Posted on 16 November 2022
The Pacific Forum for Sustainable Development (PFSD) is holding their annual meeting on 7-9 December 2022, which provides a platform to share experiences and perspectives on progress and challenges in sustainable development, as well as the key priorities in the Pacific.
The PFSD is a multi-stakeholder preparatory meeting of the Pacific to provide inputs to the Asia-Pacific Forum for Sustainable Development (APFSD), which is, in turn, a regional preparatory Forum for the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) at the global level. (Concept note and tentative agenda to be attached)
Purpose of the event
The purpose of the event will be to:
- share perspectives and learn from one another on common priorities and approaches to address ongoing and emerging challenges such as COVID-19, climate change and disaster
- discuss the progress in SDG implementation with a focus on SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17
- focus on the VNRs and SDGs national implementation and follow-up actions, regional cooperation and global solidarity through a programme of actions for the SIDS.
Format of the event
This will be two-day hybrid event to take place at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva with online connection.
The event will be held on 6 - 7 December 2022.
The event will comprise the following sessions:
- Pacific progress towards SDGs (morning of 6 December) : discussion on global and regional agenda and its synergy with 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific continent
- Climate, ocean and resilience (morning of 6 December): review of the discussion at the global conferences such as COP27 and 2nd UN Ocean conference for accelerating actions on climate change in the Pacific. For both sessions, along with 2 member states, one CSO speaker will be invited to share their views in addition to the discussion session where all the participants are invited to share their views.
- Impact of COVID-19, climate change and disaster risk on the SDGs Progress: (afternoon of 6th December to morning of 7th December): the session will discuss emerging challenges with the impact of COVID-19, climate change and disaster risk, focused on SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), SDG 7 (affordable clean energy) and SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure). Along with several member state representatives, one CSO speaker will be invited to share their views on the impact of COVD-19 and climate change crisis in progressing SDG goal 6.
- Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (morning of 7th December): the session focuses on SDG implementation progress through the Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) and encourages sharing of experiences particularly on follow-up of national commitments made through the VNR.
- 2023 Asia-Pacific SDG Partnership Report (afternoon of 7 December): the session presents the key findings of the report and will discuss the immediate priorities to overcome the triple crisis of food, energy and finance to bring the Pacific back on track towards achieving the 2030 Agenda.
- SAMOA Pathway (afternoon of 7 December): The session will stock-take the efforts and outcomes of the Samoa Pathway for the Pacific SIDS.
All the participants will be invited to share their views after a series of short issue presentations of each session.
Outcomes
- Clear messages, priorities and recommendations from the Pacific to inform the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) 2023
- Recommendation of the VNR processes
Additional opportunity for engagement – 1:30pm – 4pm, 28 November 2022 (UN ESCAP Meeting Room, 5th Floor, Kadavu House)
- In connection with the PFSD on 6-7 December 2022, a pre-PFSD session is planned to be organized on 28 November 2022. The objective is to brief CSOs on the PFSD programme and elicit preliminary comments / feedback on each session.
Participation
Invitations will be issued to Regional CSOs and national level umbrella CSOs, CROP agencies, Development Partners and Member Country Government representatives. Due to limited funding, invitation for in-person participation will be limited to Suva based CSOs. We would encourage applications from national umbrella organizations who are actively engaged in, and advocate for, sustainable development and effective cooperation with their governments and national and regional partners.
Registration Process
CSOs are invited to express their interest to participate in the Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development by filling in the application form below for
- Interest to participate
- Interest to speak at particular sessions indicated above.
A joint PIFS-ESCAP selection Panel will conduct the selection of speakers based on the following criteria.
- Understanding of and advocacy and implementation work around sustainable development related issues
- Ability to represent a constituent group that is impacted by / or interested in promoting sustainable development in the Pacific
- Demonstrated commitment to maximize the opportunity to participate in this event for the benefit of the broader civil societies in the Pacific.
Application forms for expressions of interest should be submitted by email to info.cso@forumsec.org, copy to escap-pacific@un.org no later than 25 November 2022.