Overcoming Barriers to Implementation

As the world rapidly approaches the deadline for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), progress is not occurring fast enough. However, cities are increasingly making a meaningful difference. Cities are taking the necessary actions to implement the SDGs, spurring real change at the local level with global repercussions. As part of their commitment to localising the 2030 Agenda, a growing number of cities are turning to the Voluntary Local Review process to reflect on their SDG journey and plan future steps. Pioneered by Kitakyushu, New York, Shimokawa and Toyama in 2018, VLRs create a framework for effective review and monitoring of the SDGs that can help to overcome effective barriers to implementation. Despite the increasing and unprecedented challenges humanity has faced since 2020, a growing number of local and regional governments presented a VLR in 2021. 

This event celebrated the launching of the third volume of the ‘State of the Voluntary Local Reviews’ report by IGES. Entitled ‘Overcoming barriers to implementation,’ the report analyses 36 VLRs presented by cities in 2021. This event will share key points of the report and provide a forum for an in-depth discussion on why cities conduct VLRs and what happens after the VLR has been completed. In this event, Barcelona and Asker shared their VLR experiences, in particular on the benefits VLR brought to the cities in promoting SDG localisation, as well as on how cities could maximise the legacy of a VLR. This open conversation provided insights on how to localise, monitor and review the SDGs at the local level.