UPCOMING ESDN EVENTS

ESDN Youth Network Webinar on Biodiversity will take place on 05 December 17:30 - 19:00 CET. 

The webinar will feature an expert on biodiversity, Kristiina Niikkonen. She has been a part of the global negotiations for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2030 targets for halting biodiversity loss. She now works for the Finnish Prime Minister’s Office on the Priodiversity Life project, aiming to reinforce biodiversity policy coherence according to the 2030 biodiversity targets. She will present on the main question: What are the three levels of biodiversity policy and how can we empower citizens for biodiversity action?

Kristiina will be joined by Antti Ala-Heikkiä and Anna-Sofia Krjukov, who are members of The Young People’s Climate and Nature Group (NUOLI) operating under the Finnish Prime Minister’s Office. In October 2024, NUOLI organized the Finnish Local Conference of Youth (LCOY), bringing together over 300 participants from across the country. The conference acted as a learning experience for the recently founded NUOLI group and an empowering space for community-building and knowledge-sharing, resulting in the Finnish National Youth and Child Environment Statement. Antti and Anna-Sofia will reflect on the key messages voiced in the statement, the current landscape of youth environmental advocacy in Finland, and the lessons gained from organizing LCOY. They will focus on the question: What defines the spirit of Finnish youth as political action on the environmental crisis continues to waver, years after the start of global youth climate strikes?

 

Recent ESDN Events

ESDN Conference 2024 took place in Brussels, Belgium on 05-06 June 2024!

The ESDN Conference 2024 took place in Brussels, Belgium on 05-06 June 2024! The title of this year’s Conference is “Upgrading Europe: Building Transformative Policies to Reach the Sustainable Development Goals”. The ESDN organized the Conference in cooperation with the Belgian Federal Institute for Sustainable Development and the European Economic and Social Committee. The Conference was an official event of Belgium’s EU Council Presidency.  

As we find ourselves just over the halfway point to reaching the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, with only six more years left, the ESDN and co-organizers will focus this year’s Conference on transformative policies. The Global Sustainable Development Reports (2019 and 2023) have identified the entry points to transformational change. The purpose of this Conference was to learn more about transformations and how to bring them about, as well as learn from good practice cases from national governments, local governments, the business sector, academia, and science. The Conference offered ample opportunities for discussions, networking, and information exchanges with colleagues from all parts of Europe.

More information about the Conference, including the agenda, Discussion Paper, and presentations can be found here

The ESDN Conference 2024 Policy Note can be found here


ESDN VNR Peer Review Workshop took place on 05 June in Brussels, Belgium

The 1st ESDN VNR Peer Review Workshop took place on 05 June in Brussels, Belgium at the Permanent Representation of Austria to the European Union. It was organized in cooperation with Belgian Interministerial Conference on Sustainable Development, the Austrian Federal Chancellery, and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland were the focus countries for the VNR Peer Review, as Austria and Switzerland both have valuable experiences in conducting peer reviews.

This event was offered exclusively to the 9 ESDN Regular Member countries that support the work of the ESDN, offering them targeted information and exchange on VNR peer review processes with their peers. The Workshop looked at the VNRs as sincere government evaluation tools, VNR methodologies and peer review, as well as how to best receive contributions from civil society. 

More information on the Workshop, including the agenda and presentations, can be found here 

An ESDN Policy Note will be made available in the coming weeks and will be uploaded here


ESDN Young Civil Servant Workshop took place on 15-16 April 2024 in Vienna, Austria

The ESDN organized its first ever Young Civil Servant Workshop, which took place in Vienna on the 15th and 16th of April 2024 and focused on Transformative Policies, especially regarding the aspect of Intergenerational Equity.

The Sustainable Development Goals envisage a planet inhabitable not only for the present, but also for the future and are therefore inherently linked to the wellbeing of different generations. The workshop in Vienna will look at the area of transformative policies from an intergenerational equity perspective. What are the main challenges in this regard? How can we use intergenerational equity as a resource in policymaking? To what extent are the SDGs providing and supporting intergenerational equity and (how) can this be elevated in a post-2030 policy framework? What can young civil servants do to support this process? These questions will guide us through an interesting and exciting 1.5 days with inputs from experts, as well as a lot of time to exchange and develop ideas together.

The Workshop brought together around 25 young civil servants from around Europe, aged 35 or younger, to learn and discuss on the topic of intergenerational equity. 

The Workshop agenda. Discussion Paper, and presentations can be found here

 The Workshop Policy Note can be found here


22nd ESDN Workshop took place on 26-27 March 2024 in Budva, Montenegro!

The 22nd ESDN Workshop took place on 26-27 March 2024 in Budva, Montenegro! The topic was “Governance Transformations for More Effective SDG Implementation”. The Workshop was organized in cooperation with the Government of Montenegro and UNDP Montenegro. 
 
Day 1 of the Workshop began on the 26th of March and focused on what some Western Balkan countries have been doing regarding implementing the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on institutional mechanisms and frameworks. This was complemented by keynote presentations of good practices from around Europe on governance mechanisms and experiences in implementation. In typical ESDN Workshop fashion, participants were also able to work in interactive groups to further exchange on the keynote presentations, their own experiences with implementation, and further learn from, and discuss with, one another.
 
Day 2 of the Workshop began on the 27th of March and focused on governing transformations towards sustainability, as well as focused on deriving answers to the question of what is needed to be fit for the future. The Workshop culminated in a final interactive exchange that focused on participants developing a toolbox for effective SDG governance for the future.

More information about the Workshop, including the agenda and Discussion Paper can be found here

The ESDN Policy Note can be found here


 

Explained

The European Sustainable Development Network (ESDN) is a network of public administrators and other experts dealing with sustainable development (SD) in Europe.

European

The ESDN has been bringing together European policymakers and public servants in the field of sustainable development since 2002. Over the course of the Network's history, it has expanded to include more policymakers, scientists and practitioners from all over Europe.

Sustainable

The ESDN subscribes to the principles of Sustainable Development and the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable Development satisfies the needs of  the present without compromising those of future generations. It strives to achieve a balance between economic, social and ecological aspects.

Network

As a Network of public servants and policymakers, the ESDN facilitates an active exchange of ideas and best practices to make sustainable development strategies more effective.

Country profiles

This section gives a brief overview of selected SD strategy features for 33 European countries.

Choose your Country profile