with the government in the VNR process and capacitated them on CSO reporting on VNR process. Vietnam, Lao PDR, and Sri Lanka were able to prepare their own CSO report and presented them during the side event organized by ADA during High-Level Political Forum, New York.
The Asia Development Alliance (ADA), Asia Democracy Network (ADN),) and the Permanent Secretariat of Community of Democracies (PSCD), with the support of the government of the Republic of Korea and Metropolitan City of Busan, organised the Busan Democracy Forum 2018 (BuDF) on Democracy and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): Promoting Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in Busan, Republic of Korea from January 22-23, 2018.
The three-day event aimed at promoting Goal 16 of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as the enabler of all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discussed the inter-linkages of the Goals. The forum also provided a platform for a wide range of stakeholders to share experiences on advocacy initiatives, implementation, national level reporting and available tools for measuring progress towards SDG 16. The forum also deliberated various experiences related to democratization and democratic governance in Asia and beyond, highlighting the importance of democracy for sustainable development.
ADA also organized its face to face Steering Committee meeting of the year (in January 2018) and annual general body meeting following the BuDF.
In 2018, ADA also organized the Workshop under the theme “Human Rights Cities for UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies” on 19-20 Oct. 2018 as part of the 8th World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF) (18-21 Oct. 2018) www.whrcf.org , in Gwangju, South Korea.
The Workshop aimed at providing space and opportunities for mutual learning and exchange among people engaged in human rights cities internationally including South Korea. More specifically, the Workshop maf=de efforts to developing common long-term action agenda and plans for human rights cities in line with the UN 2020 Agenda for Sustainable Development / Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN HRC’s resolutions on local government and human rights to be adopted in September 2018.
One of the important outcomes of the outreach and training program is that the participants got more clear ideas on Sustainable development goals especially goal 16 and 17 and they were able to create some national level indicators on SDG 16. Another important outcome has been the creation and finalization of guidelines on CSOs engagement on VNR issues and SDGs mapping (CSO-government engagement) from these countries. The national level advocacy missions /support has been able to generate more awareness on sustainable development goals, and their implementation and review mechanisms, engagements with the government and UN institutions, knowledge on participation in various regional and global mechanism and furthermore avenues for ADA’s membership. ADA has also been able to corroborate national-level data on CSO-government engagement in the SDGs ahead of preparing the position paper on the subject.
ADA also participated in various partners program and one of them was Latin and Caribbean region program The LAC Forum on Sustainable Development that took place in Santiago de Chile from April 16th to 20th. This regional forum was organized under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean -ECLAC-, hence, it's considered as the regional chapter of the HLPF. ADA shared the Asian CSO experiences about engagement on SDGs including UN HLPF VNR, etc. at the CSO consultation about SDGs in Latin America and Caribbean countries at ECLAC, Santiago, Chile.
ADA was actively present with its members from Asia during Forus’s 10th years anniversary in Santiago, Chile from 3 to 8th September. The occasion also witnessed the participation of almost 47 National Platforms and 4 Regional Coalitions. The participants discussed the new narrative on Civil Society and Forus’s role to boost ecosystems for the NGOs. Another workshop organized during the Forus' Strategic Week highlighted "Addressing challenges of NGO leadership" attended by the platforms of Seychelles, Hungary, Colombia, Denmark, Spain, the Philippines, Gambia and the Regional Coalition Asian Development Alliance for sharing their case studies. ADA along with few global stakeholders pioneered a session on SDG 16 sub-working group, which was formalized a month after this meeting in Chile during its first webinar. ADA has joined hands with Forus and other national and global partners to initiate a spotlight report on SDG 16 and finalize the same before HLPF, 2019, New York.
On 7th of September, Forus co-organised the High-level debate with Acción AG and ECLAC on “Creating an Enabling environment for civil society and Agenda 2030”. More than 70 representatives from Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Pacific, and North America participated in the event. ADA too made a presentation in the UN ECLAC, Santiago, about its VNR experience in Asia apart from representing UN ESCAP and making a presentation on its behalf, which is remarkable, as it also shows the level of trust and its credibility among UN institutions in Asia.
