11 March 2015: Participants discussed the role of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in redefining the development landscape, as well as steps needed to change development’s modus operandi to ensure achievement of the SDGs, at an event organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Graduate Institute of Geneva and the Swiss Confederation.

‘From Vision to Implementation: How can we make the SDGs a reality?’ convened in Geneva, Switzerland, on 11 March 2015. It also considered how new development actors will work with the traditional development sector to achieve the SDGs and the post-2015 development agenda.

“The challenge is how to turn the SDGs into meaningful results to people,” Michael Møller, Acting Director-General, UN Office at Geneva, declared as he opened the event. He stressed 2015 as an important new year for adopting several new global frameworks, including on disaster risk reduction (DRR), financing for development (FfD), the post-2015 development agenda and climate change.

Magdy Martínez-Solimán, UNDP, said the SDGs will need to address challenges common to all countries, including inequality, health and jobs. He called for bridging the divide between norms-oriented and action-oriented development practitioners, and highlighted the potential role of a strengthened UN in assisting poor countries in tackling development challenges.

The environmental dimension should be incorporated into every action, Michael Gerber, Switzerland’s Ambassador and Special Envoy for Global Sustainable Development, said in his remarks. He observed that the post-2015 development agenda is changing “the who and the where” through the concepts of universality and sustainability, which bring both a wider player field and a wider space for development.

Gilles Carbonnier, Graduate Institute of Geneva, called for including voices from actors beyond national governments in the SDG negotiations. He also emphasized the importance of: developing credible indicators to evaluate development policy results; building the statistical capacity of national institutions; promoting an integrated approach; and focusing on long-term goals.

Participants said official development assistance (ODA) must be complimented by other forms of financing, and discussed the role of the private sector in contributing to and financing the SDGs. Still, Martinez-Soliman noted, ODA remains a democratic, transparent financing mechanism. Others suggested ensuring a greater allocation of ODA to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Participants also discussed, inter alia: the importance of policy coherence among the SDGs; and the role of citizens in ensuring SDG accountability. They recommended that the SDGs’ implementation be guided by national priorities and ownership while also ensuring that all stakeholders’ voices are heard. [Event Announcement] [Event Summary]