Following the Summit of the Future (SoF) held in New York, US, from 22-23 September 2024, Cepei and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) organized a virtual debrief to delve into the Summit’s main messages and explore next steps as we head into the final five years for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Philipp Schönrock, Director, Cepei, moderated the discussion.
Lynn Wagner, Senior Director, Tracking Progress, IISD, delivered opening remarks. Acknowledging that the “headlines around the SDGs have not been encouraging,” she urged participants to recognize that they do not tell the full story. She underscored than an average negative trajectory of an SDG target can hide important progress, citing historic lows reached on child mortality that are obscured by the overall status of SDG 3, which is currently off track. “Let’s not ignore our wins of the past decade – or fail to build on them as we address targets where we’re backsliding,” she said.
Wagner also highlighted there have been changes during the past 10 years in the approach to sustainable development that are not captured in the indicators. Recalling that a foreign minister advised the SDG negotiating committee not to include issues related to global peace and war, stating it would risk derailing agreement on the other goals, she pointed out that the just-adopted Pact for the Future now clearly recognizes that progress on the other goals requires the global community to address these issues head on, with 15 of the 56 Actions identified in the Pact addressing international peace and security. She emphasized that the action items of the Pact for the Future include “missing elements that must be addressed if we are going to course correct” on the SDGs, peace and security and the international financial architecture among them.
Citing the UN Secretary-General, Wagner said the level of ambition needed to “bring multilateralism back from the brink” can only be matched by the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs themselves. She underscored the need to “aim for perfection,” hold leaders accountable, and investigate where we fall short, but warned against getting “discouraged when we fall short of the very highest goals” or lowering ambitions – as doing so would erase the hard-won wins.
Among the issues addressed in the outcome documents of the Summit of the Future – the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and the Declaration on Future Generations, Schönrock noted international peace and security, sustainable development, digital cooperation, climate change, and gender and youth. He invited the panelists to share their reflections on the main messages from the Summit.
On the key takeaways, Carole Osero-Ageng’o, Global Initiatives Lead & Africa Regional Representative, HelpAge International, and Co-Chair, UN Civil Society Conference in Support of the Summit of the Future, welcomed the adoption of the Pact for the Future, noting that while not as strong as it could have been, the Pact brings together elements that can help turbocharge the SDGs and implementation of human rights around the world. She said the adoption of the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations is critical and cannot be taken for granted.
Osero-Ageng’o drew attention to the emerging intersections around core issues such as gender, women and girls, and youth. She welcomed opportunities for civil society to engage around the Summit through Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS) and the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. She said such engagement is key and must continue.
Wangu Mwangi, Team Leader, Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB), highlighted the energy brought to the Summit by civil society, especially youth. She characterized the main message of the Pact for the Future as the need to focus on the 2030 Agenda and “make it happen” by rebuilding trust and mustering political will.
Romeral Ortiz-Quintilla, Programme Management Officer, Youth Engagement Partnerships, Advocacy & Communications Section, UN Youth Office, described the discussions held on 20 September during the Summit of the Future Action Day dedicated to youth as “inspiring” and “empowering.” She welcomed the Pact’s chapter on youth and future generations, noting that youth is integrated throughout the Summit’s outcomes. Ortiz-Quintilla urged focus on action and what we need to do to implement the Pact.
On how to ensure implementation success, Osero-Ageng’o said “we must carry the energy we saw at the Summit” and implement the Pact for the Future everywhere as it “belongs to all of us.” Emphasizing “the perspective of the whole,” she called for greater collaboration among governments and civil society while building on ImPact Coalitions that emerged from the UN Civil Society Conference, working across geographies, and delinking work programming from funding structures.
On how to translate the whole-of-society approach into action, Ortiz-Quintilla lauded the dedicated UN Youth Office recently established in the UN Secretariat as the foundation to keep commitments alive and ensure implementation. She said both the UN Youth Office and the Summit of the Future process were the result of Our Common Agenda and emphasized the need to align these and ensure that the Pact’s commitments “move to action and implementation” and that progress is tracked.
Ortiz-Quintilla highlighted the importance of “connecting the dots” between the Summit of the Future and other processes, including the 2025 World Social Summit, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum, and the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference, to make sure efforts complement and build on each other.
On translating the Summit’s outcomes to local and regional levels, Mwangi emphasized the importance of reporting back within constituencies and maintaining momentum by organizing around high-level events such as the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to the three Rio Conventions – the UNFCCC, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) – to be held later this year.
Osero-Ageng’o highlighted the role of multi-stakeholder coalitions.
Responding to comments and questions from the audience, the panelists:
- Reiterated the importance of working alongside “next big moments” and keeping momentum to ensure value added;
- Stressed the urgency of “looking at how climate change intersects with everything we do”; and
- Emphasized the need to create more platforms for engagement, tap into the digital space, and use webinars to bring issues to the local, regional, and global levels.
Ortiz-Quintilla outlined the need to “reinforce” the Pact by going beyond the included actions.
The virtual debrief took place on 26 September 2024. [Summit of the Future Debrief] [SDG Knowledge Hub Sources]
