The 6th ESDN Peer Learning Platform took place on August 30 - 31, 2021 in Mariehamn, Åland Islands. It was organised by the European Sustainable Development Network together with the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Government of Åland. The objectives of the Platform were to learn from one another on good practice examples from all over Europe on how governments are involving and engaging with civil society and citizens when it comes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ESDN has an established history with the Nordic Council of Ministers, having cooperated together to organize the 4th ESDN Peer Learning Platform in Copenhagen in 2019 on Budgeting for the SDGs. This cooperation has continued and the Nordic Council of Ministers brought a unique perspective, as they are in the midst of establishing a Nordic Civil Society Network with the purpose to make the voice of civil society increasingly involved and engaged in the Nordic cooperation for sustainable development. It is the hope that the experiences being made by the Nordic Council of Ministers and those of participating ESDN member countries that were shared during the Peer Learning Platform can serve as a way to share these good practice cases, learn from one another, and forward the sustainable development agenda in Europe.
The Government of Åland is celebrating its 100th year of autonomy and will be the host for many activities related to sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda. In collaboration with the Government of Åland, the youth movement ReGeneration 2030 was hosting the ReGeneration Week on 28 – 31 August 2021 in Mariehamn. This is a powerful platform for change that fosters and highlights leadership, strengthens and unites actors, builds excitement and engagement, demands change, and facilitates action. ReGeneration Week offered a high-level meeting place, where youth and decision-makers (including ESDN members) were able to discuss and propose solutions for a more sustainable future the day before the Peer Learning Platform. The ReGeneration Week is a meeting place and a platform for learning and knowledge sharing. ReGeneration Week aims to build a bridge between individual action-taking and political demands, corporate responsibility and system change. ReGeneration Week has been organized since 2018 and the theme for this Regeneration Week was “Rethinking the System”.
The ESDN took part on 30 August in the ReGeneration Week Dialogues to connect Youth with policymakers and to spur the discussions and debates for the Peer Learning Platform on 31 August on further citizen and civil society involvement and engagement in sustainable development. In addition to these two events being hosted by the Government of Åland, the Nordic Council of Ministers was also organizing a meeting of its Nordic Expert Group for Sustainable Development, which consists of members representing the ministries and youth organizations of the Nordic countries.
All ESDN Peer Learning Platforms operate under the Chatham House rules, so no names are used and no presentations made available outside of the Platform. However, a Platform Report does provide an accurate account of topics discussed during the Platform.
A look at the history of the ESDN reveals that ESDN Peer Learning Platforms have played a prominent role in facilitating policy learning between European policymakers dealing with sustainable development. This section of the website provides a one-stop-shop documentation of all ESDN Peer Learning Platforms so far. Please click on one of the Platforms for more details:
