The UN has released details about the 2021 SDG Moment, a one-day virtual event during the UN General Assembly’s high-level week. The annual SDG Moment aims to provide a snapshot of progress, highlight actions that show change is possible, and advance the transformations needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

The SDG Moment is convened by the UN Secretary-General. It was created by the political declaration adopted at the first SDG Summit in 2019, which mandated the Secretary-General to convene the event as part of every high-level week of the UNGA from 2020 to 2030.

The 2021 SDG Moment will convene virtually from 9 am-6 pm on Monday, 20 September.

The 2021 event takes place ahead of several related summits and conferences, and will aim to reinforce the relevance of the 2030 Agenda for these topics:

According to the background note, the 2021 SDG Moment also will focus on what is needed for an equitable and inclusive COVID-19 response and recovery.

The draft programme includes an ‘SDG Reality Check,’ with a presentation on the state of the SDGs and a dialogue with UN Principals on the state of COVID-19 response and recovery. In a segment on ‘Plans, pathways and partners for Recovery and beyond,’ the leaders of 30-35 UN Member States will discuss their national contributions to the SDGs, having recently conducted voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of progress.

This segment also will feature “SDG Partners” such as civil society, the private sector, and academia, who will highlight actions to implement the Goals. The topics include: achieving gender equality; connectivity; youth in action; localizing the SDGs; and effective and inclusive institutions.

The political declaration of the SDG Summit asks the Secretary-General to “engage Governments, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders in generating solutions and accelerating action to address systemic gaps in implementation, as we embark on a decisive decade for the 2030 Agenda. We also call upon the Secretary-General to organize an annual moment to highlight inspiring action on the Goals, in the context of the general debate of the General Assembly” (paragraph 26). 

The first SDG Moment was a three-hour virtual meeting on 18 September 2020. [Background Note] [SDG Moment webpage] [Draft programme 1 September] [Earth Negotiations Bulletin coverage of 2020 SDG Moment]

Funding for our work on the SDG Moment 2021 was provided by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety of Germany (BMU).