Cooperation and sharing of information needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda
Finland and Colombia organised their traditional side event at the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York on Friday 14 July. The meeting of these two very different countries served as a reminder of the importance of sharing information and knowledge in order to achieve the global sustainable development goals (SDGs). Colombia was commended for its work with the indicators and Finland received special attention because it had committed Parliament to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“The conference room is always full when Finland and Colombia co-organise events,” Annika Lindblom, Secretary General of the National Commission on Sustainable Development, noted happily. Cooperation is essential to ensure the achievement of the ambitious goals of the 2030 Agenda, and the interest shown by the audience proved that there is a general international consensus on the matter. Ambassador María Emma Mejía thanked Finland for the cooperation and the Finnish Government for its important support. “Despite their differences, the two countries have surprisingly similar priorities and face similar challenges when they are implementing the 2030 Agenda,” said Satu Santala, Director General of the Department for Development Policy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Unlike the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the 2030 Agenda applies to all, not only developing countries, which means that the implementation demands efforts from all countries.
Finland and Colombia reported on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the UN a year ago and much has happened in both countries after that. Their shared achievements and challenges are related to, for instance how sustainable development is monitored. “Colombia has made good progress: over 80 per cent of the required data is fully or largely available, “ said Claudia Vásquez Marazzani, Director of Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. Special attention is now therefore paid on sharing of information and transparency. Colombia was specifically interested in the follow-up mechanism that will be introduced in autumn in Finland. The sustainable development indicators will be published individually on the kestavakehitys.fi/en website, providing an opportunity for everyone to look at the results and to take part in the development of the monitoring. The two countries agreed that it is important to emphasise the results in the collection of data, that is, the follow-up must be based on results instead of focusing merely on the compilation of statistics.
In Colombia, the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs have interestingly been incorporated in the local and regional development programmes of the country. In the Finnish model, Colombia was impressed by the sustained approach, because the national Society’s Commitment to Sustainable Development, through which the 2030 Agenda is implemented, will continue until 2050. Additionally, the two main objectives recorded in the Government Report on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, that is, a carbon-neutral and resource-wise and a non-discriminating, equal and highly skilled Finland, are meant to extend beyond the government terms. Finland’s success in committing Parliament to the implementation of sustainable development raised plenty of questions from the audience. Civil society organisations’ and private sector actors’ participation has been highly instrumental in engaging Parliament’s attention to the matter. “The Government Report, which was issued in February, ensured that the implementation was actually discussed in Parliament,” concluded Lindblom.
There was much talk about the youth's vital role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda during the weekly session of the UN HLPF. The session on Friday was not an exception and the moderators of the event, Ilmi Salminen, UN Youth Delegate of Finland, and Sajith Wijesuriya from Sri Lanka managed to host a successful dialogue. Salminen underlined the importance of cooperation that is based on young people’s expertise instead of focusing on their participation only. “We have much to offer to the sustainable development work, goals that are directly targeted at youth more widely,” added Salminen, who belongs to the 2030 Agenda youth group. In addition to the youth, the role of civil society, companies and indigenous peoples was emphasised in the discussion. The fact that Finland’s Society’s Commitment to Sustainable Development, which is based on cooperation between stakeholders, has trebled the number of commitments to 700 in a year, created much enthusiasm among the audience seeking new means of participation.
Columbia's Voluntary National Report in 2016
Finland's Voluntary National Report in 2016
Finland's HLPF Report 2017, Summary of the Government's Report
Finland's HLPF Report 2017, Society's Commitment
More information: Secretary-General of the National Commission on Sustainable Development, Annika Lindblom, Ministry of the Environment, annika.lindblom(at)ym.fi, +358 295250163
Photo and text: Sanni Inovaara, Prime Minister's Office of Finland
