The City of Helsinki is organising an international workshop event together with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) from Monday to Tuesday 3–4 October 2022 at the Helsinki City Hall. The theme of the event is the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in cities globally.
Because such a large portion of the global population live in cities, local governments are in a key position to deliver progress towards reaching the SDGs by the 2030 deadline. This is why collaboration and dialogue between cities globally is crucial to success.
“Helsinki was the second City in the world to publish a local level report on the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2019 and we have made sustainable development an integral part of our city strategy since then. Sharing experiences and knowledge with colleagues from around the world is a way for us to improve our capabilities and deepen our commitment to the SDGs even further”, says Mayor of Helsinki Mr Juhana Vartiainen.
The event brings together experts and representatives of local and regional governments from all over the world to share experiences and lessons learned in localizing the SDGs. Discussion will centre on how local, regional and central governments are working together to make the 2030 Agenda a reality at the local level.
The workshop supports building the knowhow and skills of all participants through sharing of practices on key topics including coordination inside City organisations and cooperation across sectors. Themes discussed will be the preparation of local SDG reports or Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs), evidence-based approaches to developing the VLRs and raising awareness and engaging stakeholders in the preparation of VLRs.
