The Centre for Poverty Analysis invites you  to the 49^th Open forum on poverty.

Making Sustainability the next metric: The post 2015 development agenda

To be held on 28^th June, 2013 at 5 pm

at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI)

No. 100, Sri Lanka Foundation Mawatha, Colombo 07

The Forum will feature a panel that will discuss the sustainability in the development agenda:

Hon. Minister PataliChampikaRanawaka (pre-recorded interview),

Razina Bilgrami – Country Director, UNDP

Dileepa Witharana – Senior Lecturer, Open University

Priyangi Jayatunga – Senior Researcher, MIND Institute

The discussion will be followed by CICADA, a performance by the nATANDA dance theatre company. Choreographed by Kapila Palihawardana, the dance of the cicada invokes a poignant perspective on the cycles of nature and its connections in individual and communal lifestyles that differ from the national and global development trajectories.

This performance will begin at 7.30pm at SLFI’s open air stage.

Limited free tickets are available at the event.

CEPA Open Forums on Poverty aim to provide a platform for professional debate on

poverty related issues in Sri Lanka, and to encourage knowledge sharing and

discussion. We cordially invite you to participate in this event.

Please confirm your participation to Juanita on 2676955-8 (juanita@cepa.lk).

Thank you.

Priyanthi Fernando

As 2015 draws near, discussions are taking place on the impact of the millennium development goals (MDGs); its successes and weaknesses over the past quarter century. The existing MDGs are seen to have encouraged greater state and non-state action towards reducing poverty, improving primary education and maternal and child health. Areas that were under achieved were those of the environment, partnerships and gender.

There is now greater acceptance that sustainable development goals (SDGs) should be a core principle on the new MDGs.

Increasing natural disasters and current conditions of climate change have increased the sense of urgency to rethink “development” as one that truly integrates environmental sustainability into the equation.  There are also increasing critiques on the current economic growth centered development models as being the best way to end extreme poverty. Hence, there is greater acceptance that a new set of development goals – that go beyond the economic are needed and that a convergence of the SDGs and MDGs could provide a transformative way forward.

But what does this mean to us in Sri Lanka? CEPA’s Open Forum will generate a dialogue on the convergence of SDGs and MDGs. It will look at the mechanisms proposed for this integration to take place, the suitability of the goals and indicators and their relevance to Sri Lanka’s development agenda. The Forum will feature a panel that will discuss the sustainability in the development agenda: Hon. Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka (via a pre-recorded interview); Razina Bilgrami – Country Director, UNDP; Dileepa Witharana – Senior Lecturer, Open University and Priyangi Jayatunga – Senior Researcher, MIND Institute.

The discussion will be followed by CICADA, a performance by the nATANDA dance theatre company at 7.30pm. Choreographed by Kapila Palihawardana, the dance of the cicada invokes a poignant perspective on the cycles of nature and its connections in individual and communal lifestyles that differ from the national and global development trajectories.

Making Sustainability the next metric: The post 2015 development agenda

Concept note

As 2015 draws near discussions are taking place on the impact of the millennium development goals (MDGs), its successes and weaknesses over the past quarter century. The existing MDGs are seen to have encouraged greater state and non-state action towards reducing poverty, improving primary education and maternal and child health. Areas that were under achieved were those of the environment, partnerships and gender.  Eradicating extreme poverty, addressing inequalities, further improvements in access to quality health and education services, good governance and security are among the range of issues being suggested for the next revolution of the MDGs. There is also greater acceptance that sustainable development should be a core principle on the new MDGs.

Parallel to this debate and discussion, the post Rio+20 summit has introduced the sustainable development goals (SDG), that look to give greater prominence to environmental issues along with goals of poverty eradication, equality and wellbeing – but within the environmental limits. The suggested SDGs range from growth within planetary boundaries, education and health access, gender equality, inclusion, right, as well as looking at concepts of public goods including environment, peace and goals specifically for children – the next generation.

The current conditions of increasing natural disasters and climate change has increased the sense of urgency to rethink “development” as one that truly integrates environmental sustainability into the equation.  There are also increasing critiques on if the current economic growth centered development models are the best way to end extreme poverty. Hence there is greater acceptance that a new set of development goals – that go beyond the economic are needed and that a convergence of the SDGs and MDGs could provide a transformative way forward. There is more international buy-in for this concept as demonstrated in the recently released report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.  However integrating the MDGs and SDGs is a challenging task given some of the deferring conceptual trajectories and principles and the pragmatic issues of developing goals and measurements. Currently there are various propositions made by various groups on what the overarching principles should be, what the goals should contain and how they should be implemented and internalised by countries.  The setting of goals is of course more complicated as they are dependent on the buy in, ambitions and interests of different countries, its political leadership and other lobby groups.  If put in place and adopted by the world – as in the case of the current MDGs, it can impact aid architecture, trade policies, technology development and transfer and international cooperation as well as how development is carried out in each country.  Hence it is a debate that is of concern to Sri Lanka as well.

The open forum will generate a dialogue on the convergence of SDGs and MDGs. It will look at the mechanisms proposed for this integration to take place, the suitability of the goals and indicators and their relevance to Sri Lanka’s development agenda.