As part of the 2020 SDG Learning, Training and Practice series linked to the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF), TPI’s Executive Director Darian Stibbe moderated a session on developing transformational partnerships towards the SDGs. This capacity building and knowledge workshop was organized by TPI together with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UN Office for Sustainable Development), UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and the World Economic Forum.
The panel was convened as part of TPI’s ongoing engagement in the SDG Partnership Accelerator for Agenda 2030.
The session was introduced by Dr David Smith (Member of the Independent Group of Scientists for the 2019 Global Sustainable Development Report and Coordinator of the Institute for Sustainable Development at the University of the West Indies), who emphasised the interconnected nature of the SDGs. He highlighted examples of ‘wicked problems’, which – by virtue of their complexity – can only be solved by different sectors working together.
This was followed by a presentation from Bianca Kopp of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Hilligje van’t Land, of the International Association of Universities (IAU), who presented the innovative ‘Education for Justice’ initiative. This initiative is an example of a partnership spanning more than one sector – whereby UNODC has partnered with IAU in order to collaborate closely with the tertiary education sector to address elements of both SDG 16 (peace and justice) and 4 (education).
Adding another dimension to the session, Bryonie Guthrie of the World Economic Forum, provided an interactive demonstration of an innovative online tool for systems mapping, using the example of education and rule of law. The ‘Strategic Intelligence Platform’ combines human and artificial intelligence to map out and visualise interconnected problems, while linking to a wealth of quantitative, qualitative, and multi-media resources.
In the discussion that followed, key questions and suggestions were raised on the practicalities of developing multi-sector partnerships for transformation, including the question of how to get started and who are the ‘brokers’ of multi-sector partnerships.
Watch the full recording:
Find out about other events TPI is involved with at the 2020 HLPF.
Leave a Reply