As the Bonn Symposium has become well-established over the past three years as an international forum for dialogue on the local implementation of Agenda 2030, many international actors, including the Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST), attended its 2016 version to share their vision and expertise.
The Symposium’s main and overarching objectives are to share information about the implementation and monitoring of Agenda 2030, to facilitate a global exchange of experience on current local engagement, and to channel discussion outcomes into the national and international process.
Inter alia the contribution to the SDGs, LOST’s experience was illustrated by its founder Dr. Ramy Lakkis. He spoke at length about how the vision of LOST is compatible the development goals, and how it is alleviating people’s life in Lebanon on this basis. “Our 2014-2017 strategy and its versatile interventions aim at coping with the commitment to ensuring inclusive quality education (SDG 4), achieving gender equality (SDG 5), promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all (SDG 8), reducing inequality (SDG 10), implementing planned and well-managed migration policies (SDG 10.7), making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (SDG 11), ensuring access to adequate, safe and affordable housing (SDG 11.1), and revitalizing the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development (SDG 17),” he said.
This year’s Bonn Symposium will therefore explore ways of implementing Agenda 2030’s social policy mandate at the local level. To what extent do municipal authorities and other local stakeholders have powers and responsibilities to heal the fault-lines within society, and how much scope for action do they have? How can conflicts of interests be dealt with? What are examples of best practice in implementing the SDGs’ social policy mandate at the local level? How can the municipalities learn from and support each other through global dialogue?
