March 25, 2017 to March 26, 2017

Outcome document of the Expert Group Meeting: Enhancing Major Groups and Other Stakeholders Engagement in National Level Reviews

Six representatives of the Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities participated at an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on 25-26 March 2016 in Bogota, Colombia, to address how to ensure effective participation and contribution of stakeholders in the process of voluntary national reviews (VNRs) at the High Level Political Forum. The meeting was attended by at least forty civil society participants and a number of Governments representatives. The meeting was organised by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Division for Sustainable Development. The EGM focused to explore opportunities to discuss strategies and approaches to discuss participation of stakeholders, including persons with disabilities at the national SDG implementation and how partnership can be created with governments, in order for stakeholders to provide expertise.

Persons with disabilities were invited to moderate and to be official speakers in different panels. In addition a number of interventions are made by all representatives. 

On 27-28 March, the German and Colombian Goverment oganised, in Bogota, Colombia a Partners for Review meeting with the participation of 70 government representatives and stakeholders from all over the world. Two representatives of the Stakeholder Group of Persons with DIsabilities were invited to attend the entire event and to address the panel entitled: Leave no one behind. The objective of the meeting is to strengthen the follow-up and monitoring mechanism of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The meeting aimed to promote transnational cooperation between government practitioners and the stakeholders to be involved in the review process and to identify practicable solutions.

Read the draft program.

Elena del Bo of Inclusion International    Daniel Ocampo, World Federation of the Deaf

Rosario Galarza

Prior to the Expert Group Meeting the six representatives of the Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities met to prepare and align messages for the coming two days.

Above: prior to the Expert Group Meeting the six representatives of the Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities met to prepare and align messages for the coming two days. 

Photo credit: Vladimir Ruiz, FiLmedioS

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