Cultivating and strengthening partnerships for the global goals

Under the overall theme of “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”, the 2023 Partnership Forum of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will take place on Tuesday, 31 January from 9:00 am to 5:45 pm (EDT), at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The 2023 ECOSOC Partnership Forum is expected to rally Member States and a wide range of stakeholders to exchange new ideas and priorities for the work ahead for the Council including its annual High-level Political Forum (HLPF). The Forum will also serve as a strategic space for engagement and consultation in the lead up to the milestone 2023 SDG Summit. It is expected to capitalize on such upward momentum to mobilise a number of high-visibility forward-looking actions and innovative partnerships that can advance the 2030 Agenda.

The Partnership Forum draws upon two extensive preparatory exercises based on its mandate to consult all stakeholders. The informal Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group, set up by the ECOSOC President, has recently held an expert group meeting on 30 November 2022 to provide guidance and views on the scope, format and programme of the 2023 ECOSOC Partnership Forum. Additionally, UN DESA has conducted a global online stakeholder consultation to solicit views, experiences and proposals from all stakeholders on how to strengthen partnerships and stakeholder engagement in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 2023 ECOSOC Partnership Forum is a forum for everyone. In addition to the traditional opening, plenary and closing sessions, the Forum will host informal parallel sessions called “spotlight” and “Partnership Exchange” to provide an additional space for co-designing the programme with various stakeholders. While the official sessions will be held in in-person format this year, the informal sessions will take either hybrid or fully virtual formats to maximize the attendance across the world.

The day before, on 30 January, UN DESA will organize a virtual Partnership Exchange to share hands-on knowledge and expertise from diverse partnership practitioners in the design and implementation of partnerships that contribute to achieving the SDGs.

For more information about 2023 ECOSOC Partnership Forum, please visit our event website here. Registration is now open until 23 January 2023 here. For more on the Partnership Exchange, please visit: https://sdgs.un.org/PartnershipExchange.

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