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Global Gateway: EU launches Digital Economy Package for Kenya to boost connectivity, skills and inclusive governance 7 Oct 2023 1:08 PM (last year)

Jutta Urpilainen, European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships, announced the EU’s Digital Economy Package for Kenya during her official visit to Kenya. The package reflects the EU’s strong commitment to Kenya’s technological transition by expanding school connectivity, providing skills training for students, and establishing a green digital innovation hub as part of the Global Gateway investment strategy, which is the EU’s positive offer to advance the twin digital and green transitions and to deliver trusted and sustainable connections to partner countries.

Commissioner Urpilainen said: “I am proud that Team Europe is investing in Kenya’s digital transition under Global Gateway. Expanding digital connectivity, upskilling jobs and driving digital governance and services is at the heart of what our investment strategy is about: creating sustainable connections and local added value, while cutting unsustainable dependencies. Digital inclusion is key for connecting people to public services and making public institutions more accountable. As a former teacher, I am particularly happy about the digital opportunities we can offer to learners.

One of the key deliverables of the Digital Package features the Last Mile Digital Connections to Underserved Areas programme. In Kenya, this programme will reduce the digital gap by providing internet for up to 1,300 schools in underserved areas such as arid and semi-arid lands (ASALS). The EU grant of €9.8 million will finance infrastructure and the development of skills and digital educational services to schools across 47 counties benefitting more than 219,000 children. It is being implemented through the GIGA Programme, a global initiative to connect every school to the Internet by 2030 set up by the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

As part of the Package, the Commissioner also announced €9.9 million Team Europe support to the digitalisation of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Centres around the country, which will leverage funds from the German and French Development Finance Institutions and the Government of Kenya to reinforce digital reform in the TVET sector. Team Europe’s Digital Economy Package for Kenya aims to increase digital connectivity, provide digital skills support and ensure open and inclusive digital governance. The EU and Germany are jointly supporting the creation of a green digital innovation hub while the EU works on e-government in partnership with Estonia and Germany and Govstack (a community-driven initiative formed from a multi-lateral partnership between Germany, Estonia, ITU and the Digital Impact Alliance) as well as on data protection, digitalisation of land governance, customs processes, procurement and e-justice and cyber security.

The Package will be implemented through the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) on Human Centred Digitalisation in Kenya. Team Europe consists of the European Union and EU Member States including their implementing agencies and public development banks. The expected contributions to the TEI amounts to €430 million and partners include Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Slovakia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Austria, the European Investment Bank, AFD, FMO, FinnFund and KfW.

Background

The Global Gateway is a European investment strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital and other sectors for a strong, inclusive, green and digital recovery and transformation. Through Global Gateway, the EU is strengthening connections between Europe and the world and helping partner countries address the digital divide and further integrate into the global digital ecosystem, while advancing sustainable development. The EU supports Kenya to address the digital divide and further integrate into the global digital ecosystem.

EU launches the Youth Empowerment Fund 5 Oct 2023 1:31 AM (last year)

New partnership with the world’s largest youth organisations to support young people contributing to the SDGs

The European Commission and the world’s largest youth organisations, the “Big Six”, announced a partnership to launch the EU Youth Empowerment Fund, to be implemented through the Global Youth Mobilization (GYM). It marks the first anniversary of the Youth Action Plan for EU External Action, the EU’s policy framework for a strategic partnership with young people to build a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future.

As a flagship initiative of the Youth Action Plan, and designed by, with and for young people, the EU Youth Empowerment Fund is a €10 million pilot initiative. It will provide and facilitate access to vital resources for young people to contribute to the sustainable development of their local communities and societies in EU partner countries across the world to reach the objectives of Agenda 2030, in line with the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.

The partnership will break down barriers to funding; provide opportunities for mentoring, coaching and capacity strengthening; unlock opportunities for marginalised and under-represented communities; and engage, empower and mobilise young people to create local solutions to the world’s biggest challenges from climate change and gender equality to access to education and employment.

Accessible funding for youth-led initiatives to accelerate progress towards the SDGs

Despite facing unparalleled challenges and being disproportionately affected by worsening inequalities in society, young people are a powerful force for change, and youth-led and youth co-created initiatives have enormous potential to contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Yet young people often face barriers in accessing funds and opportunities to scale up successful initiatives.

