Category: SDGs / Agenda 2030

Strengthening the voice of cities and accelerating the implementation of the SDGs

Posted on by burkhard

On a voluntary basis, more and more municipalities are reporting on the implementation status of the 2030 Agenda‘s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level in so-called Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR) or Voluntary Sub-National  Reviews (VSR) at the regional level. These serve as a supplement to the national reports (VNRs) of governments and are presented each year at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York. This leads to greater visibility for the local level regarding the international level and highlights its central role in implementing the SDGs. However, in many countries, there is more talk about local governments at the national level than with them when it comes to developing national sustainability strategies. Yet it is at the local level that over 65% of the SDGs are implemented (or not).

At the beginning of December 2024, Connective Cities therefore launched a learning process on sustainable reporting at the local and regional level. The aim was to improve the preparation of VLRs and VSRs through an international exchange of experiences, accelerate the implementation of the SDGs, and ultimately promote dialogue between the local, regional, and national levels. For the first time,  representatives of municipal associations consulted with their colleagues from city administrations in a dialogue event organized by Connective Cities. Regional diversity, with perspectives and practical examples from South America, sub-Saharan Africa, Germany, Southeast Europe, and Asia, vividly fuelled the discussion and contributed to the success of the process.

Autor: Burkhard Vielhaber

Cities as pioneers for a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future

Posted on by burkhard

From 12 to 14 September 2025, the Urban 20 (U20) Mayor Summit took place in Johannesburg as part of South Africa’s G20 presidency. The mayors of the C40 cities came together to strengthen the voice of cities at the global level. The U20 is a diplomatic initiative jointly supported by C40 Cities and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). This year, the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane took the chair.

Connective Cities and the City of Bonn participated in the panel discussion organised by SALGA (South African Local Government Association) on the topic ‘From Goals to Impact: Advancing Urban Sustainability and Resilience through the SDGs’. The discussion highlighted the central role of local governments in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): more than 65% of the SDG targets are directly linked to municipal and regional responsibilities, as SALGA Vice-President Flora Mabea-Baltman emphasised.

The panel participants provided a wide range of insights. Aaron Maluleka from the City of Tshwane presented energy programmes and partnerships in the field of sustainable energy. Dr Angela from São Paulo discussed the importance of philanthropic initiatives in achieving the SDG goals. Verena Schwarte from the City of Bonn emphasised the importance of data and international cooperation, and Sibylle Loyeau from Connective Cities stressed the significance of partnerships, professional exchanges, and peer learning.

The communiqué, the summit’s joint outcome document, recognises the importance of the local perspective in the G20 agenda. Four priority areas for action were defined: economic opportunities and financing; climate protection and urban resilience; social inclusion and justice; and digital transformation and innovation.

The Urban 20 Summit 2025 confirmed impressively that cities are at the forefront of solving global challenges locally, working towards a sustainable, inclusive and resilient future.

Representation of local and regional governments at the High-Level Political Forum 2025

Posted on by michelle

As part of the Connective Cities learning process ‘Sustainability Reporting and Voluntary Local Review’, local experts gathered online on 7 August 2025 to discuss the ‘Representation of local and regional governments at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2025 (HLPF 2025)’ and draw their conclusions. Nineteen people participated in the meeting to discuss the events and the resulting learnings at the HLPF Forum, which took place in New York City from 14 to 23 July 2025.

From Germany, the cities of Bonn, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Enzkreis and Oldenburg were present, as well as the German Council for Sustainable Development. From the Global South, representatives from Lusaka, Local Government Association of Zambia, South Africa Local Government Association (SALGA), Cuenca and La Paz were in attendance. Anna Calvete Moreno (Head of Research) and Matteo Fabris (Research Officer) from United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) presented their work as an international advocacy group in an introductory input and provided initial insights into the proceedings of the forum.

Matteo Fabris (UCLG) highlighted four benefits of participating in the forum: visibility and the opportunity to present oneself in exchange with other participants, the forum as a platform for advocacy, the establishment of (long-term) partnerships, and its use as a learning platform to get to know the local implementation of the Agenda 2030.

The HLPF 2025 focused on SDGs 3, 5, 8, 14 and 17, with 36 countries presenting their Voluntary National Reviews. However, less than half of these national sustainability reports included local authorities as partners, highlighting the ongoing challenge of truly inclusive approaches to SDG implementation. In addition, cuts to the UN budget severely limited opportunities for side events, making it difficult to engage in low-threshold cooperation outside the official framework.

In terms of content, it was observed that the word ‘localization’ has now been adopted into the general vocabulary of influential figures and relevant decision-makers, which illustrates the growing awareness of the issue. Local governments are the ‘beating heart’ behind the success of this approach, according to Anna Calvete Moreno of UCLG. However, greater unity with national governments is needed, as they too often exclude local governments and their perspectives from important processes.

Afterwards, participants discussed successes, challenges and ideas, focusing on how local realities can be more effectively linked to international decision-making processes.

