The SDG Partnership Symposium held in New York on September 17 marked the culmination of a joint campaign to support the development and strengthening of MSPs as a an approach to achieving the SDGs. On the eve of the UN SDG Summit 2023, the new report on the transformative role of MSPs was introduced: ‘Unite to ignite – Accelerating the transformational power of partnerships for the SDGs and beyond‘.
The research and awareness-raising campaign was jointly conducted by Partnerships2030, the 2030 Agenda Partnership Accelerator (an initiative of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and The Partnering Initiative (TPI)) as well as the Global Forum for National SDG Advisory Bodies.
The report calls upon the UN, governments, businesses, civil society organizations and many others to take action: Collaborative partnership is the path to achieving the 2030 Agenda. Competencies for collaborative partnerships are key and should be strengthened. The report identifies enabling factors to accelerate the establishment of MSPs. In addition to individual competencies of stakeholders, the report also emphasizes organizations’ partnering skills and capacities, as well as national and international environments and policies.
The SDG Partnership Symposium, facilitated by Susanne Salz (Partnerships2030, Head of Project), provided a stimulating atmosphere for discussions, exchange and networking. After the participants were welcomed by leading representatives from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) (Dirk Meyer, Director General, Multilateral Development Policy, Transformation, Climate) and UN DESA (Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs), Dr. Darian Stibbe (TPI, Executive Director) presented the key findings of the report. These insights were subsequently taken up and debated in a high-level panel discussion centered around the theme: ‘Unleashing the power of multi-stakeholder partnerships’.
During the vivid discussion, the panelists highlighted equal inclusion of stakeholder groups, building of trust, long-term and predictable financing of partnerships as well as building of capacities for partnership cooperation at all levels.
The conclusion of the SDG Partnership Symposium within the scope of the SDG Summit and the report ‘Unite to Ignite’ is clear: for a sustainable tomorrow, the multiple and complex challenges faced by the global community today can only be addressed through collaborative and partnership-based approaches.
