The annual meeting of the Global PFD was held in Brussels, Belgium from March 13 to 15, 2019. More than 90 participants from CSOs, Local Authorities (LAs), the private sector, EU Member States and EU Institutions came together to debate crucial elements of the Development agenda. The ICA along with its regional offices are members of the PFD. The PFD took place at an opportune moment when future EU instruments are being debated and reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals to the UN High-Level Political Forum being looked into, following its commitments in the ‘European Consensus on Development’. The Forum deliberated on three key issues: reporting and monitoring achievements towards Agenda 2030 in collaboration with key development actors; financing for development, including specific financial instruments; and multi-stakeholder partnerships in achieving environmental goals.
ICA team with Ms. Rosario Bento Pais, Head of Unit, Civil Society, Foundations, Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development, European Commission and her team
The ICA-AP was represented by Ms. Savitri Singh, Program Director and Mr. K.P. Badal, Chairperson, National Cooperative Federation of Nepal (NCFN). NCFN, an ICA member, was invited to share their work on the contribution of cooperatives in the Voluntary National Reporting (VNR) on SDGs. Mr. Badal shared NCF’s advocacy experience at the break out session focusing on the Voluntary National Review Process. In Nepal, cooperatives are recognized as the ‘third pillar’ (government and the private sector being the other two) and cooperatives are actively contributing the economy and in the implementation of the SDGs. According to him, cooperatives are different from CSOs and private organizations and suggested that 'cooperatives' should have their unique identity in the discussion. Ms. Singh made an intervention at the panel, ‘Towards more effective multi-stakeholder partnerships to achieve the environmental ambition of the 2030 Agenda’. She mentioned the work of cooperatives in saving the natural environment and cited the example of SANASA (ICA member) in the ‘Lassana Lanka’ (Beautiful Sri Lanka) project. SANASA is protecting the environment by preserving and multiplying indigenous plants and seeds, planting trees and creating 10,000 sustainable villages.
