From 31 January to 5 February 2016, Istanbul hosted the workshop on “Good Governance and the Sustainable Development Goals.” Organized by ESCWA in collaboration the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Iraq, the workshop aimed at building the capacity of Iraqi public sectors institutions through helping officials to adapt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda to national context; incorporate participatory governance practices; and adopt an effective communication strategy that can promote public trust and the citizens’ engagement in the SDGs agenda.
The workshop targeted the Higher Committee for Sustainable Development currently working on planning, implementation and follow-up of the post 2015 Agenda in Iraq, as well as the National Center for Management Development and Information Technology of the Ministry of Planning.
The event falls within the framework of the Iraq-Public Sector Modernization (I-PSM) Program of the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) which has been supporting the public sector reform agenda of the country, such as decentralization, service delivery and capacity development.
Participants in the workshop saw that the workshop's value added is in helping to make the global SDGs relevant to Iraq's changing national realities. They also saw that it was an opportunity to build a deeper understanding of the sustainable development agenda; good governance; and communication approaches for the Iraqi public administration.
