The Debate on the Post-2015 Process and the Role of Civil Society

On 7th and 8th May 2013 SLOGA, the Slovenian NGDO platform organised "The Advocacy Days". The event had a twofold purpose: in the first place, it was to start a tradition of yearly capacity building in the field of advocacy. At the same time, it was used as an opportunity to launch a debate in Slovenia on the future of the world in which we live in, namely the post-2015 framework.

The debate on sustainable development and poverty eradication, tackled during the “Advocacy Breakfast”, made sure to include the widest possible circle of stakeholders so as to ensure a broad exchange of views and experiences. In this respect, SLOGA invited Mr Ben Slay from the UNDP Regional Office in Bratislava, Ms Martina Skok and Ms Ksenija Škrilec from Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Mr Gasper Jež from the Centre for International Cooperation and Development.

Mr Slay presented the case of the European neighbourhood, which does not represent the poorest countries in the world, yet offers important lessons learnt to be considered in the new framework. The representatives of the MFA stressed the importance of a universal framework that will address the global issues which can then be adapted to national needs of countries, both developed and developing. The private sector, whose position was presented by Mr Jež is of high importance in the development cooperation, however the private sector does not want to be part of formal structures and frameworks.

The fact is that the discussions on the post-2015 framework just begun. At the moment, it sets out the basic principles of the system. But there are still a lot of unknowns, which are partly the result of the experiment of combining different interrelated areas. Only time will tell if there will be among various stakeholders enough interest to make the necessary changes that will enable sustainability and tackle inequalities. The consultation showed that people and governments all too often pursue their selfish interests, which are a major cause for the state of the world today. In order to create a framework that will lead to the desired changes, it is necessary to re-consider the lifestyle and values that lead our ways of life. It also requires the inclusion of a greater number of different stakeholders in the discussion, because we are all involved in its implementation.

The “Advocacy Days” focused on two training sessions on advocacy and campaigning (basic and higher level), conducted by the Director of Action Aid Greece Mr Gerasimos Kouvaras.

Photo by SLOGA: Panel during the Advocacy Breakfast.
Information provided by SLOGA