The EU Youth Empowerment Fund through the Global Youth Mobilization will address this challenge by making low-barrier funding accessible for young people at the grassroots community level, minimising “red tape” and creating accessible opportunities that are relevant to the needs and priorities of young people, including marginalised and under-represented populations.

The Fund will also support mentoring and coaching opportunities, as well as capacity strengthening of young people to build their resilience, and help them lead, take action and advocate for their needs.

Young people will lead on all aspects of the EU Youth Empowerment Fund through the Global Youth Mobilization, from selecting grant beneficiaries, to sitting on the Board of the initiative, to supporting mentoring and capacity strengthening programs, and participating in the design, leadership and implementation of projects in their communities.

The first activities of the Youth Empowerment Fund will start in late 2023, with first grants being disbursed to young people in early 2024.

Background

The European Commission’s work for and with youth is guided by the Youth Action Plan (YAP) in European Union external action for 2022-2027, the first-ever policy framework for a strategic partnership with young people around the world. It focuses on young people as change makers and essential partners in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other international commitments such as the Paris Agreement on climate change. It aims to ensure that EU external action contributes to youth empowerment at political, social and economic levels, and to facilitate young people’s meaningful engagement in decision and policy-making.

The Global Youth Mobilization (GYM) is an initiative of the Big Six, established in 2020. From 2020-2022 it invested more than US$ 5 million to support 640 youth-led projects which engaged more than 600,000 young people and reached over 3.6 million people in communities across more than 125 countries.

Formed in 1996, the Big Six Youth Organisations are an alliance of leading international youth-serving organisations. The Big Six is comprised of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), the World Alliance of Young Men’s Christian Associations (World YMCA), the World Alliance of Young Women’s Christian Associations (World YWCA), the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (The Award).

Global Youth Mobilization is an initiative of the ‘Big Six’ Youth Organisations, an alliance of leading international youth-serving organisations. Together, the Big Six actively involve and engage more than 250 million young people, contributing to the empowerment of more than one billion young people during the last century.

For more information

EU Youth

Global Youth Mobilization

Decolonise international development consulting 21 Sep 2023 6:43 AM (last year)

We had a discussion today among colleagues of INTRAC and other leading organisations on decolonising consultancy. Here are some thoughts about it. Please follow INTRAC and join the discussion: https://www.intrac.org/tag/decolonising-consultancy/

See more and add your thoughts at INTRAC.

Global Gateway: EU and Latin America and the Caribbean step up action to promote inclusive and equal societies 2 Jul 2023 2:27 PM (last year)

European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, announced a new EU programme worth €60 million to step up action against inequalities and to promote inclusive and equal societies in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Commissioner made the announcement at the EU – Latin America and Caribbean Forum bringing together civil society, youth and local authorities, alongside Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares Bueno.

The EU wants to step up action against inequalities and to promote inclusive and equal societies in Latin America and the Caribbean through a new program worth €60 million. The objective of the program is to tackle inequalities, reduce poverty, and social exclusion and enhance social cohesion within Latin American and Caribbean countries. The program will provide a comprehensive framework to develop innovative social policies and share best practices and will drive innovative social policy-making through bi-regional and intra-regional partnerships and technical exchanges.

Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said: “I believe that focusing on people and human development is key to prosperity – and essential to reduce inequalities that hamper sustainable development. The partnership between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean is first and foremost a partnership of and for the people.  I am proud to announce this new EU programme, which illustrates how the EU–LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda strives to improve our citizens’ lives, their wellbeing and social cohesion. The programme will provide a comprehensive framework to develop innovative social policies and share best practices. It will advance transition towards more just, inclusive and sustainable societies in Latin America and Caribbean.”

During his speech, Albares made reference to the priority of addressing what he defined as the “triple transition”. “We have to work to improve the lives of our societies by influencing three areas: social, digital and environmental.”, explained the minister.

The ‘Inclusive Societies’ programme’s overall objective is to tackle inequalities, reduce poverty and social exclusion, and enhance social cohesion within Latin American and Caribbean countries. It will support pilot initiatives to facilitate transformative changes toward inclusive, fair, and equal societies.

It will also promote gender and social policies, education and skills development, protection and social inclusion, with a specific emphasis on women and youth. Support will focus on promoting access to social rights and basic social services for the most vulnerable. Through the programme, the EU will help enhance inclusive, accountable and transparent public institutions and promote social innovation, resilience, and just transitions.

