SDG localisation

Since its inception in 2013, SDSN Australia, New Zealand & Pacific has led and participated in a wide range of activities to foster leadership in the local and national implementation of the SDGs in our region and beyond. Our focus has been on capacity building across all levels, creating cross-sector dialogue and action, and identifying the opportunities that engagement with the SDGs brings.

Our key activities are listed below.

Regional

• SDGs in Action seminar series: Launched in 2020, this seminar series showcases  innovative cross-sector initiatives that use the SDGs framework to drive action beyond business as usual, as inspiration and a basis for mutual learning among organisations interested in engaging with the SDGs.

Australia

• Joint statement on the Australian Government and the Sustainable Development Goals: SDSN AusNZPac, with a cross-sector group of organisations, has issued a joint statement urging the Australian Government to undertake several crucial actions to support SDG implementation in Australia. March 2019. Read more>
• Transforming Australia: SDG Progress Report: Prepared in partnership with the National Sustainable Development Council and the Monash Sustainable Development Insitute, this report provides a comprehensive, independent and data-driven assessment of Australia’s progress towards meeting the SDGs. September 2018. Read more>
• Australian SDGs Summit 2018: Unlocking the opportunities of the SDGs: The second Australian SDGs Summit, co-hosted by ACFID, ACOSS, GCNA, SDSN Australia/Pacific and the UN Association of Australia in March 2018, assessed how Australia is doing on the SDGs and how we can further advance action. Read more>
• The Australian SDGs Summit: On the road to implementation: Together with the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), and the Global Compact Network Australia (GCNA), we hosted Australia’s first high-level multi-stakeholder forum to advance national implementation of the SDGs in September 2016. Read more>
• What sustainable development goals should Australia aim for? This initiative led high-level cross-sectoral discussions on the SDGs and their relevance to Australia, with the aim of building Australian leadership in the development of the SDGs and the solutions for implementing them. Read more>
• The business of sustainable development: This workshop, in February 2015, was jointly hosted with the Global Compact Network Australia and explored why sustainable development is important for business and identified opportunities for businesses to engage with the SDGs through core business activities, value chain initiatives and community investment both at home and abroad. Read more>
• Jeffrey Sachs’ 2014 visit to Australia: SDSN Director Jeffrey D. Sachs visited Australia in May 2014 to discuss Australia’s role in advancing sustainable development solutions. He met with a wide range of stakeholders and delivered several sold-out lectures to thousands of people. Read more>

New Zealand

• 2016 New Zealand SDGs tour: The visit by SDSN Australia/Pacific Chair Professor John Thwaites aimed to promote the Sustainable Development Goals and discuss how collaboration among knowledge institutions and other sectors can help to implement them. Read more>

Pacific

• The SDGs in the Asia-Pacific: A shared agenda for action: This forum, which took place in June 2016, brought together academics, development practitioners, and policy makers to discuss how the development community can work together to best influence and inform the take up of the SDGs in our region. It was co-organised with the Research for Development Impact (RDI) Network and Sydney-based universities. Read more>
• The role of regional knowledge institutions in implementing the SDGs in the Pacific: This workshop, co-hosted with the Pacific Community, discussed the opportunities, challenges and priorities of the SDGs for the Pacific, and how knowledge institutions in the region can contribute towards their implementation. Read more>
• Voices of the Pacific: This initiative, led by RMIT University and the Pacific Institute for Public Policy, surveyed Pacific Islanders to get their perspectives on the key sustainable development challenges in their region and on the SDGs. Read more>

Other regional activities

• Partnership for Solutions: This workshop, co-organised with SDSN Indonesia and others in November 2014, brought together well over 100 participants from government, business, academia and civil society to discuss how to meet Indonesia’s rapidly growing energy needs while also meeting the objectives in the UN’s proposed SDGs and the need to reduce global carbon emissions. Read more>
• Regional workshop on sustainable development goals: Priorities and solutions: This workshop, co-hosted with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) and the Office of the Science Adviser to the Prime Minister, Malaysia, took place in November 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It focussed on the practical application of SDGs in the south-east Asia/Australia/Pacific regions. Read more>