Czech governmental and non-governmental speakers at 16Plus Forum discussion on Civil Society in support of SDG 16
23.05.2018 / 04:34 | Aktualizováno: 23.05.2018 / 04:38
The Permanent Missions of the Czech Republic, Georgia and Timor Leste, together with the World Federation of UN Associations (WFUNA), co-organized a 16Plus Forum panel discussion on 22 May 2018, focused on the engagement of civil society in support of SDG16. The discussion was conceived as a side event to the 23 May Special ECOSOC meeting on participation of all, a special initiative of the Czech ECOSOC presidency.
In her opening remarks, Ambassador Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, recalled the in-depth review of a set of SDGs at the 2018 HLPF, as well as at the 2019 HLPF, where Goal 16 will be among the SDGs reviewed. Director Kateřina Fialková of MFA Prague spoke about the Czech ECOSOC presidency activities in the build up to the Special meeting of ECOSOC, especially the preparatory meeting in Prague in March 2018. Petr Lebeda, Director of Glopolis and representative of an umbrella initiative of Czech NGOs in support of SDG implementation („Měj se k světu“, i.e. „Get on with the World“), pointed out the importance of building a strong foundation of bottom-up civil society groups, of trust among people and organizations as an enabler, and of standing up against populism.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Khatuna Totladze, spoke about her country’s priorities in chairing the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Permanent Representative of Timor Leste to the UN, Ambassador Pires, shared her country’s experience with Social Audits as a method of engaging civil society together with governmental authorities in support of sustainable development at community level.
Civil society side-event