Under the Global Gateway investment strategy, the EU’s positive offer to partner countries to build sustainable and trusted connections, the programme will drive innovative social policy-making through bi-regional and intra-regional partnerships, and technical exchanges.

The new EU programme will mobilise €60 million from the EU budget. Moreover, the Commission and EU Member States are preparing a Team Europe Initiative, which would build on the programme launched today and act as a platform to combine efforts to enhance social cohesion and tackle inequalities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Today’s announcement comes in the context of the EU-CELAC Summit, taking place in Brussels (Belgium) on 17-18 July. At the Summit, leaders from the EU and Latin America and Caribbean are expected agree to further deepen the partnership between the two regions and set the path to become partners of choice to tackle the most pressing challenges facing both regions.

The EU – Latin America and Caribbean Partnership

The European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have a deep-rooted and strong relationship based on a broad range of agreements and are key partners in strengthening the rules-based international order, standing together for democracy, human rights and international peace and security.

The fast-changing global context, with its increasing geopolitical challenges, makes this a critical moment to renew this partnership at the EU-CELAC Summit and enhance bi-regional cooperation to tackle the global climate and environmental crises, to harness technological changes and to combat rising inequalities.

Global Gateway in Latin America and the Caribbean

Global Gateway seeks to create a partnership where the public sector of Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean link up with the private sector to generate business investments to contribute to wealthier societies to the benefit of all.

European companies have a long history of working together with the advanced economies in Latin America and the Caribbean. Europe’s Global Gateway initiative builds on the close ties between the two regions. It seeks to create a partnership where the public sector of Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean (like development banks and national export credit agencies) link up with the private sector, to generate business investments that can contribute to wealthier societies to the benefit of all. Global Gateway promotes the European values of good governance, transparency and sustainability to improve the lives of many.

The EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda (GGIA) is the roadmap of strategic priorities that the EU has chosen to invest in with its Latin American and Caribbean partners. Global Gateway has an ambitious agenda including activities ranging from 5G extension to remote areas, green bonds, greener transport systems, clean hydrogen energy and better health infrastructures to scaling up joint research. It should result in smarter, cleaner and more secure links between the two regions.

More information: https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/policies/global-gateway/initiatives-region/initiatives-latin-america-and-caribbean_en

Source: European Commission

Some thoughts on Learning from Evaluations 24 Apr 2023 2:36 AM (last year)

Speaking evidence to power

Reporting evaluation results and communicating them effectively to policymakers and program managers is critical for improving uptake at the policy level and programming. By following the recommendations outlined in this article, evaluators can safeguard that their evaluation results are clear, concise, and actionable, and that they are communicated in a way that is engaging and relevant to the target audience. Ultimately, effective reporting and communication can help to improve the impact and sustainability of policies and programs, leading to better outcomes for the people they serve.

Evaluation is a crucial aspect of any policy or programming cycle. Evaluation results provide valuable feedback on the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of a policy or program, and they are important for decision-making and accountability purposes. However, presenting evaluation results in a way that is understandable and actionable to policymakers and program managers can be challenging. This article presents recommendations for reporting evaluation results and communicating them to improve uptake at policy level and programming.

Recommendations for reporting evaluation results

Use clear and concise language: Evaluation reports should be written in clear and concise language, avoiding technical jargon and acronyms as much as possible. The use of simple language can make evaluation results more accessible to policymakers and program managers who may not have a technical background.

Focus on key findings: Evaluation reports should focus on the key findings, highlighting the most important results and their implications for policy or program design. This can help policymakers and program managers to prioritize the areas that require attention and resources.

Use data visualization: Data visualization can be a powerful tool for presenting evaluation results in a clear and accessible way. Charts, graphs, and tables can help to illustrate key findings and make the results more engaging and understandable.

Provide context: Evaluation results should be presented in the context of the policy or program being evaluated. This can help to explain why certain outcomes were achieved or not achieved, and can also help to identify areas for improvement.

Give useable recommendations: Evaluation reports should include clear and actionable recommendations for policymakers and program managers. Recommendations should be based on the evaluation findings and should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Recommendations for communicating evaluation results

Identify the target audience: Communication strategies should be tailored to the specific needs and preferences of the target audience. For example, policymakers may prefer to receive a summary of the evaluation results in a brief, easily digestible format, while program managers may be more interested in detailed technical reports.

