ADA Monthly Newsletter- August 2017

Dear ADA members and Friends, 

As we are entering the last quarter of the year, the activities related to SDGs have intensified, which is a good sign to follow up on the HLPF. The Civil Societies, UN, many governments and other stakeholders are taking keen interest in advocacy and outreach on Sustainable Development Goals and quite realizing the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships in not only the implementations of the goals but also on means of implementation  
 
Please remain in touch to get the latest news and updates on SDGs, development, and democracies!
Please show your solidarity by contributing any news, information or article from your country/ region to our newsletter.  

Hope it is useful for your reflection… Please see below for details how to get involved and share your activities for greater impact!

In solidarity, 

ADA Secretariat
                                       
 

Table of Contents

ADA and Members Activities
Regional Activity
Creating a seat at the table - Workshop on engaging multiple perspectives for the 2030 Agenda, 23-25 August 2017, United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok
National Activity
National Workshop on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) d the role of civil society, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August 19, 2017, 
Useful Document
South Asia Poverty Report: 2017, published by SAAPE
For Your Action
HLPF and More: Together 2030
People’s SAARC: Kathmandu, Nepal – 13-14 September 2017
GALA East Asia: Phnom Penh, Cambodia- 18-23 October 2017
Call for Application: GALA South  Asia: Pokhara, Nepal- 12-16 November 2017
ASEAN POLICY Discussion in Nov 2017 and related meetings in Manila
International Key Events related to SDGs 2017

    ADA and Members Activities

Regional Activity

Creating a seat at the table - Workshop on engaging multiple perspectives for the 2030 Agenda , 23-25 August 2017, United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its set of SDGs has been adopted – inclusion and involvement of stakeholders is an important tenet of the agenda, in relation to both implementation process and outcomes (sharing benefits of development, leaving no one behind). ? The engagement challenge is both internal and external: Internal stakeholders include the wide array of ministries and agencies responsible for different areas of implementation and which may not all be aware of the 2030 Agenda or may face different challenges in its full implementation. External stakeholders include the wider public and others. In its formal engagement processes, the United Nations has agreed to the designation of specific “major groups” as well as other stakeholders.

Taking this as a background the UNESCAP had organized this meeting in Bangkok from 23-25 August at United Nation Convention Center, Bangkok where ADA was also one of those solicited participants to put forth its views from a regional perspective.
It was observed that there is a strong interest from member’s state to improve planning and prioritization for better engagement Impact and accelerate action, however, there are many challenges that impact the meaningful participation of stakeholders. At the same time, it was found that many countries in Asia-Pacific are struggling to get a clear road map. Hence a need for stakeholder mapping was also emphasized. It was highlighted that cooperation with a shared vision can strengthen sustainable development. A transformative and holistic Regional Roadmap relies on addressing structural impediments and systemic barriers. 
It must take into serious consideration targeted and sustained commitments on development finance and cooperation as well as inclusive collection and disaggregation of data to track the gaps and progress condition of the marginalized sectors. The role of civil society in outreach, information dissemination and capacity building on SDGs has also discussed apart from their challenges and barriers that they face in the community while capacitating them on the grass root level issues related to SDGs.
Missing data is the biggest challenge in effective mechanism apart from accountability and resources in
redefining SDGs to suit the national agenda.

  National Activity

National Workshop on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) d the role of civil society ,Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August 19, 2017

ADA organised its third national workshop on SDGs after Bhutan and Myanmar at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in partnership with Asia Democracy Network (ADN) ,Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and International Forum of National NGO/CSO Platforms (IFP) with Local Hosts : Mongolia Democracy Network (MDN), Open Society Forum (OSF) and the Center for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) in Mongolia. This training workshop was an initiative of ADA to strengthen the advocacy capacity of civil society organizations in Mongolia on the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goals at the national and sub-national/local level.

Almost 52 civil society representatives from Mongolia participated in this important workshop. At the end of the workshop, the participants demanded a Mongolian translation of the Agenda 2030 so that decision makers don’t focus on just one goal. The workshop also emphasized the need to engage with the government and forming a coalition of CSOs for better advocacy at the national and regional and global levels.

