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.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Panel 1: Contributions of Civil Society

Effective strategies for sustainable development require that the civil society organizations in all countries and at all levels be inclusive and participatory. The bottom-up approach is achieved with the collaboration of the civil society acting as a feedback mechanism in the implementation of the SDGs. In this respect, we urge the civil society organizations all over the world to attend the UNGA Conference and share their insights on the methods of partnership with other stakeholders.

Panel 2: Contributions of Private Sector

Transforming the business models to enhance the corporate responsible initiatives is vital for the growing sustainable economies. Active participation of the private sector will contribute to the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda by creating new resources to finance the SDGs. For this reason, we would like to have the perspectives of the private sector to share their expertise on how to alter the private sector to take the interest of local communities into consideration.

Panel 3: Perspectives from UN Member States

Member States create policies aligned with the SDGs to lead inclusive and cohesive societies. Therefore, commitment of the local and national authorities lies in the center of the sustainable development. In this manner, we would like to have the national & local governments, UN Agencies and UN Permanent Missions at the UNGA Conference to share their best practices on creating incentives to embrace the public and private sector and work towards the future we want.

Panel 4: The Way Forward

UNGA Conference 2015 is a platform where all the stakeholders (local and national governments, public sector and civil society) share their own perspectives and know-hows to promote a global partnership for the sustainable development. Panel 4: The Way Forward will discuss issues related to the next stages of the Development Agenda including indicator development, data collection, monitoring and review framework and further collaboration among stakeholders.