International Activities

International Conference Hall, Government Complex Seoul, 29 August 2023 – The first Workshop on “Building Partnerships for Sound Policymaking and Effective Institutions to Implement the Sustainable Development Goals at the Local Level” (hereafter Partnership Building Workshop) organized by the United Nations Project Office on Governance (UNPOG/DPIDG/UN DESA) in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) and Korea Research Insititute for Local Administration(KRILA) with five national research institutions (NRIs) was held on 29 August 2023 at the Government Complex Seoul. 

This Partnership Building Workshop will act as a pre-event to the Local Governance and Partnerships Forum that will be held for the first time at the UN DESA’s annual flagship event, the “7th Regional Symposium on Effective Governance and Digital Transformation for Accelerating Progress towards the 2030 Agenda – Promoting Sustainable, Resilient, and Innovative Solutions”* to be held on 19 October 2023. The Workshop was significant as it was the first joint event to be held by MOIS, NRIs, and UNPOG to discuss the acceleration of the SDGs at the local level. At the Workshop, all participating institutions pledged to engage in active cooperation to promote local governance and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level through a Signing Ceremony of a Mutual Understanding. 

The Workshop was composed of a total of 4 sessions that contained practical case studies from the field. Thematic Session 1 discussed the roles of NRIs and Session 2 demonstrated the challenges and opportunities in formulating practical policies by NRIs for SDG implementation at the local level. Session 3 explored the science-policy interface among NRIs, LRGs, and NGMs whereas the Peer-to-Peer Learning Session demonstrated country experiences by public government officials from developing Member States in strengthening partnership among stakeholders and in formulating practical policies for SDG implementation. Each session was followed by in-depth Q&A discussions.

This Workshop is expected to further strengthen cooperative networks at the national and local levels and contribute to the full implementation of the SDGs at the local level.