Voluntary National Review and Voluntary Local Review (VNR-VLR) Workshop

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As signatories to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, of the African Union, African member States are required to review, on a regular basis, the frameworks and mechanisms that they have adopted to promote implementation of the two agendas, with a view to fostering inclusive growth and development. As part of its follow-up and review mechanisms, the 2030 Agenda encourages member States to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and subnational levels that are country-led and country-driven. This voluntary national review process facilitates the sharing of good practices, success stories and common challenges, and can help draw the attention of stakeholders to resources that can potentially be used to address those challenges.

Complementary to the voluntary national review process, African member States have noted the particular benefits of conducting sustainable development reviews at the district, governorate and municipality levels. Participants at the sixth session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, held in 2020, requested member States to integrate voluntary local reviews into their voluntary national reviews and to establish local review mechanisms to improve accountability, transparency and public ownership of the implementation of the two agendas.

The objectives of this two-day preparatory and capacity development workshop are to support preparations for the submission of national reviews to the 2021 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, to deepen the role local review processes can play both for localities and to inform national review processes, and to strengthen member States’ capacity to implement the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 and monitor and report on progress.

The VNR-VLR workshop will be attended by national and local government representatives, city mayors, and representatives of African regional institutions, civil society organizations, academic institutions, local organizations, the private sector, and United Nations system entities.