Use multiple communication channels: Different stakeholders may have different preferences for communication channels. Communication strategies should use a mix of channels, including face-to-face meetings, written reports, presentations, and social media.

Engage stakeholders early: Engaging stakeholders early in the evaluation process can help to build trust and buy-in, and can also ensure that the evaluation is relevant and useful to the target audience. Stakeholders should be involved in the design of the evaluation and in the interpretation of the results.

Use storytelling: Storytelling can be a powerful tool for communicating evaluation results in a way that is engaging and memorable. Stories can help to illustrate the impact of the policy or program on real people and can also help to generate empathy and support for the program.

Follow-up and feedback: Following up with stakeholders after the communication of evaluation results can help to ensure that the results are being used and to address any remaining questions or concerns. Soliciting feedback can also help to improve future evaluation processes.

How to improve uptake of evaluation results?

Power to the evidence!

By taking some steps, policymakers can overcome common hurdles in using evaluation evidence to steer their policies and programs, leading to more effective and impactful outcomes for the communities they serve.

Despite the importance of evaluation evidence, policymakers often face hurdles in using this evidence to steer their policies and programs. Some of the most common hurdles include:

Limited access to evaluation evidence: Policymakers may not have easy access to evaluation evidence due to limited resources, lack of transparency, or difficulty in interpreting the evidence.

Complexity of evaluation evidence: Evaluation evidence can be complex and difficult to understand, especially for policymakers who may not have a technical background.

Political pressures: Policymakers may face political pressures that prioritize short-term gains over long-term impact, making it difficult to use evaluation evidence to guide policy decisions.

Organizational culture: Organizational culture can also pose challenges to using evaluation evidence, as some policymakers may be resistant to change or may prioritize their own preferences over evidence-based decision-making.

To overcome these hurdles, policymakers can take the following steps:

Invest in evaluation capacity: Policymakers can invest in building evaluation capacity within their organizations, including training and support for staff to use evaluation evidence in their decision-making processes.

Improve data and evaluation systems: Policymakers can also invest in improving data and evaluation systems to make evaluation evidence more accessible and understandable.

Foster a culture of evidence-based decision-making: Policymakers can work to foster a culture of evidence-based decision-making, including promoting the use of evaluation evidence in decision-making processes and incentivizing staff to use evidence in their work.

Engage stakeholders: Policymakers can engage stakeholders, including program staff, evaluators, and beneficiaries, in the evaluation process to build buy-in and support for the use of evaluation evidence.

Communicate evaluation evidence effectively: Policymakers can also work to communicate evaluation evidence effectively, including using clear and concise language, highlighting key findings and implications, and providing actionable recommendations.

Policy makers might be humans too

Individual perceiving capabilities are crucial for effective communication and uptake of evaluation results at policy level and programming. Here are some additional recommendations that focus specifically on improving individual listening capabilities:

Practice active listening: Active listening involves paying close attention to the speaker, asking clarifying questions, and providing feedback to ensure that you have understood the message correctly. Practicing active listening can help to ensure that you fully understand the evaluation results being presented, and can also signal to the speaker that you value their input and are interested in their perspective.

Employ empathy: Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Developing empathy can help you to better understand the context and perspective of the speaker, which can make it easier to understand and relate to the evaluation results being presented.

Cultivate an open mind: Keeping an open mind can help you to approach the evaluation results with curiosity and a willingness to learn. This can help you to better understand the speaker’s perspective and to identify areas of agreement and potential collaboration.

Manage your biases: We all have biases that can influence our perceptions and interpretations of information. Being aware of your biases and actively managing them can help you to approach the evaluation results with a more objective and open-minded perspective.

Practice reflection: After listening to the evaluation results, take some time to reflect on what you have heard and what it means for your policy or program. Reflecting can help you to process the information more deeply and to identify areas for further inquiry or action.

By focusing on these individual listening capabilities, policymakers and program managers can better understand and incorporate evaluation results into their decision-making processes, leading to more effective policies and programs.

UN SDSN Statement on the War in Ukraine 19 Apr 2022 1:53 PM (2 years ago)

New German Government plans for development policy 24 Nov 2021 12:33 PM (3 years ago)

Here is a very unofficial translation of parts from today’s coalition contract for the Federal government. Do not cite!

