Program

UNGA High-Level Conference 2015

UN Post-2015 Development Agenda
Contributions of Private Sector and the Civil Society

Tuesday, 29 September 2015
HSA Conference Room, 4 West 43rd Street New York NY, 10036

BREAKFAST
08:00am – 09:00am

Opening Welcome Remarks
09:00am – 09:10am
• Huseyin Hurmali, Vice-President of JWF
• Zafer Akin, President of PII

INTRODUCTION UN POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

The Roadmap to Sustainable Development Goals – 17 Targets
09:10am – 09:25am

PANEL 1: Contributions of the Civil Society
09:30am – 11:00am

Moderator: Mr. Jeffery Huffines, UN Representative (NY), CIVICUS

• Mr. Sello Hatang, CEO, Nelson Mandela Foundation, South Africa
• Dr. Helmut Dinse, President, Eringerdelf Educational Institution, Germany
• Mr. Besnik Mustafaj, President, The Albanian Forum for the Alliance of Civilization, Albania
• Mr. Savas Metin, Secretary General, Kimse Yok Mu, Turkey
• Mr. Erik Kabera, Director, Kwetu Film Institute, Gacuriro Kigali, Rwanda

COFFEE BREAK
11:00am – 11:15am

PANEL 2: Contributions of Private Sector
11:15am – 12:45pm

Keynote: H.E. Atefeh Riazi, Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Information Technology Officer, United Nations
Moderator: Ms. Leanne Bayer, Senior Social Development Specialist, World Bank Group

• Mr. Lambert Koty, President and CEO, AGETUR, Benin
• Mr. David Hong, Once Acre Fund, East Africa
• Mr. Manoj Gursahani, President, US India Investment Forum, India
• Mr. Christopher Shields, Co-Convener, Timbuktu Renaissance Action Group

LUNCH
1:00pm – 2:00pm

PANEL 3: Perspectives from Member States
2:00pm – 3:30pm

Keynote: H.E. M. Lener Renauld, Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Republic of Haiti
Moderator: H.E. Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Lativa

• Dr. Arben Malaj, President, Institute for Public Policy and Good Governance, Albania
• Hon. Ndeye Awa Mbodj, Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, President of the Network of Parliament for Promoting the Defense and the Integration of Senegalese’s Diaspora, Senegal
• Dr. George Francis Nangale, President, Tanzania Red Cross Society, Tanzania
• Dr. Tran Viet Thai, Deputy Director-General & Director, Institute for Foreign and Strategic Studies, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV), Vietnam

 

COFFEE BREAK
3:30pm – 3:45pm

PANEL 4: The Way Forward
3:45pm – 5:15pm

Keynote: H.E. Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General and
Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, UN DESA
Moderator: Dr. Lisa Goddard, Director, International Research Institute for Climate and Society, Earth Institute, Columbia University
• Mr. Steve Killelea, President & Founder, Institute for Economics and Peace, Australia
• Mr. Erik Kabera, Director, Kwetu Film Institute, Gacuriro Kigali, Rwanda
• Mr. Laurence Kemball Cook, CEO & Founder, Pavegen, U.K.
• H.E. Mrs. Sia Nyama Koroma, First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone
• H.E. Fatou Lamin Faye, Minister of Basic and Secondary Education of the Gambia

 

CLOSING REMARKS

H.E. Ms. Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary-General, Deputy Executive Director, Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnerships Bureau, UN Women

Concept Note 2015

UNGA Conference 2015 UN Post-2015 Development Agenda:
Contributions of Private Sector and Civil Society

CONCEPT NOTE

The Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF) and Peace Islands Institute (PII) are organizing the UNGA Conference 2015 entitled “UN Post-2015 Development Agenda: Contributions of Private Sector and Civil Society” on 29 September 2015 before the UNGA High-Level Reception on 30 September 2015.

Every year, following the UN General Assembly, the JWF in partnership with PII, gathers heads of the delegates with the private sector, civil society organizations and educational institutions in order to serve as a platform for this broad alliance towards the implementation of the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda.

The process leading up to the UN Summit to adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda has seen an unprecedented involvement by private sector and civil society. The UNGA conference aims to provide a further platform for presenting best practices by these stakeholders and exploring mechanisms for realization of the proposed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 related targets. One of the widely discussed means of implementation has been the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Collaboration among national government, private sector, civil society organizations representing youth, women, indigenous people, disabled persons and other groups has been seen as the most effective way to achieve the SDGs.

