Call for proposals for side events

Background

The Regional Forum is an intergovernmental platform convened annually by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and the United Nations system to review progress, share experiences and lessons learned and build a consensus on policy options and actions in the form of key messages to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063. Accordingly, the Forum serves as an important mechanism to ensure integrated monitoring and evaluation of the impact and supporting countries in unlocking bottlenecks in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 as stipulated in the AU – UN Framework on implementation of the two agendas.

The Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD) adopts as its outcome key messages that serve as Africa’s collective input to the annual sessions of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. It therefore serves as an important mechanism, not only for tracking progress in implementation at the regional level, but also for keeping all stakeholders mobilized and engaged in strengthening their commitment to concerted action and in garnering international support for efforts to translate the Sustainable Development Goals into measurable and shared prosperity that benefits the planet and its people.

The eighth session of the Regional Forum will be held in Kigali, Rwanda from 3 to 5 March 2022. It is being organized jointly by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Rwanda, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and other entities in the United Nations system.

The theme of the eighth session of the Regional Forum is “Building forward better: a green, inclusive and resilient Africa poised to achieve the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063”. During the session, an in-depth review will be undertaken of progress made in the implementation of five selected Sustainable Development Goals, namely, Goals 4 (quality education), 5 (gender equality), 14 (life below water), 15 (life on land) and 17 (partnerships for the Goals), and the corresponding goals of Agenda 2063. The Regional Forum will also serve as a platform for the sharing of experiences, good practices and lessons learned in efforts to implement the two agendas. In addition, participants will identify and build a consensus on policy options and actions, to be adopted in the form of key messages and a declaration, to drive actions to build forward better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis while accelerating the implementation of the two agendas. The key messages and the declaration will also serve as the collective African input to the 2022 high-level political forum on sustainable development, to be held in New York from 5 to 15 July 2022.

The Regional Forum will bring together ministers and other high-level policymakers and experts from Governments and intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, civil society organizations and other major groups, and international development partners.

The Regional Forum will be held in a hybrid format, allowing for both in-person and online participation. The details for both options will be made available as soon as they are finalized. Further information on the Regional Forum, including technical reports and electronic resources, will be posted at www.uneca.org/?q=arfsd2022.

As an open space for the exchange of cutting-edge ideas, experiences and lessons learned in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063, the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development is a unique opportunity for various stakeholders to organize side-events that have a clear focus on the themes and subthemes of the Forum and that will feed into its deliberations.

Member States, United Nations organizations and major groups and stakeholders are invited to submit their proposals for side events using the event request form by 21 January 2022.

Please note that, in accordance with the structure planned for the ARFSD-8, most side events will be organized virtually on 1-2 March 2022, prior to the actual Forum from 3-5 March, except those organized by the host country, which will be organized face-to-face at the margins of the Forum. Also note that these events should be organized with the objective of sharing experiences, best practices and innovative perspectives on the themes and subthemes of the Forum and should strengthen partnerships and the means of Goal implementation.

The events can focus on one or more of the subthemes of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, taking into account integrated approaches to transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies.

Selection criteria

Any entity interested in organizing a side event during the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development can submit a proposal. Owing to space and other considerations, however, each organizer cannot be involved in more than one side event. The submission must be on the event request form, providing a detailed description of the event (1 pager), the organizers, partners, panelists and speakers, and how the event would contribute to discussions on the main theme or one or more of the subthemes of the Forum.

Side event request form Click here

The basic criteria for selection include the following:

Given the inclusive nature of the Goals in general and of SDG17 in particular, priority will be given to side events organized by groups of three or more partners, sponsors or participants, or any combination thereof;
The theme of the side event should relate to at least two of the subthemes provided above or be cross-cutting in nature;
Consideration should be given to gender balance and geographic (including local government) in the choice of speakers and panelists;
The format of the side event should ensure broad stakeholder participation, including that of the private sector and major groups, and actively involve the audience;
The outcome of the side event should inform the overall outcome of ARFSD 8, through the parallel discussions
The side event should last no longer than 1 and 1/2 hours and should not overlap with the main sessions of the Forum.

Event organizers will be informed of the results of the selection process and a list of all registered pre-events and side events will be published after the registration process has been completed.

Responsibility of the organizers

The logistics of the side events, such as room and virtual platform allocation and the setting up of audiovisual equipment, need to be arranged in collaboration with the side events coordinator. The organizers of the side events will be responsible for the following:

Inviting speakers and panelists and handling their visa and travel arrangements (if applicable);
Inviting participants from member States, major groups and other stakeholders;
Preparing a summary report on the event and sharing it with the secretariat of the Forum;
Publicity, reproduction of materials and media coverage;
Any costs related to the venue, equipment and services;
Any catering services that may be required, which must be arranged through the designated caterers of the Forum and fully paid by the organizers (if applicable);
Events should be conducted in English or French. Arrangements for simultaneous interpretation will be the responsibility of the organizers.