Holistic Approaches for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean Region

Opening Plenary

• Inaugural Ceremony
• Introduction of participants and group photo

Session 1: Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean

• Status of the 2030 Agenda implementation in the Caribbean
• Key messages from UN DESA’s Symposium on “Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SAMOA Pathway in Small Island Developing States: Equipping Public Institutions and Mobilizing Partnerships”, Bahamas, 2017
• Regional approaches to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and SAMOA Pathway National perspectives and experiences in localizing the 2030 Agenda
• Interactive Dialogue
• Coffee Break

Session 2: Mobilizing public institutions for a holistic implementation of the 2030 Agenda

• Institutional arrangements for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda
• Interactive Learning session: “From single interest to shared purpose: The Whole-of- government Approach” (1st part)
• Lunch break
• Interactive Learning session: “From single interest to shared purpose: The Whole-of- Government Approach” (2nd part)

Session 3: Policy coherence in Caribbean countries for effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda

• The 2019 Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development and its Sub-regional Consultations in support of policy coherence
• Achieving policy coherence in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda: What does it take?
• Interactive Learning session: knowledge-sharing of innovative practices on ensuring policy coherence

1. National perspectives and experiences on development planning and policy coherence Presentations from Caribbean country representatives
2. Financing for Development and Public Expenditure Review

• Coffee break
• Interactive Learning session: National perspectives and experiences on development planning and policy coherence

1. Panel discussion among VNR Caribbean country representatives
2. Interactive Dialogue

Session 4: Strategic positioning of the sustainable development agendas in the Caribbean

• Advancing Caribbean Sustainable Development.
• Towards the High-level SAMOA Pathway Mid-Term Review: opportunities and challenges
• Chairperson: Ms. Maria Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, UN DESA
• Presenters:

1. Ms. Anya Thomas, Economic Affairs Officer, SIDS Unit, Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG), UN DESA
2. Ms. Artie Dubrie, Sustainable Development Officer, ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean

• Moderator: Ms. Diane Quarless, Director, ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean
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• Supporting policy coherence across Caribbean SIDS Sustainable Development agendas: The Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee- Regional Coordinating Mechanism (CDCC-RCM) Revisited and Repositioned
• Discussants:

1. Ms. Amrikha Singh, Programme Manager, Sustainable Development, CARICOM Secretariat
2. Mr. Travis Sinckler, Senior Environment Officer, Ministry of the Environment and National Beautification, Barbados
3. Mr. Peter Mitchell, Director, Project Planning and Reconstruction, Ministry of Planning and Development, Trinidad and Tobago

• Interactive Dialogue
• Coffee Break

Session 5: Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships for Sustainable Development

• Institutionalizing stakeholder engagement

1. Mr. Keping Yao, Governance and Public Administration Expert, DPIDG-UNPOG, UN DESA

• Interactive learning session: Strengthening institutions and creating an enabling environment for effective stakeholder engagement and people centered development
• Moderator: Mr. Alex Mejia, Director, Division for People and Social Inclusion, UNITAR
• Discussants:

1. Dr. Ainka Granderson, Senior Technical Officer, Caribbean Natural Resources Institute
2. Ms. Curmira Gulston, National Coordinator, Caribbean Youth Environment Network, Trinidad and Tobago
3. Mrs. Catalina Garcia, Global Director Corporate Affairs, AB InBev

Interactive Dialogue

Session 6: Effective monitoring and evaluation of SDG progress

• Gaps, issues and challenges in the Caribbean for monitoring progress on the SDGs
• Monitoring progress on the SDGs at the national level: the perspective of the National Statistical Offices
• National perspectives on monitoring progress on the SDGs and the SAMOA pathway in the Caribbean
• Moderator: Mr. Abdullahi Abdulkadri, Coordinator, Statistics and Social Development Unit, ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean
• Discussants:

1. Ms. Lori-Rae Alleyne-Franklin, Chief Statistician, Statistics Department, Anguilla
2. Ms. Jocelyne Croes, Special Advisor on Multilateral Affairs and Chair, National Aruba SDG Commission, Aruba
3. Ms. Najan Christopher, Director (Ag.), Office of the Premier, The British Virgin Islands
4. Mr. Josefo Seniwaitui Navuku, Commissioner Central Division, Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development, Fiji
5. Ms. Hope Perkins, Research Officer, Statistical Institute of Jamaica
6. Ms. Lucill Starke Esajas, Senior Desk Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Suriname • Ms. Sabrina Williams, Deputy Chief Statistician, Department of Statistics, Turks and Caicos Islands

• Interactive Dialogue
• Moderator: Mr. Alex Mejia, Director, Division for People and Social Inclusion, UNITAR
• Discussants:

1. Dr. Kyra Paul, Social Development Planner, Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and Investment, Dominica
2. Ms. Marie Hinds, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Ag.), Ministry of Planning and Development, Trinidad and Tobago

Lunch break

Session 7: Capacity-building for sustainable development

• Towards a global learning platform for SDG capacity-building
• Mr. Alex Mejia, Director, Division for People and Social Inclusion, UNITAR
• Global initiative on “Transformational Leadership and Equipping Public Servants with the capacities to implement the Sustainable Development Goals”: working together with schools of public administrationMs. Adriana Alberti, Chief, Programme Management and Capacity Development Unit, DPIDG, UN DESA
• Transformational Leadership and Transforming Public Servants’ Mindsets for the Sustainable Development Goals – Asia-Pacific Task Force
• Mr. Chae Gun Chung, Head, United Nations Project Office on Governance (UNPOG), DPIDG, UN DESA
• Improving Data Literacy to advance Sustainable Development Implementation
• Mr. Abdullahi Abdulkadri, Coordinator, Statistics and Social Development Unit, ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean Partnership Corner
• Moderator: Ms. Adriana Alberti, Chief, Programme Management and Capacity Development Unit, DPIDG, UN DESA
• Speakers:

1. Dr. Gabrielle Hosein, Head, Institute for Gender and Development Studies, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus
2. Ms. Kurba-Marie Questelles, Regional Training and Development Coordinator, Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network
3. Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, Director of Development, University of the West Indies

• Partnership Corner
• Moderator: Ms. Adriana Alberti, Chief, Programme Management and Capacity Development Unit, DPIDG, UN DESA
• Speakers:

1. Dr. Gabrielle Hosein, Head, Institute for Gender and Development Studies, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus
2. Ms. Kurba-Marie Questelles, Regional Training and Development Coordinator, Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network
3. Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, Director of Development, University of the West Indies

Coffee break

• Accelerating implementation of the 2030 Agenda

1. Ms. Rochelle Whyte, Senior Technical Advisor to the Director General, Planning Institute of Jamaica
2. H.E. Colin Murdoch, Senior Adviser, Office of the Prime Minister, Antigua and Barbuda

• Lessons learned from three years of VNRs: Benefits, Main Building Blocks and maximizing the Impact of the VNRs

1. Ms. Anya Thomas, Economic Affairs Officer, SIDS Unit, DSDG, UN DESA
2. Ms. Rochelle Whyte, Senior Technical Advisor to the Director General, Planning Institute of Jamaica

• Identifying capacity development needs for conducting a reviews and accelerating implementation

1. Ms. Dominique Ambrose-Charles, Economic and Financial Analyst II, Ministry of Finance, Guyana
2. Mrs. Adriana Sharpe, Assistant Director, Technical Cooperation Unit, Ministry of Planning and Development, Trinidad and Tobago

• Round-table: forward-looking discussion on strengthening institutional frameworks to advance the 2030 Agenda in the Caribbean
• Moderator: Ms. Diane Quarless, Director, ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean

Closing Plenary

• Conclusions and recommendations
• ECLAC, UNITAR and UN DESA
• Closing remarks

1. Mr. Raul Garcia Buchaca, Deputy Executive Secretary, ECLAC
2. Mr. Nikhil Seth, Executive Director, UNITAR
3. Ms. Maria Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General, UN DESA