DARE MORE PROGRESS

ALLIANCE FOR FREEDOM, JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABILITY
COALITION AGREEMENT BETWEEN SPD, BÜNDNIS 90 / DIE GRÜNEN AND FDP

Foreign, security, defense, development, human rights

We will make our foreign, security and development policy more value-based and more European. German foreign policy should act from a single source and develop joint strategies across departments in order to increase the coherence of our international action. Together with our partners, including from civil society, we will work to preserve our free way of life in Europe and to protect peace and human rights worldwide. We are guided by our values ​​and interests.

We want to increase Europe’s strategic sovereignty. The aim is multilateral cooperation in the world, especially in close connection with those states that share our democratic values. It is also about systemic competition with authoritarian states and strategic solidarity with our democratic partners.

Human rights as the most important protective shield for the dignity of the individual form our compass. The transatlantic alliance is a central pillar and NATO is an indispensable part of our security. Our soldiers make an indispensable contribution to the protection of our country, to peace and international security.

We are committed to reviving international disarmament and arms control. Our security and the protection of our livelihoods require global cooperation, a strengthening of the United Nations and a rules-based international order. In particular, we advocate a joint, consistent foreign climate policy and climate justice in line with the European Green Deal, the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement.

For us, working for peace, freedom, human rights, democracy, the rule of law and sustainability is an indispensable part of a successful and credible foreign policy for Germany and Europe.

…

Development cooperation

We align our actions with the UN Agenda 2030 with its sustainability goals (SDG) and a value-oriented development policy. We advocate sustainable development, the fight against hunger and poverty, climate justice, biodiversity and a socio-ecological one worldwide

Object. We are significantly strengthening our multilateral engagement. We want to ensure that Germany fulfills its international obligations in the area of ​​development cooperation and international climate finance. We will maintain an ODA quota of at least 0.7 percent of gross national income (GNI). In this context, we use 0.2 percent of GNI for the poorest countries in the Global South (LDC). In addition, the funds for international climate finance should continue to grow. The expenditures for crisis prevention, humanitarian aid, foreign cultural and educational policy and development cooperation are to increase as before on a one-to-one scale like the expenditures for defense on the basis of the budget 2021. We will coordinate the ODA funds more closely at the federal level among the responsible ministries to help them to be able to use it more effectively.

We promote food security and access to clean drinking water with sustainable agro-ecological approaches as well as knowledge and technology transfer, especially in the area of ​​smallholder agriculture. German and European agricultural exports should not destroy markets in partner countries and we want to actively counter willful distortion of the food market through financial market speculation. We will make use of the legal possibilities to ban the export of certain pesticides that are not authorized in the EU for reasons of human health protection.

Together with trade unions, companies and civil society, we advocate fair and formal working conditions and living wages worldwide. By building social security systems, we want to actively support our partner countries in the fight against poverty. We also want to support an international financing instrument (Global Fund for Social Protection) for those countries that do not have sufficient resources.

With climate and development partnerships, we promote mutual knowledge and technology transfer, the expansion of renewable energies with independent added value and local uses, sustainable infrastructure and other climate protection and adaptation measures in our partner countries. This also includes measures to preserve biodiversity, to strengthen climate resilience, to overcome energy poverty and climate risk insurance based on the polluter pays principle.

To achieve the climate goals, we will invest more in the protection of existing forests and moors and sustainable reforestation. In particular, we are strengthening our approaches to promoting private and smallholder sustainable forestry. With their rapidly increasing urbanization, we will support the partner countries in designing and administering this process in a way that conserves resources and is climate-sensitive. We are strengthening the global health architecture as part of the One Health approach. The World Health Organization (WHO) is to be reformed and strengthened. We will expand the water, sanitation and hygiene supply (WASH), adequately equip the global vaccination alliance and intensify the fight against poverty-related and neglected tropical diseases.

We support the global COVID-19 vaccination campaign COVAX and strengthen it financially and through fast delivery of vaccines. We support voluntary production partnerships and the transfer of know-how to increase production capacities for drugs and vaccines worldwide. Debates about a fair vaccine supply.

We are strengthening our commitment, in particular, to basic education, dual training as well as continuing education and training opportunities as well as development-policy educational work by civil society in Germany. We want to use digital technologies to enable equal and free access to information and participation and to use this in particular in the areas of education, health and climate and resource protection. With the aim of mutual learning, we promote exchange and cooperation between innovative actors such as start-ups in industrialized and developing countries.

