International consultancy for the support in defining the Agenda 2030 localisation strategy

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Description of the consultancy:

The Mirada Ciudadana project generated mechanisms for dialogue and the exchange of experiences aimed at strengthening the management capacities of the local governments involved, with governance and citizen participation as its pillars. To this end, among other initiatives, international seminars were organised with the participation of representatives of municipalities and institutions from the countries involved in the project, as well as professionals from other countries and international organisations.

On the other hand, the project has identified the great potential of Agenda 2030 and has closely followed its localisation exercises (understood as 'the processes of adapting the global agenda to the characteristics and circumstances of each territory') in the world and particularly in Latin America and in the partner countries. At the end of the implementation period, the project wanted to make a special contribution to this field by organizing the seminar entitled "Learning how to localise the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals in our territories and how to align ourselves with international policies". To this end, the Spanish expert Javier Cortés was invited as the main trainer, with the aim of presenting and working in-depth on the "Framework for public-private partnership intervention for localising and implementing SDOs in and from territories" methodology, of which he is a co-author.

Additionally, the expert was asked to further develop on the Agenda 2030 and municipal communication, requesting his participation and support for the "Efficient communication to strengthen municipal management" Seminar.

Due to the great interest in the topic and in order to take advantage of the expert's experience, the project organised a series of parallel meetings with key institutions at the national level, such as the Planning and Budget Office (Oficina de Planeamiento y Presupuestos - OPP) of the Republic's Presidency, the Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation (Agencia Uruguaya de Cooperación Internacional - AUCI) and the Congress of Mayors of the Republic of Uruguay.

During the week in which the expert was present in Uruguay, the meetings and the seminar "Efficient communication to strengthen municipal management" were held as scheduled. However, due to the coronavirus crisis, the project was forced to suspend, a few hours before its start, the "Learning how to localise the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals in our territories and how to align ourselves with international policies" Seminar. Instead, a series of meetings and working sessions were held only with the representatives of the Municipality of Cerro Largo and it was decided to prepare a manual aimed at localising the Agenda within the municipalities of the Mirada Ciudadana network.

Objectives:

To support the project in strengthening the capacities of municipalities in the incorporation of the Agenda 2030 and the improvement of institutional communication, by providing a framework of intervention for public-private collaboration already contrasted in other territories.

Activity carried out:

Seminar "Learning how to localise the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals in our territories and how to align ourselves with international policies ".

Main products:

Manual for the Agenda 2030 localisation in the municipalities of the Mirada Ciudadana network

Assessments:

Javier Cortés' contribution to the Mirada Ciudadana project through the different moments and modalities set out in this report was very positively valued by the project management and by all the participants. In fact, the entire Agenda 2030 localisation strategy in the municipalities of the Mirada Ciudadana network will be built around the model of "Framework for public-private partnership intervention for localising and implementing SDOs in and from territories"' presented and worked on during the mission.

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