How can municipalities measure the local progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? In The Netherlands, VNG International and a group of municipalities have joined forces to develop a common set of indicators, which are in line with the local context.

Towards a joint indicator set

UCLG is continuously working to amplify the voice of and secure a seat at the global tables for local and regional governments. Below, you will find an overview of the recent work implemented by UCLG on the various international agendas. The news item is not exhaustive, but focuses on some of the more relevant issues for the CIB network. This overview was presented at the UCLG Executive Bureau, which took place last week in Strasbourg.

SDG Agenda

In the past months, the region of Catalonia has chosen to align its multi-annual planning with the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. Below you will find some of Catalonia's reflections on this choice of direction.

For many municipalities in Flanders (Belgium) sustainable development is not an empty term. That’s clear from the firm commitment to climate neutrality in Leuven, smart mobility through cycling in Bonheiden and embracing of diversity in Malines. These are only a few examples of the many local practices in perfect alignment with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. This international agenda previously affected municipalities through the North-South policies, but goes much further and deeper now.

Sustainable what? That’s still a common reaction when the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are mentioned. Familiarising people with these global goals for sustainable development is a crucial first step towards taking action, but also in creating a support base for policy measures that contribute to the SDGs. All over the world, local authorities and organisations are working hard to raise awareness on the SDGs, as in order to attain them, everyone must be on board.

In July 2018, 38 countries are going to report to the UN on the progress they have made in achieving the SDGs. The CIB Working Group wishes to support the LGAs in these countries with two things:

1.  To reach out to the national government to get involved in the process of drafting this report

2.  To complete information that will be useful for UCLG to draft a report that will be presented to the UN on how local governments are involved in the process.

On the 24^th and 25^th of October, the Steering Committee (SC) members of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation

October saw the organization of the 4th World Forum of Local Economic Development (LED), which took place in Praia, Cape Verde. The high-level event was hosted by the government of Cape Verde and the City of Praia and assembled 2800 participants from 83 countries. Local and regional governments reflected on how the LED approach provides a framework for the SDG localization and positioned LED as a means to achieve territorial equality, equity and cohesion in a context of a vulnerable, isolated and/or dependant country. 

Large local and regional representation

On 11 July, Mayor of Utrecht and President of VNG, Jan van Zanen presented a report to the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) entitled “National and sub-national governments on the way towards localization”.

Analysis of 63 Voluntary National Reviews

After launching a declaration of municipal engagement for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2016, the awareness raising campaign of the Association of Flemish Municipalities (VVSG) in Belgium really kicked off in 2017.