We strengthen the rights, representation and resources of women, girls and marginalized groups like LGBTI people. Equal political, economic and social participation, the strengthening of sexual and reproductive health and the rights of women and girls as well as unrestricted access to equal education and health care are central to us. We will develop a comprehensive gender action plan with the participation of civil society and fund it.

We are strengthening our promotion of civil society and the important role of trade unions, political and private foundations and churches, especially in fragile contexts. The important work of the political foundations with funds from the BMZ is to be secured and strengthened in the future, especially in the previous project countries. We orient financial support services for government-related actors towards democracy, the rule of law, human rights, the expansion of freedom for civil society actors and the press, and the fight against corruption. We will give more support to the European Democracy Fund.

Our goal is a new international debt management consensus. We support an initiative for a codified international state insolvency procedure that includes all creditors and implements debt relief for particularly vulnerable groups of countries. In order to increase the partner countries’ own income and to combat tax evasion, we will demand and promote lawful, effective and transparent tax systems that also include the financial performance of the elites.

We aim to simplify the allocation and funding guidelines of the BMZ and the Federal Foreign Office. We will strengthen the German Evaluation Institute for Development Cooperation (DEval) and the German Development Institute (DIE) as independent bodies. We will strengthen the cross-departmental evaluation of the use of ODA funds. We are reviewing the budget structure for special initiatives, BMZ 2030 and the list of countries.

Source:

Mehr Fortschritt wagen – Bündnis für Freiheit, Gerechtigkeit und Nachhaltigkeit. Koalitionsvertrag 2021–2025 zwischen SPD, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN und FDP

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2 Dec 2021: World Sustainable Development Teach-In Day 17 Nov 2021 8:10 AM (3 years ago)

2 Dec 2021: World Sustainable Development Teach-In Day presents open access live lectures on Progress towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

Hamburg, (–) October 2021 –  The World Sustainable Development Teach-In Day (WSDTID), a decade-long global movement that aims to raise and spread awareness of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) – the universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030 – is being organized on 2 December 2021 by the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR) at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

This event showcases a large set of open access online lectures. University staff, NGO representatives and further sustainability lecturers from all over the world will present how their actions and initiatives contribute towards achieving the UN SDGs. The tentative programme with lectures in English, Spanish and Portuguese has just been released and can be accessed on the central website www.esssr.eu/wsdtid. Besides watching the lectures on 2 Dec 2021, participants can register for the event and log on to a dedicated online platform beforehand where they can exchange with the participating community and will find further lecture announcements by speakers who organize complementary sustainability lectures on their own. Register here for the online platform: www.dl4sd.org.

Last year’s edition of the event on December 4th 2020 was a major success, featuring lectures from renowned institutions such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN),  WWF & Impact Hub Partnership, BNP PARIBAS PF, Anant National University (India), Universidad de Oviedo (Spain),  Daffodil International University (Bangladesh), Technical University Clausthal (Germany), Bournemouth University (UK), York University (Canada), Università del Piemonte Orientale (Italy), Galileo University ( Guatemala), the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, the Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar, The Climate Reality Project (Germany), Sustainability Week International (Switzerland) and many more.

This year, the event features presenters from 22 countries and the organisers look forward to welcoming thousands of participants for the comprehensive lecturing programme.

Contact

European School of Sustainability Science and Research

Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg)

Research and Transfer Centre „Sustainability and Climate Change Management“

Ulmenliet 20, 21033 Hamburg, Germany

ESSSR@ls.haw-hamburg.de

NDICI-Global Europe: the new financial instrument to support the EU’s external action in force 2 Aug 2021 1:33 AM (3 years ago)

The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, represented by the Portuguese Presidency, signed the regulation establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI-Global Europe). The regulation entered into force on 14 June 2021.

With a new financial instrument for neighbourhood, development and international cooperation (the so-called NDICI-Global Europe instrument), the EU has given itself the means to enhance its external action. It is now in the process of programming and implementing the new instrument, with a clear focus on new strategic priorities and new ways of working. The meaning, scope and implications of such changes are still difficult to grasp – yet, they are far-reaching.

NDICI-Global Europe is the main financial instrument for the EU’s external action, and is of ever greater importance in the light of the heavy economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide.

