The learning team of UCLG and UCLG Africa are engaging African drivers in the SDG “Train”

24.05.2019

The collaboration between UCLG and UCLG Africa for the learning activities is continuing to build network and knowledge. This month, the learning team of UCLG fulfilled its commitment in supporting the African Local Governments Academy, with training of trainers around the Sustainable Development Goals localization in Accra and Ouagadougou.

With the collaboration of the Municipal Institute of Learning of Ethekwini, the training in Accra counted with 50 participants from 6 countries and 25 cities from 22 and 27 of April. Based on the contents of Module 1 (on SDGs awareness raising and localizing), discussions and exercises enabled a mutual learning exercise on the achievements and challenges regarding SDG localization and a visit to specific projects related to the SDG localization process in the greater Accra area. The workshop also focused on development and territorial planning as catalyzers for SDG localization, having the UCLG Learning Module 2 as reference.

Another training of trainers on SDGs Localizing was also realized in Ouagadougou on the last June 16th and 17th. The learning area and the area of research and monitoring of UCLG facilitated together the Modules 1 and 2, and for the first time the contents from the upcoming Module 3 (SDGs monitoring and reporting) were available. With more than 20 participants, the training sessions counted the presence of mayors, local public technicians, local government associations, civil society, international organizations and ministries.

Participants were invited to contribute through exercises and workshops, sharing their views on the opportunities and challenges related to their involvement in the preparation of Voluntary National Reviews and Local Voluntary Reviews to the UN High Level Political Forum, that occurs annually in July. The presence of representatives from the national level, namely the Permanent Secretary of National Economic and Social Development Plan and the Ministry responsible for preparing this year’s Burkina Faso National Review, facilitated a fruitful dialogue between the different levels of government on strategies for monitoring and reporting on the SDGs. The participants also received Training Kits in French, with the modules 1 and 2, and the contents of Module 3, designed to multiply training courses with their municipalities and communities.

The training of trainers method is very demanded by our regional sections, and is an opportunity for the UCLG Learning team to facilitate and multiply regional knowledge of our members and sections, in this case the African knowledge, one of the strengths of our network.