Introduction
As a means of accelerating the implementation of the new SDG roadmap, building a strong leadership culture and popularizing the SDGs, the Government of Uganda under the coordination of the Office of the Prime Minister initiated a domestic platform for expedited follow-up, review and validation of progress made on the SDGs Agenda 2030; and the African Union Agenda 2063 and all commitments and recommendations of the second VNR Report. This Platform shall hereafter be referred to as the Uganda Annual Sustainable Development Goals Conference (ASDGC-UG). The ASDGC like all the international and regional platforms on sustainable development will facilitate sharing of ideas and good practices at local and national level and catalyze actions to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the associated SDGs. The planned annual SDG event will also facilitate sharing and analyzing national progress on SDGs and prepare different stakeholders to participate in the annual High Level Political Forum (HLPF) as it will draw key messages, which will be a collective input to the HLPF on all the deliberations of the conference.
Preliminary events such as regional forums and side events will be held prior to the ASDGC-UG.
The Annual event will not only focus on mobilising partners to support implementation of the new SDG Roadmap (2021-2025) but also continuously building momentum and for a cohesive national SDG Coordination framework.
The ASDGC-UG shall be a multi-stakeholder platform organized jointly by the Government of Uganda under the Office of the Prime Minister in collaboration with the United Nations in Uganda and other development partners, civil society, academia, the private sector and local governments for peer learning. It will be hosted by the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister whose office is responsible for the 2030 Agenda coordination in Uganda but also draws participation of Cabinet Ministers, Senior Government Officials, local authorities, United Nations Experts, Private sector, Civil Society Organizations and the Academia to share progress against the SDG indicators and respective targets.
The ASDGC-UG will adopt the following outcomes:
● Key messages: The outcome document will consist of the priorities of the stakeholders before and during the conference to accelerate implementation of the 2030 agenda.
● ASDGC Declaration: This will take the name of the year such as ASDGC-UG22, ASDG UG23 etc. It will present the collective position of importance on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Uganda.
An amalgamation of the outcomes of the conference will be presented to the HLPF.
The Inaugural ASDGC-UG2022
The first Uganda Annual Sustainable Development Goals Conference (ASDGC-UG) will be held: Dates: June 16 – 17, 2022
Venue: Kampala Serena Hotel, Conference Center.
The opening of the conference will be officiated by H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the President of the Republic of Uganda.
The preliminary events will include: Side events: The side events that will be held on June 14 and 15, 2022, will be virtual. They will be hosted by organizations selected from those that will respond to the call for the proposals for side events.
Regional Fora: The Conference will be preceded by hybrid regional mini discussions with Local Government and development partners in the three regions (Western, Eastern and Northern) which will culminate into the two-day national conference. This will build momentum of localizing and popularizing SDGs but also facilitate generation of key messages that will be synthesized for discussion at the National level Conference. The regional discussions will be held for one day each as follows:
June 8, 2022: Mbale City (Eastern Uganda)
June 10, 2022: Hoima City (Western Uganda)
June 13, 2022: Gulu City (Norther Uganda)
The first ASDGC-UG 2022 is premised on the need to foster stakeholder reviews on the annual SDG progress report 2021 but will also reflect on the impact of COVID-19 in the implementation of national priorities highlighted in the 3rd National Development Plan to ensure that No One is Left Behind.
The theme of the ASDGC-UG 2022 will be; “Building Effective Models to accelerate the SDGs in the Post COVID-19 Era” that has a resonance with the context and NDPIII implementation vehicle of the Parish Development Model.
The conference will also focus on mobilizing partners to support implementation of the new SDG Roadmap (2021-2025) and continuously building momentum and for a cohesive national SDG Coordination Framework.
The Conference will therefore generate key messages and actions to influence the processes of other global national events and platforms like HLPF, Government Annual Performance Report Apex Platform and the national budget conference.
The ASDGC-UG 2022 will be conducted under the three sub themes:
● Priorities and financing to Accelerate the 2030 Agenda
● “Leaving No One Behind”: Technology, Data & Evidence for Social Protection
● Local Authorities delivering on the SDG promise.
The key objectives of the ASDGC-UG2022 include the following;
● To discuss the findings of the National SDG Progress Report- 2021
● To share good practices and innovations to address SDG implementation challenges in the new SDG Roadmap
● To draw national declarations and key messages to be shared at the auspices of the High-Level Political Forum 2022 and the UN General Assembly.
The officiation
• H.E, the President of the Republic of Uganda
• The Rt. Hon. Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda
• The Minister for General Duties/Focal Point Minister for the Sustainable Development Goals
• The UN Resident Coordinator, Heads of UN Agencies in Uganda, Development Partners ∙ Ministers and Technical leaders from Ministries, Departments and Agencies,
The Forum will be attended by representatives of:
● Government
● United Nations Systems
● Civil Society Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations
● The Private Sector, Academia and Research Institutions
● Business and Industry Organizations,
● Development Partners
● Media.
● It will also target international experts from sister member states and partners from outside Uganda
NB: The conference will be hybrid: The conference will provide for both physical and virtual participation. This is due to limited physical participation due to COVI-19.
