Click here to visit the IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub knowledgebase.  SDG UPDATE A compilation of items recently posted to the SDG Knowledge Hub Thursday, 11 April 2019 GUEST ARTICLES Financial Education as Stepping Stone to Women’s Economic Empowerment: Reflections from CSW 63 “I always teach basic finance using my dolls. May I present Señora María, Señora Teresa and Señora Josefa. Each one has a different way to save money: Señora María has a formal savings account, Señora Teresa buys cattle to breed, and Señora Josefa stores her extra money in a tin can, kept in her house.” For a brief moment, Peruvian microfinance officer Rut Pelaiza transported participants at the 63rd session of the UN's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to one of her training sessions with rural women. POLICY BRIEFS SDG Knowledge Weekly: Cities and Infrastructure This edition of the SDG Knowledge Weekly looks at SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), with a focus on how infrastructure can undergird and support sustainable development as a whole, as well as sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11). FEATURED Shifting to Below 2° Economies: Berlin Event Discusses Strategies for Just Energy Transitions 10 April 2019: The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) took the opportunity of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD) 2019 to launch the IISD Strategy Document Real People Real Change: Strategies for Just Energy Transitions. In launching the guidebook, IISD also brought together a group of experts on Just Transition to share their views, with a focus on: ensuring workers are central to energy transitions (SDG 8); identifying the transition processes that have worked elsewhere (SDG 7); and sharing how international cooperation can build momentum for transitions around the world (SDG 17). CEPA Discusses Institutional Aspects of SDG 16 9 April 2019: The UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) kicked off its 18th session discussing institutional aspects of SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions), mainly on effectiveness, accountability and inclusiveness. Discussions focused on governance and public administration as they relate to the theme of 2019 session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) on empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality. NEWS UNECE Event Recognizes Local Governments’ Role in Achieving SDGs 8 April 2019: Mayors attending the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) event titled, ‘Day of Cities,’ have reiterated the importance of cities for achieving the SDGs, emphasizing that local-level actions are closest to citizens and have the most immediate and visible impact on their lives. Member States Exchange Ideas on UN’s 75th Anniversary 8 April 2019: UN Member States exchanged views on the commemoration of UN’s 75th anniversary in 2020, during the first meeting on the date and modalities for such an event. Governments also considered possible themes, the level of participation, the nature of the outcome and ways to engage stakeholders, in particular youth. Negotiations on Governance of Marine Genetic Resources in the High Seas Move Forward 5 April 2019: Delegates at the second session of the Intergovernmental Conference to negotiate a new treaty for the high seas addressed options related to: marine genetic resources; area-based management tools including marine protected areas (MPAs); environmental impact assessments (EIAs); and capacity building and marine technology transfer. UN Biodiversity Convention Launches Action Agenda Online Platform 5 April 2019: The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has launched an online platform that aims to raise awareness and inspire nature-based solutions to create a “groundswell” of multi-stakeholder actions in the lead-up to the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) in 2020 in China. The platform will highlight biodiversity efforts from around the world, drawing attention to success stories and best practices through a variety of means, including public-private partnerships (PPPs), community-level engagement, and inter-agency collaboration. Deputy Secretary-General Flags Solutions to "Sobering" Financing Challenges 4 April 2019: Launching the 2019 Financing for Sustainable Development report of the UN’s Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development (IATF), UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed emphasized its “sobering message,” which points to low wage growth, rising inequality, debt distress and stagnating aid levels. In addition, she said, world economic growth seems stuck at 3%, many people have lost their faith in the multilateral system, due to inequality, and seven times more dollars’ worth of goods are subject to trade restrictions compared to a year ago. Approach for Sound Chemicals and Waste Management Beyond 2020 Under Review 4 April 2019: Negotiations at the third meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the International Conference on Chemicals Management reviewed progress towards the 2020 goal of sound management of chemicals, among other agenda items. This goal was set by the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and was reaffirmed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). OEWG3 Submission Calls for Dedicated Fund for Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste 3 April 2019: A group of countries made a submission at third meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG3) of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) calling for the establishment of an international fund to implement the sound management of chemicals and waste. Partners Launch ‘Cool Coalition’ to Save Lives, Energy and Trillions for Global Economy 3 April 2019: Over 20 partners have committed to a new global initiative that aims to inspire ambition and accelerate action on transitioning to clean and efficient cooling, which can help combat climate change, achieve sustainable development and save money. Austria, Germany Report on SDG Audit Efforts April 2019: Austria's Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) audited implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the country and reported on a series of shortcomings, including on SDG planning, institutional arrangements, transparency and inclusiveness, and reporting. Among other European countries, Germany has noted its intent to prioritize the SDGs in its auditing work. Rockefeller, MacArthur Foundations Launch Private Capital Initiatives for SDGs 12 March 2019: Two US-based philanthropic trusts, the Rockefeller Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation, announced a joint initiative to direct impact investment funds toward sustainable development. Each foundation is contributing USD 30 million in start-up financing, resulting in a total of USD 60 million for initial investments. The UN estimates that an additional USD 5-7 trillion is needed to achieve the SDGs by 2030. CURRENT & UPCOMING EVENTS SEE MORE » Berlin Energy Week 8-12 April 2019 | Berlin, Germany Korea Global Adaptation Week 8-12 April 2019 | Republic of Korea NAP Expo 2019 8-12 April 2019 | Republic of Korea Resilience Frontiers 8-12 April 2019 | Republic of Korea WSIS Forum 2019 8-12 April 2019 | Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland 9th Meeting of the Executive Committee of the WIM for Loss and Damage 9-11 April 2019 | Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Arab Forum for Sustainable Development 2019 9-11 April 2019 | Beirut, Beyrouth, Lebanon Before the Blue COP 10-11 April 2019 | Madrid, Spain Regional Roundtable for Sustainable Finance in Africa and Middle East 10-11 April 2019 | Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt ECOSOC Partnership Forum 2019 11 April 2019 | New York City, US Expert Workshop to Develop Recommendations for Possible Gender Elements in the Post-2020 Global Biod... 11-12 April 2019 | New York City, US Expert Group Meeting on SDG 17 12 April 2019 | New York City, US 2019 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund 12-14 April 2019 | Washington D.C., US World Conference on Health and Climate Change: Taking Care of Humankind at +2°C 15-16 April 2019 | Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Cote D'Azur, France Financing for Development (FfD) Forum 2019 15-18 April 2019 | New York City, US Ad Hoc Expert Meeting on Climate Change Adaptation for International Transport: Preparing for the Fu... 16-17 April 2019 | Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland Funding for the IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub has been provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) The IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub is a knowledgebase tracking implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 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