ADA and its members also attended LTA working group meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia in order to strengthen the processes and building actions for the mobilization of national CSO platforms on these key issues. #AGNALTA #GAW2018
Meanwhile, ADA and some of its members (VANI, India, NGO Federation of Nepal) also attended AGNA annual general body meeting that held in Georgia, from 31st May to1st June 2018. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss various issues like LTA, enabling environment for the CSOs, domestic resource mobilizations etc. The members discussed their own and AGNA potential opportunities and strength which would be key to make the network stronger
ADA and its members also participated in the UNESCAP- Webinar Series on Stakeholder Engagement Module 1: An Introduction to Stakeholder Engagement in the 2030 Agenda, September, October and shared their experience in the VNR in Asia region.
ADA was also one of the important stakeholders with UN ESCAP while organizing subregional meetings northeast and, south and southwest Asia. ADA organized a civil society forum for it members and partners in S southeast Asia during UN ESCAP sub-regional forum in New Delhi in September 2018, to strategies the CSOs action in Asia as a prelude to the sub-regional forum.
At the global level, ADA also represents, the South Asia hub, in the global governance circle of Innovation for Change project, an initiative by CIVICUS, another global platform and acts as a bridge between South Asia region and global governance circle to communicate the issues of human right violations and enabling environment for the civil society attended its governance circle meeting organized in Mexico city from 12-16 November, 2018.
So overall, ADA’s activities revolve around two core areas at the National, Sub-regional, Regional and Global levels., through
- Capacity Building on Strategic Planning
- Outreach and Advocacy
In 2018, ADA focussed on national level outreach, capacity building, and advocacy, apart from regional and the global level.
- Capacity Building on strategic planning
- National Level
- CSO partnership for implementing SDGs: Hanoi, Vietnam, 24 April, 2018
 On May 24, 2018, Research Canter of Management and Sustainable Development (MSD) and Vietnam Institute of Leadership and Public Policy (ViLEAP) under Ho Chi Minh Academy of National Politics co-hosted a workshop on "CSO partnership for implementing SDGs". The workshop witnessed the representatives from the United Nations, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Asia Development Alliance (ADA), Action Aid Vietnam, and over 120 participants from CSOs in Vietnam and other interested organizations and individuals.
The panelists discussed on CSOs contributions to SDGs in terms of their roles in achievement; challenges and enabling environment for CSOs Full report here
- ADA National Meeting on SDGs in Singapore: Challenges and Implications for Civil Society in Asia
ADA organized a national workshop on #SDG in Singapore on June 10, 2018. Anselmo Mr.Lee shared the SDG mechanism with local CSOs and members of a political party at Bras Basah Complex in Singapore. The meeting allowed participants to clarify what was involved in observing the work of the government and how each of the goals of the SDG is interlinked and indivisible. Datuk Dr. Dennison Jayasooria shared Malaysia’s experience in VNR to give Singaporean participants an idea of the process and help them familiarize themselves with the preparation work involved.
Singapore is one of 5 Asian governments at the UN HLPF VNR on SDGs at UN in New York on 16-18 July 2018 - Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Laos, and Vietnam.
The ADA and the partners also prepared the statement on DPRK-US Summit (Singapore, 12 June 2018) . The statement can be viewed here
- Sub Regional Level:
GALA Central Asia in Almaty (10-12 December 2018)
Gl-ocal advocacy Leadership Academy – Central Asia, Almaty, Kazakhstan (10-12 December 2018)
ADA organized three days national capacity building workshop for CSOs from Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan) from 10 to 12th December 2018 at Almaty, Kazakhstan. The selection of the day was crucial and thoughtful since 10thDecember is also celebrated as the World’s Human Rights Day and this year it marked the 70th Anniversary of UN General assembly’s adaptation to Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The training also focused on linking human rights with development (SDGs) since the advocates of both (HR and development) work in a silo.
The event was attended by officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNESCAP, Almaty, office apart from approximately 30 civil society participants from the five central Asian countries
The three days workshop was very timely as two courtiers from this regional, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan prepare for the voluntary national reporting in 2019 and the role of the CSOs in the monitoring and planning has been very critical.
