1st OECD Roundtable on Cities & Regions for the SDGs

By Kiara Kealoha, Global Outreach Associate, HGG Local2030 Hub

On March 7, I had the opportunity to represent the HGG Local 2030 Hub at the 1st OCED Roundtable on Cities and Regions for the SDGs, held at the OECD headquarters in Paris. The Roundtable was the first in a series of roundtable seminars being organized by the OECD within the scope of its program on A Territorial Approach to the SDGs.  

The discussions focused on the crucial role cities and regions must play in developing, implementing, and monitoring strategies to achieve the SDG 2030 agenda. It is estimated that 65% of the 169 targets underlying the 17 SDGs will not be reached without proper engagement of and coordination with local and urban actors. With just over a decade remaining to accomplish the “supremely ambitious” 2030 agenda, the convening of this 1st OECD Roundtable on Cities and Regions was as momentous as it was imperative.

As the first island-based UN Local2030 Hub, HGG shared a unique island perspective on what is possible when actors from government, private sector, civil society, and academia work together to deliver scalable, locally appropriate solutions to complex global challenges. Indeed, HGG’s demonstrable experience in garnering political coherence, engaging a diverse network of stakeholders, and transparently tracking progress of a localized SDG indicator framework proved interesting to many of the Roundtable’s participants who were eager to learn more from the HGG process.