At its 70^th General Assembly in New York, starting on 28 September, the United Nations will launch the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals will guide national policies and international cooperation activities within the next 15 years, succeeding the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Considering the relevance of the topic, GIFE held a meeting in São Paulo on 28th August with leaders from institutes, foundations and businesses for a debate on how the SGDs connect with private social investment.

The SDG Strategy and Platform

The event launched the SDG Strategy, a coalition of renowned organizations representing civil society, the private sector and local governments, in order to discuss the implementation of the SDGs to advance this agenda. The coalition is formed by GIFE,  Abong, Agenda Pública, Frente Nacional de Prefeitos, Instituto Ethos, GVces, Fundación Avina, Fundação Abrinq and Rede Brasileira por Cidades Justas e Sustentáveis. To disseminate reliable information about the SDGs, in early September the Strategy will launch an online platform and social media campaign highlighting the different causes and social issues the SGDs address.

Some of the activities the group will undertake include: promoting the evaluation of the SDG implementation process; mobilizing opinion makers and key players from social movements and organizations; and articulating to the private sector to focus on the adaptation of targets and indicators.

The campaign uses an iconography that was created for the SDGs, and all material published will be available on the platform for download, adaptation and dissemination. These include data on the different players’ roles in SDG implementation, resources for deep discussion, articles written by specialists on SDG themes, and an inventory of public policies related to each of the 17 SDGs.

Cases

Initiatives by private social investors already using the SDGs as a guide were presented. It was discussed how institutes, foundations and businesses should see their activities through the SDGs lens, looking into how the goals can help their actions converge with public policies, delivering more effective and sustainable results. Instituto Arapyaú, for instance, is part of a group dedicated to thinking about strategies on how to mobilize the population to vote for candidates committed to the SDGs agenda. Instituto Votorantim, on the other hand, highlighted their use of the MDGs to guide different initiatives, which can be followed by the SDGs.

For more information visit: http://www.gife.org.br/artigos_reportagens_conteudo16108.asp (Portuguese)