Regarding next year, when SDG 11 ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’ will be a focus topic, an incentive should be created to integrate local voices even more prominently and effectively into the agendas. Stefan Wagner from the city of Bonn emphasized the role of the respective national delegations and the need for clear guidance and guidelines for representatives of smaller cities and municipalities. It is important, according to Dr. Bettina Bunk, to find a common voice despite differing interests, for example in the form of coordinated statements and, ideally, in the form of early strategic planning.

The statement by Martin Tebogo Matlou from South Africa Local Government Association (SALGA) that there is more conversation about local governments than with them met with strong approval among the participants. Representatives of national governments dominate the dialogue instead of focusing on local representatives, who are usually more directly affected by challenges. Local governments and communities are currently treated more like stakeholders, even though they are the actual shareholders, as 65-70% of SDG measures are implemented at the local level.

In addition, many would welcome it if sustainability reporting in the form of Voluntary Local and Voluntary National Reviews were not only carried out on a voluntary basis, but in a next step, were made more binding and strategically embedded in the agendas of local and national governments. Martin Tebogo Matlou emphasized: ‘Poverty is not voluntary, climate shocks are not voluntary’, so sustainability reports should not be either.

For further information, please contact Francesco Schapira (francesco.schapira@engagment-global.de).

Successful launch of the event series “Insight Sessions: Post-COVID Urban Futures”

Posted on by erik

On 28 July 2021, the virtual event series “Insight Sessions: (Post-)COVID Urban Futures” started with an exciting kick-off event on “COVID-19 Recovery & SDG 11”. The event series is part of this year’s Connective Cities COVID-19 programme and facilitates a reoccurring exchange between urban practitioners worldwide on various topics of sustainable urban development in the (post-)COVID-19 era. 

The COVID-19 Recovery & SDG 11 launch event took place virtually in the Connective Cities community with over 80 participants, including from Germany, Lebanon, Georgia, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Jordan and Palestine.

Programme

The event started with a brief overview of the Connective Cities COVID-19 programme 2021, including funding opportunities from Engagement Global/ SKEW. This was followed by a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities of the COVID-19 crisis for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 of making cities sustainable, safe, inclusive and resilient. The following urban practitioners shared their knowledge and perspectives on this topic:

  1. Faola Hodaj, Director of Innovation, Municipality of Tirana, Albania 
  2. Karim Elgendy, Sustainable City Strategist, London UK / MENA – Recipient of the 2013 Global Green Building Entrepreneurship Award by the World Green Building Council 
  3. Aditya Kumar, Executive Director, NGO Development Action Group, Cape Town, South Africa 
  4. Hilmar von Lojewski, Head of the Department of Urban Development, Building, Housing and Transport, Association of German Cities, Berlin, Germany 

The panel discussion focused on municipal innovation and digitisation processes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and their contribution to achieving SDG 11. Furthermore, the main lessons of the pandemic for resilient urban planning and sustainable housing in German and international municipalities were elaborated. Building on this, the panelists discussed the challenges that the pandemic has created for the provision of adequate housing and basic services in informal settlements. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent flood in Germany was also part of the panel discussion. It was evaluated which strategies and measures municipalities can take to increase their resilience to future climate-related risks. The discussion was followed by a Q&A session in which the panelists answered and commented on questions and contributions from the audience. In a short survey at the end of the session, participants expressed their interest on the most important COVID-19-related municipal challenges and the desired topics for the next Insight Sessions.

Results

The panel discussion emphasised that municipal innovation and digitalisation processes should be inclusive, participatory and transparent in order to maximise the contribution to urban sustainability and resilience. It was also highlighted that agile and adaptive local governments and integrated ways of working are needed to find effective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and achieve SDG 11 in the long term. Regarding the recent flood disaster in Germany and other parts of the world, it was also pointed out that evidence-based, agile and responsive municipal crisis management is key to resilient urban development. 

In addition, it was discussed that the COVID-19 pandemic has tended to contribute to a suburbanisation process of cities through increased home office work opportunities and social distancing measures. On the other hand, it was revealed that the pandemic has also contributed to an increase in the importance of the neighbourhood in urban life, laying the groundwork for mixed-use urban development and “15-minute cities”.

Using the example of Cape Town, South Africa, it was also highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic tended to have a devastating impact on informal settlements. It was argued that the COVID-19-related lockdowns have undermined the socio-economic situation of many, especially informal, urban dwellers, which in turn has led to a deterioration in the food and housing security of these residents. In order to improve the socio-economic well-being and resilience of these informal settlements, the need for responsive local governments and citizen participation in development projects was highlighted. 

Presentation

Insight Session: COVID 19 Recovery & SDG 11  [pdf, 24 Seiten, 2mb]

Outlook

The event was the kick-off for the new series of “Insight Sessions: (Post-)COVID Urban Futures”, which will take place on Wednesdays every three weeks and to which we cordially invite you. In the upcoming Insight Session on Wednesday 18 August 2021, we will focus on the topic of “Digital literacy and digital municipal Service design in (Post-)COVID Cities“. Further, there will be a special session on 25 August on “The importance of disaster preparedness in cities and municipalities: experiences and lessons learned“. Information on the programme of upcoming events will be available soon on our website and in the Connective Cities Community.

