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FeaturesThe upcoming 2019 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in July in New York with the theme, “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality,” spurred Social Watch Philippines (SWP) and other organizations on to facilitate a process for civil society organizations from different sectors towards engaging the Philippine government on the Voluntary National Review (VNR). With around 70 CSO participants, a consultation workshop Towards Coherent Policies for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Philippines: Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Inputs to the Voluntary National Review (VNR) was held on February 7 to 8, 2019 in Quezon City, Philippines.
The ultimate objective of the CSO Consultation Workshop was to provide a participatory and inclusive process in crafting a parallel report that will spotlight the issues and themes important to civil society, and provide an alternative lens to the official reading of the status of SDGs in the Philippines. Specifically, the workshop aimed to gather the rich and diverse perspectives of the CSOs on the current status of SDGs in the country with particular focus on the key themes of the 2019 HLPF. The workshop provided an opportunity for the organizations to discuss the key trends and challenges on the intersecting SDGs 3, 4, 8, 10, 13, 16, and 17, and served as a venue for strengthening CSO unity around a common policy agenda on the SDGs. Over the course of one and a half days, the participants brought into focus the trends and status analysis on the SDGs, identified the key challenges that have the greatest impact on the poor and socially excluded groups, and proposed solutions and policy recommendations. Discussions were framed by presentations by the panelists, additional inputs from reactors, followed by an open forum in which participants were invited to ask questions and share their insights. Back to top |