The three days event deliberated the issues of importance of national CSO Platform by introducing the CSO tool kit for national CSO platform. The participants provided their crucial inputs to the toolkit apart from presenting the status of enabling environment for the CSOs in these five countries by making country level presentations. The workshop also deliberated on Goal 16 and 17 with storytelling exercise by linking all the SDGs with the UDHR and further providing a chronological sequencing of all the 30 articles of UDHR, apart from linking goal 16 with human rights and peace.
The participants were also given presentations on Voluntary National Review and CSOs endangerment with the process by showcasing some good and bad countries examples of CSOs engagement level. By the end of the three days workshops, the CSOs were able to frame their own national strategic plans for the CSOs, map the Government actions on SDGs (country level), laws related to the CSOs, human right and public institutions apart from preparing their national action plans for 2019. Full report here
- Regional Level
Following regional activities were organized by ADA in 2018
- Glo-cal Advocacy Leadership Academy (GALA): ‘Mainstreaming Peace and Human Rights in the CSO engagement with SDGs in Asia’ (23-30 August 2018), Colombo
The GALAA 2018 under the theme ?Mainstreaming Peace and Human Rights in the CSO engagement with SDGs in Asia‘ was organized in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 23 to 30 August 2018 by Asia Development Alliance (ADA) in partnership with INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre as a local host and International Forum of National NGO Platform (IFP) and Transparency, Accountability and Participation (TAP) Network as international partner organizations.
The 30 selected participants (from Asia and Pacific) were oriented on synergizing local and global connect (bottom up and top down) apart from the role of public advocacy which is a set of organized (communicative) actions by CSOs and people themselves to influence development policy-making process – planning, implementation and evaluation - and outcomes for sustainable positive change / transformation through a variety of actions including campaign, lobby, litigation and direct actions and using Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a tool for the advocacy. The program was also oriented towards linking and focusing SDGs with human rights, peace, environment, social movement, economic development, gender equality and democracy and overall inclusive development. During the opening day, the participants also got to hear the
The program was financially supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and European Union through IFP. Full Report here
- Outreach and Advocacy
- National Level
- Sri Lanka SDG Network Meeting, Colombo, 26 April, Colombo
 The Civil society organizations in Sri Lanka have formed Sri Lanka Stakeholder SDG Platform – a multi-stakeholder platform of CSO, academic, local government, business, activist, professional, youth, women, etc. The platform was formed on 8th March , 2018 followed by a national consultation on 26th April in Colombo having convergence of these stakeholders to facilitate an ‘inclusive transformation“In Sri Lanka with an aim to establish an ‘independent monitoring and Reporting Mechanism ’ on the SDGs in Sri Lanka called ‘Voluntary People’s Report, with almost 120 people from human rights groups, Private Sector, academia , etc. in attendance. The consultation culminated into making some strong outputs on Report preparations by experts including environmentalists, gender groups, youth, LGBTIQ, fisherman's etc.
- Regional Level
- Exchange program JANIC (Japan) and CCC (Cambodia)
 Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC), the largest NGO network in Japan on international cooperation and a member/co-convener of ADA, is conducting a research project on civic space and enabling environment for CSO and how we can improve this by promoting dialogues and collaboration with different sectors. The research is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan, and JANIC has so far studied current civic space situations in 7 different countries, including
Cambodia. From 19th to 21st February 2018, JANIC invited Mr. Soeung Saroeun,, Executive Director of Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC), to Japan, in order to discuss this issue and establish an action plan for a better enabling environment in Cambodia. Mr. Saroeun visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to talk with the Director of First Southeast Asia Division, Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department, and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) to discuss JICA’s legal assistance to Cambodia, such as training for young lawyers. He also had a chance to meet Mr. Yasushi Akashi, former Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) during 1992-1993.
- ADA and Members Participation in the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development and Asia -Pacific People’s Forum in Sustainable Development
Asia-Pacific Civil Society Forum on Sustainable Development 2018, 25- 27 March 2018, BANGKOK, THAILAND: Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies in Asia and the Pacific
 The Asia-Pacific Civil Society Forum on Sustainable Development was organized by civil society (the secretariat represented by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development as a coordinator of the Asia-Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (AP-RCEM)), in collaboration with the ESCAP and the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) as a preparatory meeting for the APFSD.
