Brest hosted the first meeting of Regional groups on achieving SDGs

On November 28, the representatives of Regional working groups on achieving SDGs met in Brest to exchange the experience and coordinate their work.

Being the leading region in achieving SDGs Brest has been chosen to host the first meeting of Regional groups and has shared its experience in implementation of the Global Goals. Brest is a part of UNICEF Initiative “the Child Friendly City”. Moreover, by 2050 the project of an ecologically attractive city “SymbioCity” is scheduled for the implementation. This is a pilot project for Belarus which is encompassing steady city development in 6 aspects: transport, ecology, architecture, water supply, sewerage, and greening. The first changes that are connected with water purification and sewerage are planned to be implemented in 2019 – by the city’s millennium. 

Based on a complex approach, the Brest project is simultaneously solving the problems of clean water and sanitation (Goal 6), affordable and clean energy (Goal 7), sustainable cities (Goal 11) and climate change (Goal 13). Besides helping to achieve several SDGs at once, the implementation of the project is showcasing the process of Localization of SDGs, one of the basic principles of working with Sustainable Development Goals. The Brest meeting marks the shift from the national level of creating the institutions on achieving the SDGs to the regional one, which has been discussed at the first meeting of National Coordinator on achieving SDGs Marianna Shchotkina with the UN Resident Coordinator Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki.

The implementation of SDGs at the local level (localization) is an important condition for achieving the Global goals, that allows to solve the most critical issues of every region considering its specific features and the sphere of interests.

Mogilev region and Minsk city have also been assessed as the leading regions at the implementation of Agenda 2030.