With an overall allocation of €79.5 billion at current prices, for 2021-2027, representing an increase of over 10% compared to the previous budgetary cycle, the new instrument will cover cooperation with all third countries.

NDICI-Global Europe will be organised around three key pillars:

– Geographical: The geographical component will promote partnerships through cooperation with partner countries in the following regions: the European Neighbourhood, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and the Americas and the Caribbean.

– Thematic: The thematic programmes – for which €6 358 million is allocated – will fund actions linked to the Sustainable Development Goals at global level, including support for civil society organisations. Thematic programmes will therefore focus on human rights and democracy, civil society, stability and peace, as well as on global challenges such as health, education and training, women and children, work, social protection, culture, migration and climate change.

– Rapid response: The rapid response component, amounting to €3 182 million, will be dedicated to financing the quick response capacity for crisis management, conflict prevention and peace building. Actions financed within this component aim to strengthen the resilience of crisis-affected countries, link humanitarian and development actions and address foreign policy needs and priorities.

The full regulation is here.

ECDPM developed a guide providing answers to some key questions you may have on NDICI-Global Europe. It summarises the main aspects of the EU’s approach to development and international cooperation, building on and referring to relevant ECDPM publications and analyses.

Explore the ECDPM guide

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An inclusive digital economy for people with disabilities? 17 Feb 2021 1:55 PM (4 years ago)

The digital revolution in the world of work impacts all. How does it impact people with disabilities? Which chances and potential barriers does digitalised work bring for disability inclusion? What are the actions to ensure nobody is left behind and the digital divide is closed? The report “An inclusive digital economy for people with disabilities”, developed by the ILO Global Business and Disability Network and Fundación ONCE in the framework of Disability Hub Europe, aims to answer those and other relevant questions.

European Commission: DEVCO becomes DG International Partnerships 20 Jan 2021 1:22 PM (4 years ago)

Directorate-General (DG) International Cooperation and Development will officially become DG International Partnerships (DG INTPA) on 16 January 2021. The new title, mission statement and structure reflect the important role of international partnerships in shaping a stronger role for the EU globally, in eradicating poverty, advancing towards the Sustainable Development Goals and promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The transition completes a process that started in December 2019 when Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen became the first Commissioner for International Partnerships in the new ‘Geopolitical Commission’ of President von der Leyen. The mission letter entrusts her to ensure that the European model of development evolves in line with new global realities. A revamped Directorate-General for International Partnerships is a key tool to deliver on this mission and for building relationships with transformational impact around common priorities with our partners around the globe.

DG International Partnerships works in countries and regions in Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean (including the Overseas Countries and Territories); Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.

For More Information

Follow EU International Partnerships on

Twitter and Instagram: @EU_Partnerships
Facebook: @EUPartnerships
Organisation Chart

DG International Partnerships Mission Statement

“Our mission is to contribute to sustainable development, the eradication of poverty, peace and the protection of human rights, through international partnerships that uphold and promote European values and interests.

As part of the European Union’s external relations, we base our actions on international law and multilateralism and are at the forefront of the European Union’s efforts to implement global commitments, notably the United Nations 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Under the geopolitical ambition and political guidelines set by the President of the European Commission, we lead on international cooperation, building partnerships with countries and organisations across the globe. We work hand in hand with the Commission services to ensure that the external dimension of all EU policies strengthen our action in the world. We work hand in hand with our Member States to mobilise a strong Team Europe behind our EU agenda on the world stage. We work hand in hand with our partners, setting policy agendas, taking initiatives and ensuring effective implementation of our actions for the ultimate benefit of people across the world.”

Broken societies put people and planet on collision course, says UNDP 15 Dec 2020 6:12 AM (4 years ago)

An experimental global index offers a new measurement of human progress that illustrates the challenge of tackling poverty and inequality while easing planetary pressure.

New York, 15 December 2020– The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest crisis facing the world, but unless humans release their grip on nature, it won’t be the last, according to a new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which includes a new experimental index on human progress that takes into account countries’ carbon dioxide emissions and material footprint.

The report lays out a stark choice for world leaders – take bold steps to reduce the immense pressure that is being exerted on the environment and the natural world, or humanity’s progress will stall.

