DATE / TIME:

2016•10•28    14:00 - 16:30

Location:

Tokyo

This SDG Dialogue event will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Africa as it pursues a more sustainable future. It will reflect on the recent adoption of ambitious sustainability agendas at the global and regional levels, with a particular focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Leading international experts will consider issues including:

• mobilizing a wide range of stakeholders to advance sustainability in the region,
• translating the global goals into plans and actions at the regional, national and local levels, including processes and mechanisms for monitoring progress, and
• maximizing synergies and minimizing tradeoffs between various efforts aimed at achieving the SDGs.

The event will also discuss the outcomes of the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI), held in Nairobi in August 2016, including four UNU-IAS side events held at the conference.

This event will be held in both English and Japanese, with simultaneous translation provided.

Registration

This event is open to the public, but advance registration is required (by 5 pm on 27 October). To register, please click on the REGISTER button above to access the online registration page.

Background

2015 saw the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (including its 17 SDGs), as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and its first Ten-Year Implementation Plan. There are strong synergies between these agendas, both of which emphasize the interlinked economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. African countries are now building upon the progress made on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to address the remaining challenges, and transition to implementing these new agendas by integrating sustainability in their efforts.

UNU-IAS is committed to advancing sustainability and efforts to achieve the SDGs in Africa, through policy-relevant research and capacity development. The institute is working in close collaboration with partners in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Zambia, with projects focusing on climate and ecosystem change (CECAR-Africa), and on the development of collaborative master’s degree programmes (ESDA), among others.

In August 2016, TICAD VI was held in Nairobi, addressing three priority areas: (i) economic diversification and industrialization; (ii) resilient health systems; and (iii) social stability. UNU-IAS contributed actively to the conference, organizing a number of side events, which emphasized the importance of the SDGs in Africa, and the need to consider local contexts in implementation.

The SDG Dialogue Series

This event series brings experts together to share ideas and insights for achieving the SDGs. Each event promotes dialogue and networking between panellists and participants through interactive discussion.

Programme

14:00–14:10 Opening

14:10–15:00 Keynote Presentations

• Tanya Abrahamse, Chief Executive Officer, South African National Biodiversity Institute; UNU-IAS Board Member
• Maria Ivanova, Associate Professor and Co-Director, Center for Governance and Sustainability, University of Massachusetts Boston; UNU-IAS Board Member

15:00–15:15 Break

15:15–16:30 Panel Discussion

Moderator: Kazuhiko Takemoto, Director, UNU-IAS

Panellists:

• Osamu Saito, Academic Programme Officer, UNU-IAS
• Emmanuel Mutisya, Programme Coordinator, UNU-IAS
• Tanya Abrahamse
• Maria Ivanova
• Linda Chinangwa, JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow, UNU-IAS

16:30 Closing