Southern Voice plans a new communication and outreach strategy in Dhaka

Presentation by Andrea Ordóñez and Karin Fernando

Karin Fernando, Asia Region Coordinator and Andrea Ordóñez, the network’s Research and Partnership Coordinator, recently visited the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in Dhaka, which hosts the Secretariat of Southern Voice. The three-day visit took place from 27-29 August 2017. The SV’s Secretariat met to prepare a new communication and outreach plan that will accompany the network’s new strategy, which was developed over the past year in a participatory process.

During their visit, they also gave a joint talk at CPD on the theme of interconnectivity of development themes in the 2030 Agenda. The SDGs balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental. Ms Fernando shed light on the integrated, interlinked and indivisible nature of the SDGs and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and reiterated that their interconnectivity and policy coherence are crucial in the delivery of SDGs, and can be explored through a tool such as network analysis. She shared the results and data visualisations emerging from a recent mapping exercise undertaken by CEPA and a local partner in Sri Lanka, which looks at the national energy policy and its linkages with other sectors.

Following the presentation, Ms Ordóñez shared examples of two countries that have been globally lauded for embedding the SDGs in national ambition and development planning i.e. Finland and Costa Rica. Moreover, she observed that the global practice prevails that many think-tanks and non-government organisations in the Global South continue to work in silos. The collaboration of such actors is essential to ensure sustainable development at all sectors, she emphasised.

CPD’s researchers and professionals were present at the session and shared their views on the theme of the presentation.