“Humans wield more power over the planet than ever before. In the wake of COVID-19, record breaking temperatures and spiraling inequality, it is time to use that power to redefine what we mean by progress, where our carbon and consumption footprints are no longer hidden,” said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator.
“As this report shows, no country in the world has yet achieved very high human development without putting immense strain on the planet. But we could be the first generation to right this wrong. That is the next frontier for human development,” he said.

The report argues that as people and planet enter an entirely new geological epoch, the Anthropocene or the Age of Humans, it is time to for all countries to redesign their paths to progress by fully accounting for the dangerous pressures humans put on the planet, anddismantle the gross imbalances of power and opportunity that prevent change. To illustrate the point, the 30th anniversary edition of the Human Development Report, The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene, introduces an experimental new lens to its annual Human Development Index (HDI).By adjusting the HDI, which measures a nation’s health, education, and standards of living, to include two more elements: a country’s carbon dioxide emissions and its material footprint, the  index shows how the global development landscape would change if both the wellbeing of people and also the planet were central to defining humanity’s progress.

With the resulting Planetary-Pressures Adjusted HDI – or PHDI – a new global picture emerges, painting a less rosy but clearer assessment of human progress. For example, more than 50 countries drop out of the very high human development group, reflecting their dependence on fossil fuels and material footprint.

Despite these adjustments, countries like Costa Rica, Moldova, and Panama move upwards by at least 30 places, recognizing that lighter pressure on the planet is possible. “The Human Development Report is an important product by the United Nations. In a time where action is needed, the new generation of Human Development Reports, with greateremphasis on the defining issues of our time such as climate change and inequalities, helps us to steer our efforts towards the future we want,” said Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden, host country of the launch of the report. The next frontier for human development will require working with and not against nature, while transforming social norms, values, and government and financial incentives, the report argues.

For example, new estimates project that by 2100 the poorest countries in the world could experience up to 100 more days of extreme weather due to climate change each year- a number that could be cut in half if the Paris Agreement on climate change is fully implemented.

And yet fossil fuels are still being subsidized: the full cost to societies of publicly financed subsidies for fossil fuels – including indirect costs – is estimated at over US$5 trillion a year, or 6.5 percent of global GDP, according to International Monetary Fund figures cited in the report. Reforestation and taking better care of forests could alone account for roughly a quarter of the pre-2030 actions we must take to stop global warming from reaching two degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

“While humanity has achieved incredible things, it is clear that we have taken our planet for granted,” said Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy Youth. “Across the world young people have spoken up, recognizing that these actions put our collective future at risk. As the 2020 Human Development Report makes clear, we need to transform our relationship with the planet — to make energy and material consumption sustainable, and to
ensure every young person is educated and empowered to appreciate the wonders that a healthy world can provide.” How people experience planetary pressures is tied to how societies work, says Pedro Conceição, Director of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office and lead author of the report, and today, broken societies are putting people and planet on a collision course.

Inequalities within and between countries, with deep roots in colonialism and racism, mean that people who have more capture the benefits of nature and export the costs, the report shows. This chokes opportunities for people who have less and minimizes their ability to do anything about it.

For example, land stewarded by indigenous peoples in the Amazon absorbs, on a per person basis, the equivalent carbon dioxide of that emitted by the richest 1 percent of people in the world. However, indigenous peoples continue to face hardship, persecution and discrimination, and have little voice in decision-making, according to the report.

And discrimination based on ethnicity frequently leaves communities severely affected and exposed to high environmental risks such as toxic waste or excessive pollution, a trend that is reproduced in urban areas across continents, argue the authors. According to the report, easing planetary pressures in a way that enables all people to flourish in this new age requires dismantling the gross imbalances of power and opportunity that stand in the way of transformation.

Public action, the report argues, can address these inequalities, with examples ranging from increasingly progressive taxation, to protecting coastal communities through preventive investment and insurance, a move that could safeguard the lives of 840 million people who live along the world’s low elevation coastlines. But there must be a concerted effort to ensure that actions do not further pit people against planet.

“The next frontier for human development is not about choosing between people or trees; it’s about recognizing, today, that human progress driven by unequal, carbon-intensive growth has run its course,” said Pedro Conceição. “By tackling inequality, capitalizing on innovation and working with nature, human development could take a transformational step forward to support societies and the planet together,” he said.

To learn more about the 2020 Human Development report and UNDP’s analysis on the experimental Planetary Pressures-Adjusted HDI, visit http://hdr.undp.org/en/2020-report.