The Government of Uganda through the National SDG Secretariat Office under the auspices of the Office of the Prime Minister in partnership with United Nations in Uganda, Embassy of Denmark in Uganda, Civil Society Organizations, and Private Sector will host the second
SDG Conference (hereafter UASDGC23) under the theme: “Promoting Inclusive National and Continental Actions for Accelerated Delivery on the SDGs and Agenda 2063” in June 2023.
The Conference will leverage on the recently concluded the Mid-term Review of implementation of its Third National Development Plan (NDPIII) which will also inform the development of the fourth national development plan. Implementation of the parish development model are a core strategy for reducing vulnerability, driving inclusiveness and local economic development will be key in informing the discussions of the conference. This year, all UN member states will be reviewing the mid-term progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs through the SDG Summit at the auspices of the UN General Assembly in September 2023. The SDG Summit will revisit the state of the SDGs implementation, provide policy guidance, mobilize action to accelerate implementation and consider new challenges since 2015.
The SDG Summit 2023 will mark the half-way point of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and occur when progress towards most of the goals is badly off track and the world is grappling with severe geopolitical divides and compounding financial, energy, food, humanitarian and
climate crises.
The Conference will therefore pay keen attention to the mid-term progress of SDGs with a focus on leaving no one behind and level of implementation of NDPIII, showcasing some of the catalytic innovations that have spurred action and accelerated SDGs and Africa Agenda 2063
implementation. With implementation of NDPIII in its 4th quarter and preparations for the NDPIV unfolding, the SDG conference will provide a platform for state and non-state actors to reflect on what has been achieved so far, what has worked and what needs to change and or improve for NDPIV to accelerate implementation and attainment of the SDGs and Agenda 2063 objectives. Additionally, the conference will align discussions and reflections to those of all of UN member states during the SDG Summit in September 2023 and the HLPF in July 2023. As such, the Conference will take stock of the mid-term progress of SDGs with a lens of LNOB and on integration of regional frameworks and opportunities for integrated delivery on
SDGs and Agenda 2063. Therefore, the conference will analyze and share key messages of the mid-term progress on SDGs and prepare different stakeholders to participate in the Annual High Level Political Forum (HLPF) and the SDG Summit.
The Conference Objectives
The main objective of the UASDC23 is to reflect on the mid-term progress made by Uganda in the integration and implementation of the SDGs and Africa Agenda 2063 in order to leverage synergies between the agendas to ensure that No One is Left Behind.
Specifically, the UASDGC23 aims to:
• To review the mid-term status of implementation of SDGs with a focus of Leaving No One Behind.
• To review the sub national and regional actions and commitments for integrated implementation of the SDGs and Agenda 2063.
• To share experiences, good practices and lessons learned in the efforts to implement the Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030.
Conference Sub Themes
The conference will assess mid-term progress regarding the implementation of the SDGs and Agenda 2063 with a focus on LNOB through three inter-linked sub-themes that will inform the high-level panel discussions. The sub-themes include:
(i) Leaving No One Behind through SDG Localization and Partnerships People are at the heart of SDGs and as such, the 2030 Agenda emphasizes inclusivity and reduced marginalization, the second conference will focus on assessing the level of marginalization and vulnerable groups that could be left behind if not deliberately targeted and planned for in Uganda’s development and social transformation programmes. These include orphans and vulnerable children, women and girls, children, and youth, PWDs, persons with albinism, older people, Indigenous Peoples, ethnic minorities, people living in remote and hard-to-reach areas, sexual minorities, people living with HIV/AIDS, migrants, refugees and mobile populations. The session will therefore reflect on how the government development interventions have reduced vulnerabilities and steered inclusivity. The discussions will also reflect on how the current local economic development program the parish development model and the NDPIII have been localized to enhance household incomes and increase employment opportunities.
(ii) Financing frameworks and opportunities for regional cooperation and accelerated delivery on SDGs and Agenda 2063.
In 2015, world leaders adopted a new global financing framework for the implementation of SDGs, called as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. As such, besides the integration of the 2030
Agenda and Agenda 2063 into national policies such as the National Development Plan and Sectoral plans, Governments, are encouraged to innovate ways to sustainably finance national development programs. Recently, the Government of Uganda developed and adopted the public investment and financing strategy (PIFS). The PIFS t aims at leveraging additional financing from traditional and innovative sources to meet the increasing development requirements embedded in the National Development plans and to support accelerated financing for the
implementation of SDGs. It is also meant to improve the alignment of suitable financing options to Government programmes to achieve value for money while providing a framework for partnership with the private sector in the implementation and financing of public investments.
This sub theme will focus on discuss how national development plans & strategies and regional opportunities presented through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) continue to support the country’s development needs, priorities, and required cost/investment.