We are looking forward to welcoming you in the events!

Strengthening the local implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through local reviews and monitoring

Posted on by erik

Connective Cities organised an international virtual dialogue event aimed to strengthen local implementation of the SDGs through local reviews and monitoring. The event was held in partnership with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and PLATFORMA and co-hosted by the City of Bonn, which is a front runner in municipal SDG strategies and reporting and published its first Voluntary Local Review (VLR) in October 2020.
Almost 60 participants from 19 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and Latin America were able to experience the benefits of working in a global learning community. Participants came from a broad variety of backgrounds, including municipalities, civil society, local government associations, international city networks, universities and United Nations agencies.
The dialogue event focused on three main thematic issues

  • data availability and data collection systems,
  • data-driven policy development and contribution to different levels of governance, and
  • quality citizen dialogue and stakeholder engagement.

During the sessions, participants had the opportunity to exchange on 15 good practice examples, discuss eight challenges related to the main topic and jointly develop pragmatic solutions for four sample cases: the National Association of Municipalities of Mozambique (ANAMM), Bonn (Germany), Lviv (Ukraine) and Manizales (Colombia). These solutions will be translated into projects and will be further developed in the next few months.

This report summarises the main results of the virtual dialogue event.

More information: documentation: Strengthening the local implementation of SDGs through local reviews and monitoring

15 Pathways to localise the Sustainable Development Goals

Posted on by erik

This publication illustrates how the 15 pathways of the Basque Declaration can be used by towns and cities to localise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In this publication, the 15 pathways of the Basque Declaration are illustrated with stories taken from the Transformative Action database of the Sustainable Cities Platform. Each of these stories are former applications to the Transformative Action Award 2017-2019 and have been reviewed by a jury of experts, which includes representatives from the European Committee of the Regions, the European Investment Bank, UNESCO Etxea, the City of Aalborg (Denmark) and ICLEI Europe.

The purpose of these stories is to provide local governments and other local stakeholders with inspiration for action, rather than the formulation of yet another action plan. The examples also give insight into how to implement the goals using an integrated approach across sectors and departments. For each story, the most relevant pathway and SDGs are indicated, based on an independent assessment by ICLEI Europe. They show the diversity of approaches across topics, geographical locations and local cultures.

Urban-Rural Linkages: Guiding Principles

Posted on by erik

"The reciprocal and repetitive flow of people, goods and financial and environmental services (defining urban-rural linkages) between specific rural, peri-urban and urban locations are interdependent; they are the reality of socio-spatial arrangements, creating places with distinct yet interwoven, socially constructed identities. The benefits of investing in connective infrastructure and services, while building capacity for inclusive and functional territories linking urban and rural communities, are immense in all three areas of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. The goal of these Guiding Principles is to inform pragmatic strategies and propose a Framework for Action to build an enabling environment for more inclusive and functional urban-rural linkages. The Guiding Principles also provide a reference for revising national and subnational rural, urban and territorial policy frameworks."

The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development,

Posted on by erik

In 2016, Member States decided that the report should be produced once every four years, to inform the quadrennial SDG review deliberations at the General Assembly, and that it should be written by an Independent Group of Scientists appointed by the Secretary-General. They mandated that the Group would consist of 15 experts representing a variety of backgrounds, scientific disciplines and institutions, ensuring geographical and gender balance.
The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development, is the first Global Sustainable Development Report prepared by the Independent Group of Scientists appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General. It does not produce new evidence; rather it capitalizes on existing knowledge across disciplines, through an “assessment of assessments”. It highlights state-of-the-art knowledge for transformations towards sustainable development and identifies concrete areas where rapid, transformational change is possible. The Report is not only a product but also a process for advancing collaboration among actors in science, Government, the private sector and civil society in all regions of the world towards identifying and realizing concrete pathways for transformation driven by evidence.

Adapt Now: A Global Call for Leadership on Climate Resilience

Posted on by erik

The report puts forward a bold vision for how to transform key economics systems, making them more resilient and productive. The Commission finds that climate adaptation can produce significant economic returns: the overall rate of return on investments in improved resilience is high, with benefit-cost ratios ranging from 2:1 to 10:1, and in some cases even higher.
The analysis specifically finds that investing $1.8 trillion globally in five areas from 2020 to 2030 could generate $7.1 trillion in total net benefits. The five areas of climate adaptation the report considers are: early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, improved dryland agriculture, mangrove protection, and investments in making water resources more resilient. These represent just a portion of the total investments needed and total benefits available.
Recent events have shown that climate change affects people everywhere. Furthermore, without action, millions of people will be pushed further into poverty, leading to increased conflict and instability.

Towards the Localization of the SDGs

Posted on by erik

"This Report explores the involvement of Local and Regional Governments (LRGs) in the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Following UN guidelines, it complements the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) submitted by 143 countries to the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) throughout the first four- year cycle of voluntary reporting. It delivers first-hand information from LRGs in 80 different countries, including 24 of the 47 countries reporting in 2019."