The peoples Forum on Sustainable Development 2018 was organised with the emphasis on “defending the environment and redefining resilience” in Bangkok from 25th to 27th March, 2018 with participation from more than 200 CSOs representing various groups, constituencies with the commitment to strengthen the inter-linkages among rights, development and sustainability and ensure prioritised attention for the most marginalised.
Peoples’ Forum Statement for Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development 2018
- APFSD Side Event: ADA-APSD-A4SD: CSO Engagement in VNR Process and Follow up Mechanism, 30th March, UNCC, Bangkok
 The Asia Development Alliance (ADA) along with its partners, the Asian CSO Partnership for Sustainable Development (APSD) and the Action for Sustainable Development (A4SD) organized the side event entitled CSOs engagement in the VNR process and the follow up mechanism on 30th March during the APFSD, 2018 to share the experiences of government-CSO engagement and the role of United Nations to encourage multi-stakeholder partnership and ensure that the transformative promise of the SDGs to “Leave No One Behind’ is delivered.
The side event focussed on challenges and opportunities related to CSO-government engagement based on previous CSO lessons learned during VNR reporting and other follow-up mechanisms in 2016 and 2017. The event also was an opportunity for CSOs from countries in Asia with upcoming VNRs in 2018 to learn from their experiences.
Full Report here
- LAC Forum on Sustainable Development -Santiago de 16-20 April, 2018
 The LAC Forum on Sustainable Development that took place in Santiago de Chile from April 16th to 20th. This regional forum was organized under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean -ECLAC-, hence, it's considered as the regional chapter of the HLPF.
A regional workshop was also organized on April 16th - on methodologies for elaborating spotlight reports and how to use these as advocacy tools- followed by a Civil Society consultation on 17th April focusing on building a participation mechanism in the context of the Forum. Mr. Anselmo LEE, Senior Advisor, ADA, shared the Asian CSO experiences about engagement on SDGs including UN HLPF VNR, etc. at the CSO consultation about SDGs in Latin America and Caribbean countries at ECLAC, Santiago, Chile.
- UNESCAP- Webinar Series on Stakeholder Engagement Module 1: An Introduction to Stakeholder Engagement in the 2030 Agenda, 19 September 18
The process of formulating the 2030 Agenda was one of the most inclusive in the history of intergovernmental negotiations at the UN. It certainly lived up to the legacy of Agenda 21, and the precedents it set for ensuring that all stakeholders in society are included in the work of creating, implementing, and reviewing sustainable development policy. As the world moves quickly towards the year 2030 and the sustainability deadlines set by the agenda, it is critical that governments and stakeholders work together in partnership to further ensure progress is made on achieving the goals and targets of the framework.
in the 2030 Agenda, a bit of history, and specific references to the sections and text of the agenda where stakeholder engagement plays a particularly important role.
The webinar recording is available here
- 2nd North-East Asian Multi-Stakeholder Forum on SDGs on 5-6 September 2018
 UNESCAP organized the 2nd North-East Asian Multistakeholder Forum on SDGs on 5-6 September 2018 in Ulanbatar, Mongolia. Many ADA members participated in the two days forum and presented views on Goal 10, goal 16 and other Sustainable Development Goals. ADA Senior advisor Mr. Anselmo LEE presented PPT about SDG 16+ in Northeast Asia.
- ADA and Members Participation in ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ ASEAN Peoples’ Forum: 2-4 November 2018, Singapore Polytechnic Graduates' Guild
 The ASEAN Civil Society Conference and ASEAN Peoples’ Forum (ACSC/APF), a solidarity gathering of diverse civil society organizations (CSOs) in Southeast Asia, carries a strong mandate in representing and strengthening ASEAN peoples’ voices especially from disadvantaged and marginalized groups, to engage ASEAN member states and mechanisms, by honoring mutual respect, integrity, joint development and promoting peoples’ solidarity. It focuses on ASEAN’s commitment to its people using the principles of human rights, democracy, equality, and development. This year's conference theme is "Empowering Peoples’ Solidarity Against All Forms of Discrimination”.
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The engagement of ACSC/APF in the ASEAN process brings attention to the issues and concerns of its constituents – the working class, the peasantry, urban poor, fisherfolk, women, children, LGBT community, indigenous peoples, the older persons, persons with disabilities, employees, professionals, migrants, and students.