OBJECTIVES OF THE UNGA CONFERENCE

  • Awareness: The UNGA High-Level Reception serves as a platform where Heads of Delegates, Ministers and Permanent Representatives of Members States to the UN discuss the current themes of the UNGA.
  • Collaboration: The UNGA High-Level Reception emphasizes the importance of Public-Private Partnerships by bringing together the government representatives with private sector and civil society organizations.
  • Mobilization: The UNGA High-Level Reception mobilizes private sector and civil society around the globe and builds local and global networks to contribute to the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda.
  • Targets: The reception serves as a common ground to share lessons learned from the MDGs and work together for achieving the SDGs.
  • Implementation: UNGA Reception encourages private sector to help create new resources to finance the implementation of the SDGs.
  • Accountability: Participation by the civil society in all phases of the process ensures higher levels of accountability.

UNGA Conference 2018 Program

UNGA CONFERENCE 2018 

PROGRAM

HSA Conference Building,
 4 West 43rd Street New York, NY, 10036

08:30 – 09:30 AM       Breakfast

09:30 – 09:40 AM       Welcome Remarks

09:40 – 09:50 AM       Opening Session: Global Stakeholders in Agenda 2030

09:50 – 10:00 AM        Keynote

10:00 – 11:30 AM         PANEL 1: The Culture of Peace and Conflict Prevention 

11:30 – 11:45 AM         Coffee Break

11:45 – 01:15 PM          PANEL 2: Populations at Risk: Human Rights, Migration, and Refugees

01:15 – 02:00 PM          Lunch Break

02:00 – 03:30 PM         PANEL 3: Press Freedom for Sustainable Peace 

03:30 – 03:45 PM          Closing Remarks 

2016 Panel Discussions

Panel 1: Financing the SDGs

The revitalized Global Partnership in the Agenda 2030 will facilitate an intensive global engagement in support of implementation of all the goals and targets, bringing together Governments, civil society, the private sector, creative industries, the United Nations system and other actors to mobilize all available financial resources. The International Conference on Financing for Development, in Addis Ababa, developed concrete policies and actions to be part of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. Following this important meeting, UNGA Conference 2016 “Panel 1: Financing the SDGs” aims to highlight how private financing and the Public-Private Partnership will act as a vital resource across all sectors of society.

 

Panel 2: Leave No One Behind

Utmost importance in the Agenda 2030 is to not only to state the targets but also to indicate the means of implementation in the society. MDG history clearly showed that in order to be able to transform the world, promote social inclusion, eradicate poverty and thus promote sustainable social development, the stakeholders should all work together hand in hand. In this respect, the UNGA Conference 2016 “Panel 2: Leave No One Behind” will draw attention to the fact that the Global Goals are interrelated and comprehensive, thus it needs the commitments of all the elements in the action plan so that no one is indeed left behind.

 

Panel 3: Climate Change

Climate change is inevitably hindering the sustainable development as it creates variations in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability. It may be due to natural internal processes or external forces, or to persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. Climate Change is in the list of the most urgent actions that the stakeholders should take to limit it’s the consequences. In this regards the recent Paris Agreement is a means of getting the Member States to legally bind on a set of commitments aimed at action oriented promises. UNGA Conference 2016 “Panel 3: Climate Change” will gather the civil society organizations with the Member States to discuss the role of voluntary initiatives that could assist governments in keeping their global commitments.

 

Panel 4: Peace and Security as a Prerequisite for Sustainable Development

Peace and Security is a prerequisite for the Sustainable Development. The Global Goals underlines the need of building secure societies that provides peaceful access to justice and respect for human rights. On the other than, good governance and accountable institutions are also needed for peace building. Stakeholders` cooperation in supporting post-conflict states, especially women, children and elderly, is crucial. In this respect, CSO`s role of embracing all the sectors of society is very important. UNGA Conference 2016 “Panel 4: Peace and Security as a Prerequisite for Sustainable Development” will be a platform where stakeholders will reiterate their commitments to take further effective measures and actions, in conformity with international law, to build peaceful and secure countries.