      Useful Document

South Asia Poverty Report: 2017, published by SAAPE

A triennial report on the poverty scenario in South Asian countries was released for the first time in north India at the Institute for Development Communication (IDC).
The report has been produced by the Nepal-based South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE). A Chandigarh-based study circle, ‘Dialogue Highway’, in collaboration with the IDC, facilitated the release of the report.
 
Please read the report on the link below:
 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B91dylZOmJRWTTNKOE9DOW5sNDQ/view
 
http://www.saape.org/

     For Your Action

HLPF and More: Together 2030

 Review of VNR guidelines – Together 2030 is collecting inputs from its members on recommendations to review the voluntary common reporting guidelines for Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), one of the main tools to track the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs at the global level. Please, add your inputs here. Deadline for comments: September 6.
 
For your information, 35 countries have already volunteered to present their VNRs at the HLPF on 2018: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf.
 
 UNGA 72 (, New York): Are you planning to attend the High-Level week of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 72), in New York, from September 18-22? We have set up a specific mailing list to exchange information related to the UNGA 72. Please, sign up here if you are attending the UNGA 72.
 Post-HLPF Webinar: Together 2030 and the TAP Network are organizing a Webinar to promote a reflection on the achievements and challenges of the 2017 HLPF. Please, join us on September 6, from 9:30 – 11 am (NY time). You can register here. More information here. The webinar will be held in English.

People’s SAARC: Kathmandu, Nepal – 13-14 September 2017

Although there is no certainty when the next SAARC summit will be held (it is postponed for indefinite period until next decision is taken), but the representatives of different social movements (trade union, farmers organizations, women organizations, networks for fighting against poverty, discrimination, injustice and indignity, youth organizations etc), human rights organizations and CSOs, academia and many more etc,. are coming together from South Asian countries and express our unity for peace, secularism, plurality, tolerance right to life and right to dignity, freedom of association and freedom of mobility among many others. 
On this occasion, a small gathering about 30-40 people for developing the civil society strategy for larger mobilization is planned. On the request from many friends from South Asia advising the SAAPE secretariat to coordinate this meeting, it’s being organized on 13-14 September 2017 in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

GALA East Asia: Phnom Penh, Cambodia- 18-23 October, 2017

The 5th Glocal Advocacy Leadership in Asia (GALA) Academy – East Asia is a joint initiative by Asia Development Alliance (ADA) and Asia Democracy Network (ADN) with the aim of strengthening advocacy capacity of CSOs for defending and promoting civic and democratic space and human rights through strategic “glocal (global and local)” actions on the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It is to be organized in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 18 to 23 Oct. 2017 in partnership with the International Forum of National NGO/CSO Platforms (IFP), Transparency, Accountability and Participation (TAP) Network and Asia Partnership for Sustainable Development (APSD) with the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC) as a local host.
http://koreapr.eowork.co.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=news01&wr_id=61

Call for Application: GALA South  Asia: Pokhara, Nepal- 12-16 November 2017

The 5th Glocal Advocacy Leadership in Asia (GALA) Academy – South Asia is a joint initiative by Asia Development Alliance (ADA) and Asia Democracy Network (ADN) with the aim of strengthening advocacy capacity of CSOs for defending and promoting civic and democratic space and human rights through strategic “glocal (global and local)” actions on the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It is to be organized in Pokhara, Nepal from 12 to 16 Nov. 2017 in partnership with the International Forum of National NGO/CSO Platforms (IFP), Transparency, Accountability and Participation (TAP) Network and Asia Partnership for Sustainable Development (APSD) with the NGO Federation of Nepal (NFN) as a local host.
The workshop is expected to help CSOs in South Asia to learn about SDGs itself as well as how to engage with the government and others stakeholders for the implementation of SDGs including monitoring and coalition-building among CSOs across the sectors.
Please click the link to apply online
https://goo.gl/forms/WfPdv04UiJtTe1AF2
The brochure can be read on: 
http://koreapr.eowork.co.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=news01&wr_id=64

ASEAN POLICY Discussion in Nov 2017 and related meetings in Manila

     International Key Events related to SDGs 2017

• ADA's official website has been renewed. All the information related to the implementation of SDGs in Asia and actions conducted by Asian CSOs will be accumulated on this website. Please visit www.ada2030.org
• ADA's Facebook page has been activated! The page will channel useful information among civil society actors in Asia. Feel free to tag @Asia Development Alliance in future collaboration. The page is accessible with this web address: https://www.facebook.com/ada2030/