Five Days, Three Pillars, One Training Course: UNRISD Strengthens Capacity of Environment Ministries to Implement Agenda 2030

UNRISD senior researcher Ilcheong Yi shared UNRISD research on transformative change with government officials from 28 countries, ranging from Afghanistan to Zambia, at an Executive Training Course for Policymakers on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The course was organized by the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development and held on 24-28 April 2017 in Incheon, Republic of Korea.

Ilcheong Yi delivered two modules during the course, which were both well-received by the participants. The first, Implementing Agenda 2030 for People, discussed transformative social policy as a means of leaving no one behind. For this module Ilcheong drew heavily on the UNRISD 2016 Flagship Report Policy Innovations for Transformative Change and the recently completed research project Towards Universal Social Security in Emerging Economies: Process, Institutions and Actors.

His second module was on Agenda 2030 and the Review Mechanism. UNRISD has actively contributed to the two mechanisms in place to review progress on the 2030 Agenda. First, the Institute contributed to the National Voluntary Review conducted by the Republic of Korea in 2016 by undertaking interviews with key stakeholders, collecting statistical data, producing a background paper and providing editorial support. Second, UNRISD engaged in the 2016 High-Level Political Forum, the United Nations’ annual platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Institute held its own side event as well as participating in a side event on Social and Solidarity Economy organized by the governments of France and Costa Rica, in collaboration with the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy, of which UNRISD is a founding member, and officially attending the presentation of the Korean National Voluntary Review to the HLPF.

The aim of the Executive Training Course was to provide both policy makers in central and local governments and policy shapers in the private sector and civil society with the concepts and tools for mainstreaming and implementing the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs through their work. It particularly targeted representatives of environment ministries and organizations, to ensure that the integrative nature of the 2030 Agenda was addressed by bringing social and economic tools and concepts into their field of expertise.