Urgent information about ISRRC - Call for proposals: Small advocacy grants for CSOs in the Middle East and North Africa

We have received the following information about the recent call for proposals for the IPPF advocacy small grants facility in the Middle East and North Africa region:

Due to a technical problem with the IT system, all applications  and enquiries for the below call for proposal were not received by the songsfund@ippf.org inbox. 

If you applied or know of a colleague who did, please resend to songsfund@ippf.org, and CC Katie Lau (klau@ippf.org), by Wednesday 22nd October 2pm London time.

IPPF apologises for any inconvenience.

Related: ISRRC - Call for proposals: Small advocacy grants for CSOs in the Middle East and North Africa

High Level Panel Members call for seven actions for post-2015 negotiations

An open letter on priorities for the upcoming negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda has been issued by 18 of the 27 members of the UN Secretary-General's former High-level Panel (HLP) of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, including two of its three Co-Chairs. 

The HLP report called for five "transformative shifts" to underpin the post-2015 development agenda

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OWG Co-Chairs reflect on sustainable development

As reported in the IISD Sustainable Development Policy and Practice, the Co-Chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reflected on the OWG's work and its proposed goals and targets at an event hosted by the Women's International Forum, which was sponsored by the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General.

Csaba Kőrösi, Permanent Representative of Hungary, and Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya, spoke of the possibility of a more sustainable future under the theme 'Humanity at a Crossroad: How to Shape a New Sustainable Development Trajectory.' 

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Public consultation on the data revolution for sustainable development – deadline 15 October 2015

To solicit input from civil society, particularly academia, the Independent Expert Advisory Group is hosting a public consultation on its Data Revolution Group website. The deadline for the consultation is 15 October 2015. 

Despite the short notice you are encouraged to submit your ideas and suggestions. Below are links to the four areas for inputs:

Accessible Data – open data, accountability and data literacy 

Sustainable Development Goals – measuring progress on new indicators and for all groups 

Data Innovation – big data and new technologies

Data Landscape – addressing systemic challenges

Independent Expert Group on a data revolution for sustainable development – civil society outreach day

The Independent Expert Advisory Group (IEAG) held a ‘town hall event’ on 26 September, as well as in-depth sessions centered around specific topics of the data revolution with members of civil society, academia and the private sector. These served as a “listening session” for IEAG members, with representatives from over 60 civil society organizations in attendance. 

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Independent Expert Group on a data revolution for sustainable development – kick-off meeting during General Assembly Week

The first meeting of the Independent Expert Advisory Group (IEAG) on a data revolution for sustainable development was held in New York 25 - 26 September, during the General Assembly. 

The group reviewed their mandate and agreed that it included: 

•  defining what a data revolution for development means
•  suggesting measures to close data gaps
•  seeking opportunities for new innovations and data sources while strengthening accountability at all levels.  

It discussed the substance and timing of the report to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, due in early November.

Among the issues highlighted were:

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RESURJ Statement to the General Assembly Special Session on the 20th Anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development UN

Last week, the United Nations held a “High Level Meeting” to commemorate the 20 year anniversary of the groundbreaking International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo. Twenty years ago, it was groundbreaking because it amassed world leaders who committed to approaching population and development policies placing women’s health and our human rights at its center. Last week’s commemorative meeting failed to replicate this spirit and momentum, even after considerable resources were spent in countries, regionally and globally to galvanize political will and commitment to this end.

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Further information on UN General Assembly Debate on follow-up to ICPD Programme of Action

The following information and clarifications about the UN General Assembly Debate on follow up to ICPD Programme of Action on 9 October have been made available to us by Kwabena Osei-Danquah and members of the UNFPA ICPD Beyond 2014 staff:

There will be no resolutions at the end of the debate.

At the end of the UNGASS, the General Assembly agreed, without objection or reservation, to the procedural conclusion of the session. It reads:

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UN General Assembly discusses follow-up to ICPD Programme of Action

Under the topic  “Promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and recent United Nations conferences”, the President of the General Assembly will hold a debate on agenda item 13 “Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields. The second part of this agenda item is on “Follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development”. It will take place tomorrow, Thursday 9 October 2014, at 10.00 am in the General Assembly Hall, New York. 

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Commonwealth Heads of Government adopt Statement on Post-2015 Development

At the end of their meeting on 26 September in New York during the UN General Assembly, Commonwealth Heads of Government adopted a statement on the UN post-2015 development agenda, which will be submitted to the UN Secretary-General. 

The Commonwealth, which comprises over 2 billion people and over one quarter of the United Nations membership in its 53 member states, welcomed in its statement “the inclusive inter-governmental process in the United Nations to achieve a concise, compelling, ambitious and balanced development agenda beyond 2015, building on and reinforcing existing agreements, and recognizing the many outcomes that may feed in to the intergovernmental process.”  It noted, in particular, the contributions made by the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel of Eminent Persons, the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing and the UN Conference on Sustainable Development.  

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