19th Sustainable Development Conference







Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) is the annual flagship conference organized by sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) Islamabad, an independent Non-Profit Organization working for the promotion of sustainable development in the region. This organization focuses on three main areas, research, advocacy and capacity building. SDC connects different researchers, policy makers and practitioners with each other under  with the aim to promote sustainable development.

This year 19th Sustainable Development Conference was organized with the overarching theme 'Envisaging the Future Together' from 6th-8th December 2016 in Marriott Hotel Islamabad.The  conference focused upon all the three components of sustainable development. i.e.
  • Cooperation between developed and developing countries for Sustainable Development
  • Human centerd-ness
  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's)

During the three days event; 150+ panelists from over 16 countries participated in 29 sessions and 3 plenaries.

Donors:
The massive event could not have been possible without the collaboration of the donors. International Development Research Center (IDRC), Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium (SLRC), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Awaaz, Friedrich Ebert Stifung (FES), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), World Food Program (WFP), Canadian high Commission, Heinrich Boll Stifung (HBS)

Guests:
Different guest from both countries and abroad attended this conference.
Dignitaries from the social, political, media personnel and environmentalists from many parts of the world also presented their views in this conference.

Unlike other platforms, SDC has always encouraged active participation from the young researchers as well. This year an undergraduate student was given a chance with the other members to present her research. These activities show the strong dedication to the upbringing of talented people in the field.

More than 2500+students, practitioners and policy makers attended these sessions. Active participation was observed from the attendees who actively participated in these sessions.

Panels:
Day no.1:
The conference was formally inaugurated in the Opening Plenary which was attended by Mr. Sartaj Aziz, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Zahid Hamid, Federal Minister of Climate Change and Mr. Shafqat Kakakhel Board of Governor SDPI. After the opening plenary; following concurrent sessions were organized during the conference:

  1. Pakistan's Macroeconomic Performance Post IMP Outlook
  2. Sustainable Energy Solutions for the Region
  3. SDG's Opportunities and Challenges for Health Sector- The importance of Data
  4. SLRC: It's what you do and how you do it- The types of services and what processes build legitimacy.
  5. Energy Smart-Grid and Remapping the T&D System of Pakistan
  6. Gender, Demography and Democracy
  7. Leverging CPEC for Regional Cooperation in Energy and Transport Infrastructure
  8. SLRC: Gender, conflict and Livelihoods Recovery
  9. Solar Geo-Engineering in Pakistan

Day no. 2:
The panels organized at the second day of conference are:
  1. The distributional Effects of Out-migration and Livelihood Resilience in Semi-Arid Regions of Asia and Africa.
  2. Future of SAARC: Current Challenges and Potentials for Peace, Development and Prosperity.
  3. Challenges of Conflict and Service Delivery in and After Conflicts
  4. SLRC: Making a living in and after Conflicts
  5. Securing Livelihoods and promoting Competitiveness of Cotton Value Chain (CVC) in a changing Climate.
  6. Regional Economic Integration in Central and South Asia
  7. Minorities in Pakistan's Legal Framework.
  8. SLRC: Markets, value chains and Social Networks
  9. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Resilience Building in South Asia.
  10. Priority Actions for the SDG's and Leave no one Behind Agenda in South Asia
  11. Inclusive South Asian Societies-Raising voices for Ethnic and Religious Minorities as Equal Citizens
  12. SLRC: The Legacies of Conflict

After the above mentioned panels; dinner plenary are also organized.
Day no. 3:
At the last day, the following panels were organized:
  1. Transforming Poverty and Inequality: Urban-Rural Linkages in South Asia: What the Future Holds
  2. Water Stewardship, Sustainability and the way Forward for Pakistan.
  3. effective Institutions, capacities and partnerships for implementing SDG's: A Provincial Prespective
  4. SLRC: Community Driven Development and Social Protection in Conflicts
  5. Pakistan Food Security and Nutrition Strategic Review: Preliminary Findings
  6. Regional Cooperation in Light of the Paris Climate Agreement
  7. Emerging Methods in Policy Engagement and Public-Private Dialogue
  8. SLRC: Building Capacity in Conflicts
After all these sessions, the closing plenary was organized. Mr. Asad Umar, Mr.Zubair Malik Board Member SAARC Chamber and Commerce and Industry, Mr. Tariq Banuri from University of Utah US and Mr. M. Afzal from PMLN were the guests. After the special lecture by Mr. Banuri, the distinguished guests shared their thoughts on the outcomes of the conference. 

All the policy recommendations are keenly collected and then passed onto the concerned authorities at the end of the conference. The detailed reports will be shared with the people as well.

Media Coverage:
All the sessions were streamed live on sdpi.tv The opening ceremony was covered by the national tv channel PTV as well. The #SDC2016 remained in top trends throughout the full 3 days event. Even the subhashtag #19thSDC was also one of the top trends in Pakistan from 6th-8th Deember 2016.

A few highlights are shared below:

                          



                         
                         
                         

                       
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                     
                     
                      
                     



(P.S:More details will be uploaded soon)


Fore more details,
Visit the offcial website
http://sdpi.org/
twitter: SDPIPakistan

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