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The Time for Smart Choices is Now

The second SDG Week in Bosnia and Herzegovina has started

The second SDG Week in BiH commenced with the Towards Sustainable Development Financing – the Time for Smart Choices is Now!  ” conference, held at the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. The 2022 SDG Week aims to expand as the platform for the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, through local actions, consultations and discussions gathering hundreds of people. Supported by the United Nations in BiH, the comprehensive program of the week will analyze the overall potentials and strengthen capacities for inclusive, green, and fair development of the country.

The conference was organized within the framework of Joint UN Programme “Towards the SDG Financing Ecosystem in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, which is financed by the Joint SDG Fund.

In his opening remarks, and on behalf of the SDGs Council for BiH, Ambassador Miloš Prica, stated: “Bosnia and Herzegovina began serious work at the beginning of 2017, when a working group was formed to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. We started with the localization of the process, because without local communities and their full participation in this and on the ground of citizens, there can hardly be success in the implementation of the goals, and we also realized that it is impossible to achieve the goals by 2030 only from public budgets. That is why the Working group was formed for the financing of sustainable development goals, whose task is to find innovative ways of financing projects that will contribute to the implementation of the goals of sustainable development. We encouraged local communities to work on projects that will make the biggest leap in the implementation of sustainable development goals and that they be written in accordance with international standards”.

Selection of the topic of this first event emphasized the importance of making smart decisions in a timely manner, as well as that the societal focus should be on building a sustainable future resilient to crises. The Roadmap for financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, positive practices, sustainable development financing models, as well as practical examples from countries that have advanced financing in the areas of energy, innovation and green economy were presented today.

John Skoglund, Deputy Head of Mission of Swedish Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said: “Sweden is a strong advocate for the global implementation of the 2030 agenda and we will remain a trusted part of the countries across the globe. In Bosnia and Herzegovina we are happy that we are able to collaborate with the UN agencies, as well as the local authorities, to support the development of the endorsed SDGs Framework. It is worth noting that the SDGs work and Sweden’s support includes a system-wide transformation that incorporates more areas such as energy efficiency, gender equality and poverty reduction, all coming together to build a sustainable future that the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina deserve and we look forward to continuing our collaboration. This an excellent opportunity for us to have a proper look at what we can do in these remaining 7 years with the right financing and smart choices.”

The work of UN Women on optimizing public spending through Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) was also presented, highlighting the importance of a fairer distribution of public resources.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr Ingrid Macdonald emphasized that “We live in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world where the climate crisis and pandemics do not respect borders. Only by working together – across communities and countries, can we face these challenges. Yet, we also have new opportunities with rapidly evolving financial, digital and communications systems. The SDGs week in Bosnia and Herzegovina provides a platform to raise awareness and create new partnerships in support of the 2030 Agenda – for the people, their health, prosperity, education, environment, equality and overall quality of life. This week is an opportunity to share ideas, and invest in actions to promote a sustainable, inclusive and resilient future for all. We also want to thank our partners, Embassy of Sweden in BiH, for continued support to the implementation of SDGs in BiH. We have come a long way, however we have less than ten years to reach the goals we committed to in 2015. The time for smart choices is now”.

The SDG Week in Bosnia and Herzegovina is supported by the “Translating the SDGs Framework in BiH into Sustainable and Inclusive Growth (SDG2BiH)” initiative funded by Sweden and implemented by UNDP in partnership with UNICEF and UN Women under the United Nations’ overall support extended to the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to implement the SDG Framework in BiH.

About the SDG Week in Bosnia and Herzegovina

SDG Week in BIH is a platform with a comprehensive programme in support of the SDG Council in BIH, raising awareness and engaging key audiences in discussions over current trends leading to the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals in BIH.

To make the world a safer and sustainable place to live, which is one of the priority tasks of the 2030 Agenda, it is important to harmonize local policies with the Sustainable Development Goals through the partnership of local communities and their institutional partners.

In the period from 7 to 15 October 2022, within the SDG week, a series of events will be organized, such as SDG promotion with local self-governments, SDG business mentoring sessions, thematic workshops with SDG mentors, as well as discussions on circular future and implementation of BiH economy through circularity. One of the key topics is decarbonization, which, along with the presentation of plans for actively reducing the ecological footprint, will be discussed by eminent experts in the workshops. You can view a detailed schedule of all events, together with their description here.

Now is the time for smart choices, join us!

All interested can buy seedlings for trees through TvojCO2.ba platform, and after the event, the UN agencies will plant trees corresponding the total number of confirmed participants, which will offset the CO2 emissions that occur during the preparation and implementation of the event.