more than 80 leaders will meet in Accra to discuss how to join forces to collectively implement the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Ghana.
Participants from business, philanthropy, social investment, the UN system, non-governmental organizations, and government will have a rare opportunity to exchange information and share their ideas concerning the future of Ghana’s development. The leaders will discuss a broad array of challenges related to water and sanitation, education, livelihoods, youth employability, and more.
The workshop is organized by the Post-2015 Partnership Platform for Philanthropy — a project of the United Nations Development Programme, Foundation Center, and a group of leading foundations guided by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors — which is facilitating a more active role for philanthropy in the planning and implementation of the SDGs. The Platform receives guidance from leading funders, including the Conrad N. Hilton, Ford, and MasterCard foundations.
“The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has been investing in water projects in Ghana for over 25 years,” said Edmund Cain, vice president for grant programs at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. “With the vision provided by SDG 6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) our foundation sees an opportunity to leverage its future investments with other partners to finally achieve this goal, and hopefully earlier than 2030.”
Following a series of global stakeholder consultations, 17 SDGs have been proposed as part of the broader Post-2015 Development Agenda. When adopted in September 2015 by governments, the SDGs will succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that come to a close this year.
“Effective partnership and resources mobilization are needed for the financing of the Sustainable Development Goals. Philanthropy can be the new and emerging partner to leverage its position and contributions to bring along other nongovernmental actors to engage in financing equitable and sustainable development,” says Christine Evans-Klock, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Ghana.
The Post-2015 Partnership Platform for Philanthropy was launched in November 2014 to help grantmakers better understand the opportunities for engaging in global development goal processes. It also creates a means for philanthropy to participate more in the discussions on the Post-2015 agenda and to play a greater role in shaping future goals by giving a greater voice to grantee partners. Ghana joins Kenya, Colombia, and Indonesia as a country of focus for the platform.
“As philanthropy grows worldwide, so can its role in this effort to solve the globe’s most challenging problems,” said Bradford K. Smith, president of New York City-based Foundation Center. “The Partnership Platform will be enormously important to deepening understanding across sectors, fostering cross-sector collaborations, and accelerating progress on important goals in individual countries.”
To encourage knowledge exchange globally, later this year the Platform initiative will launch SDGfunders.org, a free website that will provide data on philanthropic investments and serve as a worldwide hub for sharing case studies and online discussions.
By: Kasapafmonline.com/Ghana