WFO in Beirut to Present the Sustainable Development Goals

Dr. Deisi Kusztra, WFO President and Mr. Isidro de Brito, WFO Vice President for Legal and Administrative Affairs are in Beirut, Lebanon, to hold a series of workshops, meetings and visits to present and explain the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The workshops and events are being organized in partnerhsip with Takaful for child welfare, a civil non profit institution concerned in childhood which services covers Lebanon (cities, villages, Palestinian gatherings and camps), Palestine (Gaza strip and west bank).

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Planned Activities:

● Workshop with National and Local NGOs

● Field Visits:

MinistryofSocialAffairs Ministry of Health
Children Cancer Center
Children Skill Center ­ Bee Center Palestinian Refugee Camp
Syrian Refugee Camp
Local NGOs

Conceptual Framework:

1. Theme: Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development ­ Mobilizing for Action.

2. Vision:

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development entered into force as a plan of action for people, planet, peace, prosperity and partnership, ensuring that no one is left behind, and to provide economic prosperity, social inclusion and environmental sustainability. Its effective implementation and results depends on a collaborative interaction between all stakeholders, mobilizing citizens of the world to break barriers, to raise awareness, to let people know about the Sustainable Development Goals and to include its activities on everybody, everyday lives.

3. Objectives:

Provide substantive information on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and Targets.

Discuss the positive impact of the Sustainable Development Goals implementation at national and local level.

Provide participants with expert analysis on means to include and implement the SDGs on theirs everyday work.

Discusss trategies tointegratetheworkof NGO’s into a SDGs policy­making perspective and citizens mobilization at national and local level.

4. Expected Results:

Reach among participants an understanding about the SDGs.

Reach among participants a consensus on the benefits of supporting the inclusion and the implementation of the SDGs concepts and actions in theirs everyday work.

Introduce the concept of multi­stakeholders­Local Authorities, Community and Family ­ perspective of social public policies in the context of Sustainable Development promoting citizens mobilization.

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The World Family Organization’s Agenda 2030 for Local Authorities, NGOs, Communities and Families Initiative is designed to introduce the SDGs to governments and non­governmental organizations who are dealing with emerging critical SDGs implementation issues by enhancing knowledge transfer and collaborative learning, enabling all stakeholders to include the concepts of SDGs on theirs everyday activities and to build awareness­raising social networks structures to strengthen local level citizens mobilization.

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The Family Africa

What a wonderful Youth Day with about 50 plus volunteers cele­brating Youth Day with us at our centre. Volunteers from Cosmo Christian Centre, ranging in age from 12 to 18 yrs spent 8 hours with us. We divided them into different teams, cooking, gardening, clean­ing the playground and playing with the children. They all did an amazing job keeping the kids occupied and happy all day and serving them a lovely meal. We also had time to conduct a interactive HIV awareness programme with them so that they would understand the nature and devastating impact of HIV in South Africa. Our brief from the youth leaders was to help these teens, who come from privileged backgrounds, understand what it is like to live in a squatter camp so part of the programme was to take groups right into the heart of the squatter camp and do a home visit for one of our support group mem­bers. When they was the conditions she lived in with no electricity, running water or even windows for security reasons – a half blind sick woman enduring terrible conditions – many of them were moved to tears. (We did not take photos of the shack and the lady because we felt it would be intrusive.) The teens went away with a different per­spective on their lives, which has made them feel more appreciative of what they have. We look forward to seeing them again in the not too distant future.

The Family Africa Blanket Drive is going well with blan­kets pouring in.
This week YFM Radio Presenters, staff and friends brought over 100 lovely blankets to distribute to our Free Day Care Centre and our orphan group. Everyone was thrilled.

Don’t forget Mandela Day

Mandela Day is Monday, July 18th.
Where ever you are spend 67 minutes reaching out to others to celebrate his life.
*: The Family Africa is a NGO and WFO Member that brings real hope for the future to thousands of people from previously disadvantaged groups in South Africa.

The organization’s work follow a holistic approach to welfare involving the mind, body and spirit. To this end we work on three levels:

1. Short Term: Immediate relief through feeding schemes, provision of clothing and blankets and response to local disasters.

2. Medium term: Education and training including basic skills training, HIV/AIDS awareness programmes in primary and secondary schools and the production of materials to assist prevention and promote attitude change.

3. Long Term: Spiritual, emotional and psychological support.

The Movement for Community-Led Development

Who we are: As individuals and organizations committed to the successful implementation of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we call for enhancing the power and capacity of communities to take charge of their own development.

Watch our brief introductory video.

A Human Right. Every human being has the inalienable right to participate in governance. For most of those living in hunger and poverty, this means governance within walking distance. People deserve this right to know that their voice and energies can make a difference. People in power must view people as “active citizens,” not beneficiaries, and “solutions,” rather than “problems.”

SDG #16 calls for building participatory, effective, accountable institutions “at all levels” – which must start at the level closest to the people. This must become a high priority.

A Gender-focused, Transformative Process. Community-led development is more than participatory projects. It requires a long-term process that empowers citizens and local authorities to transform entrenched patriarchal mindsets and take effective action.

Key Global Challenges. Four of the biggest challenges in the SDGs – to halt stunting, empower women, achieve inclusive economic growth and build climate change resilience – all require integrated  and community-led solutions at the local level.

An end in itself. Community-led development is more than an effective and sustainable means to achieve development goals. As expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 29, “Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.” Participatory local governance is the only pathway through which most people will have this opportunity.

We therefore commit to work in alignment to achieve the following near-term goals:

  • Raise the profile of community-led development in SDG-implementation discourse – starting with ourselves. We will develop a shared language for the practices, interventions and policies that enhance community-led development and we will project this language in our internal and external communications.
  • Do the analysis. We will work in every context to ensure that the systems thinking being carried out by policy makers includes a bottom-up analysis – starting from people — as well as an accurate understanding of the community-level programs and institutions required.
  • Generate, gather and disseminate evidence. We will build the evidence base for the importance of community-led development, and what works to enhance it.
  • Share best practices. Empowering community-led development is a science, and we will document and share what works.
  • Build the movement. Community-led development has strong relevance to good governance, peace and security, and humanitarian response, as well as to urban and rural social and economic development. We will reach out to all those working to enhance community-led development in all these communities.
  • Advocate for an enabling policy environment and funding. Communities face an uphill battle, and are often starved for the information, skills, voice, and human and financial resources they need to fulfill their aspirations. We will develop and work together to support local, national and global advocacy efforts to remove the obstacles and strengthen support for community-led development.
  • Take it to scale. Within activities already underway, there are enormous opportunities to work together to mobilize communities and unleash the greatest and most under-recognized resource for development – people power, and particularly the leadership of women and youth.