Better Lives, Smaller Footprints: How the Sustainable Development Goals can help

IIED is running a side event at Rio+20 to share insights gained from our Fair Ideas conference held June 16-17. The event will provide a grounded perspective on how the Sustainable Development Goals can be designed to work most effectively in practice.

Date:  Monday, 18 June

Time:  09.30 – 11.00. Please come to room T9 at 9.00 for preparatory discussion.

Venue:  RioCentro Convention Center - Room T9 – click here for map

Avenida Salvador Allende 6555, Barrada Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Coordination: Charlotte Forfieh, Assistant to Camilla Toulmin charlotte.forfieh@iied.org

Language:  English

Panellists:     

Camilla Toulmin, Director, IIED. Camilla has led IIED since 2004. An economist by training, she has worked mainly in Africa combining field research, policy analysis and advocacy to understand how environmental, economic and political change can impact people’s lives, and how policy reform can bring real change on the ground. Today as well as leading IIED, Camilla is a trustee of ICARDA (Syria), the Franco-British Council and a number of other organisations.

Ambassador Gyan Acharya, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations and Chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) - invited

Heather Grady, Vice President, Foundation Initiatives, Rockefeller Foundation   

Tara Shine, Head of Research and Development, Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice

Aim:   This event presents lessons and insights from IIED’s Fair Ideas conference. IIED’s focus on solutions which make a difference brings a grounded perspective to debate on how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be designed to work most effectively in practice. Fair Ideas has demonstrated the broad range of tried and tested sustainability solutions from innovative business models, and urbanisation that improves lives, to transforming economic systems which work for people and planet. Following the Rio Summit, there will be a need to pilot SDG approaches in a few specific places. Panel presenters will bring their insights, from a range of themes and perspectives, to shaping SDGs from the ground up.

How can these goals build effectively on broad and diverse contexts and have universal value?

Agenda:

09.00              Panellists and chair assemble in Room T9

09.30              Welcome and introduction by Camilla Toulmin, Director of IIED (session chair)

09.40              Three 10 minute presentations by each of the panellists

10.10              Questions from the floor.

10.40              Sum-up: ‘take-away’ messages on post-Rio action from panel members and chair