UNDP Regional Director for Europe and CIS supported the launch of the SDG Philanthropy Platform 2.0
On September 15, 2021 SDG Philanthropy Platform, Russian Donors Forum (RDF), UNDP and Worldwide Initiative for Grantmaker Support (WINGS) in close collaboration with BRICS government partners organized the event ‘Unlocking the full potential of catalytic philanthropic capital for the SDGs’ dedicated to discussions on the role of philanthropy, social investment and catalytic philanthropic capital in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The event was aimed at promoting the launch of the SDG Philanthropy Platform 2.0, encouraging donors and partners to join and support the platforms’ ambitious goals to unlock catalytic philanthropic SDG Finance and stimulating the audience to explore collaborative innovative solutions, to enable the full potential of philanthropy and support development of local philanthropy towards more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient societies.
Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, UNDP Regional Director for Europe and the CIS in her opening remarks, noted that with the COVID-19 pandemic, the global context for development has fundamentally changed: developing countries are facing an additional shortfall of USD $1.7 trillion on top of the $2.5 trillion gap in financing they would need this year to keep them on track for the 2030 SDGs. The Regional Director noted that multi-stakeholder collaboration between governments, philanthropists, business and civil society are crucial in addressing the social and financial crises that stand in the way of achieving the Goals.
Mirjana Spoljaric Egger also presented a positive example of the work of the SDG Philanthropy Platform in Kenya, where the Platform has institutionalized strong multi-stakeholder governance and coordination structures to convene and connect partners; and has established Multi-Partner-Trust-Fund that is pooling financing for development from philanthropy, private sector, governments, and IFIs. At the end of her speech, the Regional Director invited the audience to join in supporting efforts to achieve the SDGs utilizing the new SDG Philanthropy Platform.
The online event brought together more than 200 participants from different countries.