The UAE government named the second cohort of the Global Councils for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), during Global Goals Week.

Organised by the UAE government and held at Expo 2020 Dubai, the new Councils were officially launched at a high-level meeting at Expo 2020 Dubai Sustainability pavilion on Saturday.

Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Chairperson of the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals; Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chairperson of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group attended the meeting with a number of Government officials and members of the 18 global councils.

From the UAE government; Suhail Bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure; Mariam Bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment; Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; as well as Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Teleworking Applications, and Managing Director of the World Government Summit Organisation attended the meeting.

“The launch of the second round of the Global Councils for SGDs at Expo 2020 Dubai, is a reflection of UAE’s commitment to strengthen its role in enhancing the welfare of societies and the sustainability of the planet,” said Al Hashimy.

“The UAE government is adamant on supporting the global sustainability agenda accelerate the development goals during the current decade, which the United Nations declared to be a Decade of Action,” she added.

Amina J. Mohammed said during the meeting, “Global partnerships are the pathway to achieve global sustainability.” She added; “The Global Councils for SDGs is a prime example of bringing together decisionmakers and thought-leaders across multiple disciplines and geographies to tackle, head on, some of the world’s most pressing issues, bringing together, world governments, private sector, academia and societies, to deliver decisive action aimed to build a sustainable future that leaves no one behind.”

Omar Sultan Al Olama, stressed the importance of the Global Councils for Sustainable Development Goals, since its transformation from an idea to a comprehensive international initiative through the World Government summit, has added qualitative addition to international efforts aimed at accelerating the achievement of goals.

The Global Councils, in their new form, will see the addition of eight new councils in addition to the existing 10 councils.

Additionally, the councils will be adopting a novel and enhanced work methodology that moves from focusing on one single goal per council, onto a comprehensive and integrated model that supports the acceleration of the implementation of multiplate and inter-related goals through innovative partnerships and joint projects.

The global participation of decision-makers, globally renound experts and academics in the Global Councils for SDGs reflects the pioneering position of the UAE and its role in supporting international efforts in achieving sustainable development.

The Global Councils for SDGs represent an international, multidisciplinary network of decision makers in governments, international organisations, academic institutions, community organisations and private sector companies.

The council’s heads and members will work together to design, and implement innovative projects and discuss innovative ideas aimed at implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at the national and global levels.

The Global Councils for SDGs initiative was first launched in 2018 as part of the World Government Summit, which constitutes a leading global platform that brings together a group of government leaders, ministers, senior officials, decision-makers, ideas pioneers and specialists in financial, economic and social affairs from various countries of the world, under its umbrella.

A couple of days ago Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies and the host of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), has announced the opening of registration for the 2022 Youth 4 sustainability (Y4S) forum, a series of youth-led discussions taking place from Jan.17-19 as part of ADSW 2022.

The Y4S platform, held under the patronage of Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office, is a year-long, youth-led programme dedicated to creating awareness of the skills needed for future jobs in the green economy, and educating up to one million young people in sustainability by 2030 through a blended learning experience. By engaging youth through workshops, debates, training programmes and networking opportunities, the Y4S platform prepares them to become the sustainability leaders of tomorrow.

WAM