Course on the UN and the new post-2015 development agenda
Organized by the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and the United Nations Sustainable Development Fund
July 10, 2014
MADRID
Since they were adopted in the year 2000, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) have created a common framework of worldwide action and cooperation to eradicate extreme poverty and promote development. With less than one year left to reach the goal, advancements have occurred in the achievement of these objectives. For example, the goal of reducing the percentage of people who suffer from hunger by 2015 seems achievable within the foreseen time period, in accordance with the forecasts made by the United Nations, because the percentage of malnourished people in the world fell below 23% from 1990 to 1992, to 15% from 2010 to 2012.
In the last 20 years, more than 2.1 billion people have gained access to proper drinking water. In 2010, the percentage of the population with access to this type of water source reached 89%, compared with the level of 76% in 1990. Despite significant population growth, the MDGs for water and water sanitation have been achieved five years prior to the foreseen deadline.
The United Nations is currently undergoing a process of debate over a new development agenda to improve and re-define the priorities as of 2015. These new objectives, oriented towards achieving more sustainable development, are being defined through a broad process of consultations amongst donor countries and the countries receiving aid.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will have the objective of renewing efforts by the international community to achieve a world of prosperity, equality, freedom, dignity and peace. The United Nations has been working jointly with governments, civil society and other organizations to take advantage of the momentum produced by the Millennium Development Goals and to continue moving ahead with an ambitious development program for after 2015.
An example of this commitment is that held by the Government of Spain to international cooperation and the new development agenda. Along with the UNDP, six years ago it established the Fund for MDG Achievement, with the objective of fighting extreme poverty.
This Fund has been an example of how the different role-players in development can be combined to reach 50 countries through 130 joint programs. The results achieved have improved the lives of many people throughout the world. Now that the work has been completed, Spain, along with the UNDP, has taken on the challenge of establishing a new Fund which will contribute to achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals that will be included in the post-2015 agenda: the Sustainable Development Fund (SDG-F).
The new Sustainable Development Fund (SDG-F) is organizing this Summer Course at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos with the goal of analyzing the new development agenda and developing and drawing a map of the status of this matter just one year after the launch of the new development goals.
Further information
COURSE PROGRAM
Tuesday, July 22. THE DEBATE OVER NEW DEVELOPMENT
9:30 a.m. Opening event. Gonzalo Robles, Secretary General of International Development Cooperation, MAEC, Madrid, Spain.
10:00 a.m. Opening conference: The new paradigms of development. Fernando Carrillo, Ambassador of Colombia in Spain.
11:30 a.m. Round table discussion: the post-2015 process. Moderated by: Laura López de Cerain, AECID. a) Development priorities: Jose Antonio Alonso, ICEI, Complutense, Spain. b) Inter-sectorality: Bruno Moro, SDGF/UNDP, New York, USA. c) The post-2015 process: José Dallo, Post-2015 Secretariat, UNDP, New York, USA.
4:30 p.m. Communication and development. Round table discussion: Alejandra Agudo, El País. Beatriz Fernández, Europa Press. Montse Boix, Televisión Española.
5:30 p.m. Regional consultations: Jose Dallo, Post-2015 Secretariat, UNDP, New York, USA.
Wednesday, July 23. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN LIGHT OF POST-2015
9:30 a.m. Public-private alliances in light of post-2105. Round table discussion: Alberto Andreu, Global Director of Corporate Reputation and Responsibility of Telefónica, Madrid, Spain. Tula Ducasse. Institutional Development and Social Performance of the BBVA MicroFinance Foundation, Madrid, Spain. Carmen Becerril, General Director of the International Area of Acciona, Madrid, Spain. 11:00 a.m. The European Union’s position in the post-2015 process: Félix Fernández-Shaw, Director of the Division for Coordinating Development Cooperation, the European Foreign Service, Brussels, Belgium.
12.30 p.m. The inter-governmental negotiation process of post-2015 at the United Nations: Saúl Weisleder, Permanent Alternate Ambassador of Costa Rica to the United Nations. New York.
4:30 p.m. Social networks and new technologies. The data revolution. Miguel Luengo. UN Global Pulse.
5:30 p.m. The dialogue of multi-player politics as a mechanism for promoting appropriation, inclusiveness and the sustainability of development processes. Sergio Rodríguez, INSPIRED. Madrid, Spain.
Thursday, July 24. THE ROLE OF SPAIN IN THE NEW DEVELOPMENT AGENDA
9:30 a.m. The role of Spanish Cooperation in the process of the Post-2015 Agenda and the participation in the SDG Work Group. Marta Pedrajas. Consulting member on development policies in the Secretariat General of International Development Cooperation. MAEC, Madrid, Spain.
10:30 a.m. The contribution of civil society to the post-2015 process: Mercedes Ruiz Giménez, Coordinating President of NGOs of Spain, Madrid, Spain 11:30 a.m. The position of political parties in the post-2015 process: Delia Blanco (PSOE); Carles Campuzano (CIU); Ignacio Uriarte (PP). 12:30 p.m. The private sector’s contribution to the post-2015 process. New alliances. Alvaro Schweinfurth, Assistant Director, Department of Foreign Policy and Multilateral Relations, CEOE, Madrid, Spain.
Closing conference: 1:30 p.m. Spain’s contribution to the post-2015 process: Gonzalo Robles, Secretary General of International Development Cooperation, MAEC, Madrid, Spain.
HOW TO REGISTER FOR THIS SUMMER COURSE
The period for requesting ordinary registration in this course ends on July 18, 2014. Further information
The deadline for requesting the accommodations scholarship (only for people who reside outside of the Autonomous Region of Madrid) ends of June 15. Further information
Prices and discounts can be seen by clicking here: The documentation can be sent by e-mail, postal mail or fax, or by going to the Student Secretariat, or by delivering it to any URJC registry (contact information and schedules).