Some of the ADA members also attended this forum. ADA Senior advisor, Mr. Anselmo LEE spoke on ‘How CSOs can leverage on SDGs in their advocacy efforts to an audience of 200 or so guests from a diverse range of regional civil society organisations from all ASEAN member states and Timor Leste
Mr. Denison Jayasooriya highlighted the theme of Sustainable Development Goals - the 2030 agenda with that the ASEAN community vision of 2025 drawing complementarities and lessons.
https://www.acscapf2018.org/?fbclid=IwAR0O9kP73GIVhVQ9SszdnW0kp__1BGX5vv5TtpmzdB61V6OATz1cUlf3_4g
ACSC/APF 2018 Statement
Joint statement to ASEAN leaders post-ACSC/APF 2018: ASEAN must not consider the option of voluntary return without addressing the root causes of the displacement and entrenched discrimination of the Rohingya
- ADA AGM and Steering Committee – 24th January, Busan, 2018
ADA organized its Annual Meeting with its members and few observers on 24thJanuary to review 2017 and strategic actions for 2018-2020. The meeting also reviewed the governance structure of the ADA. Detailed SC Meeting Decisions here
Office Bearers for ADA 2018-2019
| Position |
Name |
NGO |
Sub-region |
| Co Conveners |
Mr Gopal Lamsal (Mr. Jit Ram Lama) |
NFN |
South Asia |
| Mr Saroeun Soeung (Focal Point) |
CCC |
South East Asia |
| Mr Hideki Wakabayashi |
JANIC |
North East Asia |
| Steering Committee Members |
Primary Member |
Alternate Member |
Org. |
Sub-region |
| Mr Gopal Lamsal |
Ms Bhawana Bhatta |
NFN |
South Asia |
| Mr Zia Ur Rahman |
Ms Maryam Amjad |
PDA |
| Mr Saroeun Soeung |
Ms El Sotheary |
CCC |
South Asia |
| Mr Sugeng Bahagijo |
Mr Hamong Santono |
INFID |
| Mr Hideki Wakabayashi |
Mr Aoi Horiuchi |
JANIC |
North East Asia |
| Hyunbong Yoon |
Ms Minyoung KIM |
KCOC |
| Senior Adviser |
Harsh Jaitli, India / Anselmo Lee, Korea |
| Secretariat |
Jyotsna Mohan, India – Regional Coordinator-Asia
Yaerum Jun, Seoul Office – Program Coordinator, Seoul Office |
- GlobalLevel :
There were various representations from ADA at the global level for its advocacy through global events through platforms like I4C, AGNA, CIVICUS, HLPF, C20 during the last one year.
- Busan Democracy Forum (BuDF) 2018: UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Democracy “Promoting Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in Asia and beyond“Grand Hotel, Busan, Republic of Korea, 22-24 Jan. 2018 (Mon.-Tue.)
 The Busan Democracy Forum (BuDF) 2018, a joint initiative of the Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies (PSCD), Asia Democracy Network (ADN), Asia Development Alliance (ADA), the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of Busan and in cooperation with the government of the Republic of Korea and the Metropolitan City of Busan.
The Forum, under the theme “Promoting Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in Asia and beyond”, took place at the Haeundae Grand Hotel, Busan, South Korea from 22 to 24 January 2018.
The Forum’s aimed at promoting Goal 16 of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as the enabler of all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discuss the inter-linkages with other Goals and Targets.
More specifically, the Forum witnessed almost 250 civil society participants from all over the globe especially from Asia who shared their experiences on advocacy initiatives, implementation, national level reporting and available tools for measuring progress towards SDG 16 which is one of the global priorities at the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in 2019. Furthermore, the Forum also deliberated diverse experiences of democratization and democratic governance in Asia and beyond, highlighting the importance of democracy for sustainable development.
The workshop solicited collective worldwide effort, in which governments, private sector, civil society, and people, in general, to work together to ensure a sustainable future for the planet. The meeting also deliberated ways to achieve the agenda 2030. Goal 16 and complimentary indicators (developed by CoD and later by ADA) was another important highlight duri |
