Applying the SDGs locally to promote regional vitalization
7th International Forum on the “FutureCity” Initiative
Gino Van Begin, Secretary General, ICLEI
04 October 2017

My speech today
1. An introduction to ICLEI
2. The Sustainable Development Goals and localgovernmentsa) What cities and towns needb) How ICLEI helps communities to implement
the SDGs

ICLEI Global Operations• ICLEI works with 1500 cities and towns in 86
countries across all continents – local governmentsof all sizes, as well as regional governments• ICLEI supports itsMembers with300+ staff through17 offices and 10
thematic Agendas

ICLEI Offices around the WorldICLEI’s 10 Urban Agendas
Sustainable City

Smart City

Low‐carbon City

EcoMobile City

Resource‐efficient andProductive City

Happy, Healthy and Inclusive
Communities

Resilient City

Sustainable Local
Economy and Procurement

BiodiverCity

Sustainable City‐Region
Cooperation

ICLEI in Japan• 20 Member cities, towns, prefectures• 7 of which are FutureCities / Eco‐Model Cities

Japanese local governments
on a global stage

Photo credit: © City of Yokohama

COP22: MarrakeshCities, Climate and SDGs
@ Japan Pavilion
Members:
City of Yokohama, Tokyo Metropolitan Government

ICLEI World Congress 2015
Members: Cities of Kitakyushu, Kyoto, Sapporo, Toyama,
Yokohama and Tokyo
MetropolitanGovernment

The SDGs – A Call to Action

1. How are cities currently
engaging with the SDGs?
2. What are the barriers toincreased/intensified
participation?
3. What can ICLEI do?

www.iclei.org

What could help cities?
• Move away from jargon; the SDGs (and international
processes at‐large) can be perceived as being technicaland abstract• Importance of public awareness of the SDGs
• Locally relevant indicators, since much of theimplementation will be carried out by local governments• Strategic partnerships with universities and NGOs tosupport data analysis and evidence‐based target setting• Public input and support in planning local SDG activities
so as to validate priorities and implementation plans
www.iclei.org

What does ICLEI do?
• Acts as a multiplier/amplifier by promoting good practice• Collaborates with and leverages the great work done by partners• Provides materials to help with local government “awarenessraising”• Promotes campaigns to increase commitment to the SDGs• Advocates for local governments in national and international
processes

www.iclei.org

Seoul• Hosted International Forum on Urban Policy for theSustainable Development Goals• Catalysts behind the Urban SDG Knowledge Platform• Harmonized municipal Sustainable Development MasterPlan with the SDGs
• Creating own SDGs
• Sharing their experiences with 25 other South Korean
municipalities

www.iclei.org

Seoul‘s own SDGs

www.iclei.org

SDG‐related Initiatives of Various
European Cities• Malmö: hosted Sustainable City Development Conference• Freiburg: approved modification of the 60 Freiburger
Sustainability Goals• Bonn: commissioned ICLEI to write SDG Briefing Sheet series• Ghent: 1 of 8 SDG Ambassadors selected by the BelgianGovernment• Valencia: creation of High Level Advisory Council and an
Interdepartmental Commission for the 2030 Agenda

www.iclei.org

New York City• launched ‘Global Vision | Urban Action’ in December 2015

www.iclei.org

Baltimore• mapped SDG targets to existing city development plans-

Cities and Regions Pavilion:
2 weeks program-Cities and Regions Dialogues: High Level
Events in and outside the Conference Zones-Climate Summit of Local and Regional
Leaders: 12 November 2017
One Day of Climate LeadershipKey four themes of the Summit••••

Multilevel governance to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions
Holistic approaches to sustainable development
Community and business engagement
Partnerships for action in Africa, Least Developed Countries and Small Island
Developing States

COP21 Outcomes and Paris Climate Package for Local and Subnational Governments

www.iclei.org

Connect with us!
Gino Van Begin
Secretary Generalsecretary.general@iclei.org@ICLEI@ICLEI_carbonn

ICLEI World Secretariat
ICLEI
ICLEI Global
www.iclei.org

www.talkofthecities.iclei.org