FAO and European Economic and Social Committee Joint Event on “SDGs and VNRs”

“One of the founding principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the requirement for all implementation and follow-up processes to be participatory and inclusive,” emphasized Stefanos Fotiou, Director of the Office of Sustainable Development Goals at the FAO, during a recent cross-regional dialogue. Jointly hosted by FAO and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the event focused on strengthening civil society participation in Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), with particular emphasis on youth involvement.

VNRs have proven to be a valuable tool for measuring national progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda. However, as EESC's External Relations President Dimitris Dimitriadis highlighted, sustainable development requires a whole-of-society approach: VNRs are most effective when they integrate the knowledge and perspectives of civil society.

Stressing that hunger lies at the heart of conflicts and instability, Leonard Mizzi, from the European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships, underscored that progress towards the SDGs requires not just financial investment and targeted policies but also collaboration and inclusivity.

©️ FAO / Belén Gutiérrez Carmona

Youth engagement is particularly crucial in these processes, as young people play a key role in driving agrifood systems transformation. This event provided a platform for peer-to-peer exchanges to enhance youth engagement in both VNR processes and post-VNR actions.

The dialogue brought together insights from those that have conducted VNRs in recent years, including the European Union (2023) and Brazil (2024), alongside youth representatives from countries currently preparing their reports for the 2025 High-Level Political Forum, including India, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kazakhstan and the Dominican Republic.

The youth representatives, including Alokita Jha from India, called for stronger institutional mechanisms to better integrate rural youth into VNR and decision-making processes. Elisabetta Recine from Brazil's Conselho de Desenvolvimento Econômico Social Sustentável similarly emphasized that civil society participation must extend beyond soliciting opinions to include genuine decision-making power, with special attention to amplifying vulnerable voices.

Regional perspectives highlighted diverse approaches: Takhmina Kulzhanova described how "Mission 2030" has successfully engaged various groups in Kazakhstan in understanding and shaping national SDG priorities and emphasized the importance of inclusive knowledge sharing. Adesola Adeyemo, from the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union, emphasized the need for context-specific civil society engagement strategies. This was also echoed by Dina Kebede from Ethiopia, who highlighted the importance of considering intra-country regional differences when designing civil society engagement in VNR processes. Isabel Iparraguirre, Vice President of Spain's Sustainable Development Council, pointed to the opportunity to use shadow VNRs as an effective practice for civil society engagement.

Daniel Augusto Montas Jose, from the Dominican Republic, praised the VNR's role in opening government processes to civil society, creating an entry point for further, long-term engagement. This was also a critical point for Rahaf Abu Mayyaleh, from Jordan, who underscored that a VNR is not just a one-time report but a chance to contribute to national vision for achieving 2030 Agenda.

©️ FAO / Belén Gutiérrez Carmona

Concluding the event, Peter Schmidt, President of the EESC Worker’s Group, left the young leaders with an encouraging message, urging them to be bold, exercise their right to participate in VNR processes and contribute their vision for a better future for everyone.

This FAO-EESC event marks a continuation of cooperation between the two organizations, with further plans for knowledge-sharing initiatives to advance innovative practices and policies for SDG implementation through agrifood systems transformation, and VNR preparation process and post-VNR action. 

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