Two major development agendas of our time – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 – can reinforce each another and help spur the achievement of national priorities, UNSSC stated at the recently concluded Sixth Africa Regional Forum for Sustainable Development in Zimbabwe. High-impact learning can empower action and help deliver on these agendas, UNSSC emphasized.

 “The integrated nature of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda calls for an integrated approach in their implementation and reporting to avoid duplication of effort and promote coherence in policy design and implementation,” said Patrick van Weerelt, Head of Office of the UNSSC Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development. Both agendas are underpinned by the 5 ‘P’s –people, prosperity, planet, peace, and partnerships.

Regional Fora, such as the 6th Africa Regional Forum for Sustainable Development (ARFSD), provide an action-oriented multi-stakeholder platform to rally the Member States and partners to advance an integrated implementation of both Agendas and take urgent and transformative actions while aiming at ‘leaving no one behind.’

The integrated nature of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda calls for an integrated approach in their implementation and reporting to avoid duplication of effort and promote coherence in policy design and implementation.

Effective and high-impact learning and dialogues are a central focus in regional fora for sustainable development. Individuals exchanging knowledge and experience with each other and feeding the learning experience back to their organizations can advance high-impact learning—at scale—that can support accelerating action. UNSSC provides opportunities where practical peer learning can take place and fosters an enabling environment where trust and commitment can ensue.

To guide the determination of high-impact learning opportunities, UNSSC uses a framework where it analyzes the level of concurrence among different stakeholders in a peer-learning environment, as well as their level of knowledge of the interlinkages between the Global Goals and understanding of their relationships.   

To demonstrate a practical application of the framework for high-impact learning, UNSSC conducted an interactive workshop for participants at the 6th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, which took place from 24 to 27 February 2020 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, using a case study that was used to unpack the different components of high-impact learning. The workshop drew insights from lessons learned from a series of UNSSC training and highlighted the value and relevance of the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) in peer learning exchanges on sustainable development. The workshop underlined that the biggest transformative potentials of the 2030 Agenda do not lie in pursuing single Goals or targets but rather in a systemic approach that manages their myriad interactions, which also serves as a guide in designing high-impact learning that is action-oriented and supports transformative change for the 2030 Agenda.  

Make sure to learn more about high-impact learning opportunities on sustainable development, or email us at sustainable-development@unssc.org.