CIFAL Scotland Holds SDGs Debate at the Scottish Parliament
16 June 2015, Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Scotland’s Futures Forum and CIFAL Scotland hosted a Sustainable Development Goals debate at the Scottish Parliament on 3rd June, gathering a wide range of academics, officials and private individuals.
The purpose of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Scotland Preparing for Action debate was to introduce the SDGs intergovernmental process, present the possibilities of how Scotland could engage with the SDGs and create space for ideas to emerge on how to prepare for an efficient and holistic national implementation.
Speakers for the evening included May East, Director of CIFAL Scotland, Gillian Wilson, Chief Executive of the Network of International Development Organisations in Scotland (NIDOS), and Joanna Keating from the Scottish Government International Division.
May East began by quoting Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, ‘We are the first generation that can end poverty and the last generation that can take steps to avoid the worst impact of climate change’, and outlined the importance of strengthening the means of implementation of the SDGs in Scotland and in the world.
Gillian Wilson continued by presenting the opportunities for civil society engagement and how SDGs could feed into policy coherence. Joanna Keating presented the Scottish Government’s approach to implementation and the connection between the SDGs and the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework.
The speakers were then joined by two MSPs, Sarah Boyack and Patrick Harvie for a panel debate. The floor was opened to the delegates and questions on the relevance and implementation of the SDGs in Scotland were directed to the panel.
Professor George Morris, an independent consultant, was the final speaker of the evening. He completed the evening by describing how human health is intrinsically linked with the health of our ecosystems.
Photo: Speakers of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Scotland Preparing for Action debate.