(iii) Leveraging science, technology, and innovation for accelerated delivery on SDGs and Agenda 2063. Science, technology and innovation (STI), plays a key role in achieving the SDGs, particularly in targets that concern human well-being, such as health, clean water and sanitation, climate change, clean energy, decent work, and responsible production, among others. As STI is comprised of the production, dissemination, and use of knowledge, it has the potential to expand the evidence available to appraise the challenges associated with each SDG. Moreover, STI
can inform the set of possible solutions to address the tradeoffs that the systemic nature of the SDGs present. Therefore, achieving the SDGs and Agenda 2063 demands new strategies and solutions to tackle the complex challenges that they highlight and to increase the current pace
of progress in all of them. For that reason, the discussion will focus on how the Government of Uganda and partners have adopted STI as an integral element in the national development and financing frameworks. The conference will explore STI opportunities for accelerated delivery
of both agendas. Whereas, the conference will be informed by the above three sub themes and all the 17 SDGs, discussions will also be dedicated to the SDGs that have been considered for the HLPF 2023 in-depth review. These Goals include;
Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
Goal 9: Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
Goal 17: Partnership for the Goals
Expected Outcomes
• Conference Report that highlights the state of implementation of Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 and the role of different stakeholders in promoting sustainable development.
• Key Messages to inform the 2023 High-Level Political Forum and the 2023.
• Inform the report presented by the Head of State to the UN General Assembly and the SDG Summit in September 2023.
• A declaration with specific recommendations to support the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063.
METHODOLOGY, VENUE AND PARTICIPANTS
The UASDGC23 will feature a series of integrated activities and high-level meetings. Proposed for June 22-23, 2023, the Conference will also feature a series of capacity building workshops for young people in innovation an technology for development, exhibitions, expert panels, and
plenary presentations highlighting progress made towards the attainment of the 2030 SDG targets. Below are detailed highlights of key events/activities.
Methodology (Pre-conference and other activities during the Week)
i. SDG Skills Building workshops targeting young people in innovations and technology for development. The SDG Skills Building Workshop will aim at knowledge and skills acquisition, networking, sharing experiences and peer to peer collaboration, learning about practical actions and solutions to SDG challenges, and capacity building among others. The skills building workshops will be organized at regional levels just a day before the regional forums to generate and highlight opportunities and challenges faced by young people during the forums.
With similar objectives lie the regional skills building workshops, the national skills building workshop will be held on June 21, 2023, to also generate key messages to be presented during the national conference.
ii. SDG exhibitions that will run from 22-23 June 2023. The Community village will provide a platform for the exchange of cutting-edge ideas, experiences, showcase of innovations and new ideas in localizing SDGs as well as best practices in promoting partnerships, building
resilient communities and responding to climate challenges in Uganda. It will be a unique opportunity for individuals and organizations to have an audience for their work towards the attainment of the 2030 SDG Agenda and African Union Agenda 2063.
iii. Regional SDG festivals and forums
a) SDG Festivals. These will precede the Conference to allow for participation and learning from local government actors clustered according to geographical location and ease of proximity in the regional cities/districts. The regional SDG festivals will be organized in
Eastern (Jinja), Northern Uganda (Lira City), Western (Mbarara), and Central (Mubende). The activities will include mobilization and popularization, regional walks, tree planting, citizen parliaments (barazas), promotional events on the local media and stakeholder consultations.
These will be coordinated alongside the 23 Champions whose institutions participated in the June 2022 SDG Fellowship organized by the Danida Fellowship Centre and sponsored by the Royal Danish Embassy in Uganda.
b) Regional SDG Forums. Like it was in the first conference last year, the regional forums will be organized for 1 day and will bring together different district leaders from within the region to have a technical reflection. The participants will include leaders from the hosting district/City, CSOs, children and private sector, leaders from neighboring districts. The regional forums will draw up actions and key messages for the SDG conference. The regional forums will be preceded by the two (2) day regional festivals and will be hosted in the same districts/cities as is for the festivals.
Western Uganda -Mbarara City May 18, 2023,
Eastern Region-in Jinja City on May 25, 2023,
Central Uganda-in Mubende on June 1, 2023, and
Northern Uganda-in Lira City on June 8, 2023
(iv) The National People’s SDG Festival 2023; this will be a 2-days national event prior to the SDG conference led by media and communities running concurrently in different parts of the country. It will be a people-centered festival meant to inspire, mobilize, and connect people
and organizations to act on the SDGs. This festival will be physical with different stages/spaces, featuring plenary sessions; citizen talks (citizen panels); performances; interactive workshops; exhibitions (Ministries, Departments, Agencies, LGs, private sector, CSOs, etc) and leader-citizen discussions; activists; private sector; political parties; student shows; youth, women and PWDs shows and more. This Festival will be organized as a CSO village at Serena Conference Centre before and during the conference.
