4. FBO Workshop on Religions and the Sustainable Development Goals, UK.
This workshop was the first event of a new programmes network funded by the Arts and Humanities Programmes Council on the topic of religions and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It brought together faith-based organizations and other actors in the UK involved in religions & development practice to examine the new SDGs. The workshop had two aims, one to garner information about the consultation process/implementation of SDGs for UK based organisations and the second to inform our country conferences in India and Ethiopia. We were interested to find out from participants:
- To what extent do you feel that religious voices were enabled to be heard in the consultation process for the SDGs and with what effect?
- In what ways and to what extent to you think religious perspectives were included in the formulation of the SDGs?
- To what extent and in what ways are you now beginning to interpret and implement the SDGs in your work?
- Do you feel the SDGs provide a useful framework to tackle ‘sustainable development’ globally?
- What are the advantages and the disadvantages of working within the SDG framework?
We finished the workshop with a discussion in two groups, one for India and one for Ethiopia, that was guided by the following questions:
- What, in your opinion, are the gaps and priorities in programmes around religion and the 2030 sustainable development agenda?
- How engaged are religious groups/FBOs in policy discourses around religion and sustainable development – how could it be done better – and how might this network facilitate that?
- Who are the key stakeholders to engage at the country level around the SDGs? What networks are you connecting with to talk about the SDGs?
- How best might the network integrate academic and non-academic partners?
Report available at: https://religions-and-development.leeds.ac.uk/programmes-network/ More from “Keeping Faith in 2030: Religion and the Sustainable Development Goals”:1. Findings and Recommendations
2. Workshop Report: Religions and Development in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, September 20th-21st 2018.
