Roundup: Much-anticipated UN summit charts new era of sustainable development

"We have a big, bold agenda before us -- now we must work to make it real in people's lives everywhere," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a press release Wednesday.

More than 150 world leaders are expected to attend the UN Sustainable Development Summit from Sept. 25-27 at UN headquarters in New York to formally adopt an ambitious new sustainable development agenda.

"It is a roadmap to ending global poverty, building a life of dignity for all and leaving no one behind. It is also a clarion call to work in partnership and intensify efforts to share prosperity, empower people's livelihoods, ensure peace and heal our planet for the benefit of this and future generations," said Ban.

The new agenda is people-centred, universal, transformative and integrated. It calls for action by all countries for all people over the next 15 years in five areas of critical importance: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. The agenda recognises that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with a plan that builds economic growth and addresses a range of social needs, while tackling climate change, said the press release.

The agenda entitled "Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," was agreed upon by the 193 UN Member States, and includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The opening ceremony of the Summit will start Friday morning, with the film screening, "The Earth from Space," followed by musical performances by UN Goodwill Ambassadors Shakira and Angelique Kidjo, as well as a call to action by Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai along with youth representatives as torch bearers to a sustainable future, said the press release.

Opening remarks will be delivered by Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and civil society representative Salil Shetty, Amnesty International Secretary-General. The Sustainable Development Agenda will then officially be adopted by world leaders, it said.

DIALOGUES AND KEY EVENTS

During the Summit, there will be six interactive dialogues around the following themes: ending poverty and hunger; tackling inequalities, empowering women and girls and leaving no one behind; fostering sustainable economic growth, transformation and promoting sustainable consumption and production; delivering on a revitalised global partnership; building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions to achieve sustainable development; and protecting our planet and combatting climate change, said the press release.

A private sector forum, hosted by Ban on Sept. 26, will focus on the role of the private sector in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. A civil society high-level event will focus on building political will for the implementation of the Summit's outcome. A Solutions Summit, which will take place on Sept. 27, will mark the beginning of a longer-term grassroots effort to highlight exceptional innovators -- technologists, engineers, and scientists -- who are developing solutions that address one or more of the 17 SDGs, it said.

A number of side events are also expected to focus on specific initiatives.

BACKGROUND

With 2015 set as the target year for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a new agenda is needed to address the three interconnected elements of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.

The MDGs have proven that goal setting can lift millions put of poverty. However, with 17 new SDGs that universally apply to all, countries can go further to end all forms of poverty and ensure no one is left behind.

This momentous agenda, comprising of 17 goals, will serve as the launch pad for action by the international community and by national governments to promote shared prosperity and well-being for all over the next 15 years. Enditem