Recently, an online public talk on “Partnerships for Sustainability” was held. Innovation and Development Associates (IDEA), SDGs Action Research Center and SIMEC Institute of Technology jointly organized the programme. A good number of global scholars, GO-NGOs, UN representatives, Government secretaries, academia, and researchers participated and presented their views on achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the people, peace, and prosperity of the planet with the help of partnerships, read a press release
Keynote speaker Professor Dr. Dora Marinova, Director, Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute, Curtin University, Australia, said, “Partnerships help us to create a better vision about the world. By working together, we allow the force of change to happen. The thing that brings us together is our commitment to sustainability and a particular interest in the future of the world. It is really important to make sure that we have the same vision and by talking and by working together, we are actually acting as an enabler that allows change to happen and the important aspect of partnerships is that we share our knowledge, our perspectives, the resources that we have access to and we also bring together skills and diverse experiences.”
Md Abul Kalam Azad, Special Envoy of UN CVF Presidency and Commissioner, Global Commission on Biodiversities, former Principal Coordinator (SDG’s) and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office, said, “In the journey of achieving SDGs, no one should be left behind and Bangladesh is one of the 3 best countries when it comes to achieving SDGs. Even with limited resources, we developed tremendously from 2015 till 2020. In this case, the most important factor was political will, where our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took the initiative herself to effectively coordinate this rapid development through public and private sector collaboration.” He added, “The globe at present is facing so many challenges including COVID. Likewise, mobilizing resources is a challenge due to COVID. From vulnerability to resilience, from resilience to prosperity, let us work towards success, towards achieving SDGs.”
“Achieving sustainability requires actions, policies, and initiatives to drive transition. I believe that such transformation can only be ensured once we strengthen partnerships. We have a huge action agenda to help alleviate hunger and poverty from the world through partnerships for sustainability. I believe that the countries around the world working for SDGs will approach Bangladesh for partnerships as well”, said Kazi M Aminul Islam, Chairman, Innovation and Development Associates (IDEA) Foundation and former Executive Chairman, BIDA and Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office.
Professor Dr Amzad Hossain, Executive Director, SDGs Action Research Center, SIMEC Institute of Technology, SDGs Coordinator-BD Chapter, CUSP Institute, Curtin University, Australia, said, “Without partnership, it is impossible to achieve any one of the SDGs as they are so diverse and intensive to control and reduce the problems surrounding them. Partnership in this regard is very important and in the upcoming days also after achieving SDGs, we need to maintain the outcomes of these sustainable development goals.”
The webinar was moderated by Dr Ratan Kumar Roy, Program Coordinator, SIMEC Institute of Technology and Editor-in-Chief, SDG Newsletter. After the presentations, Professor Dr. Dora Marinova, Dora and Md. Abul Kalam Azad responded to the questions in the discussion session. The event ended with a vote of thanks from Professor Dr Md Monirul Islam, President, SIMEC Institute of Technology and Dean, College of Engineering Technology, International University of Business Agriculture and Technology-IUBAT.
