Building Stronger Partnerships in the Decade of Action

Celebrating the 75th Anniversaries of the Republic of Indonesia and the United Nations (UN); and the 20th Anniversary of the United Nations Global Compact, Indonesia Global Compact Network (IGCN) in partnership with the United Nations in Indonesia commemorate those milestones in a form of a virtual high-level forum.

What started as a health crisis – COVID-19 quickly escalated into social, economic, and development crisis worldwide. The pandemic has had dramatic impacts, unthinkable and foreseeable. Therefore, this forum seeks to bring the experience and lessons learned on collaborations, coalitions and alliances formed to tackle the pandemic. One of the most important lessons is that building stronger partnerships is an important key in finding solution.

Y.W. Junardy, President of IGCN in his opening speech said, "Building partnerships in all lines/sectors is crucial to ensure that the achievement of the sustainable development can be evenly realized in various parts of the region. However, we still find many sectoral egos that hinder the formation of collaboration and partnership. This pandemic should not be an obstacle to create synergy. On the contrary, it should make us more aware of the importance of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the ‘New Normal’ to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With technological adaptations that force us to break the time and distance, we have the opportunity to develop multi-stakeholder partnerships.”

The opening speech is followed by keynote address delivered by Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, Valerie Julliand, UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia, and Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, Vice Minister of State-Owned Enterprises.

Valerie Julliand in her speech said, “At this turbulent time, we need to join forces. Partnerships are key to solution
– and the role of private sector is becoming more important than ever as the world struggles to recover from the devastating economic fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, we can take corporate sustainability from the fringes to the mainstream and unite in the business of a better world.”

This forum brings together prominent speakers from various sectors to discuss pressing topics in three panels, given the importance of the Multi-Sectoral Response Plan (MSRP) now. The first panel (Scaling Up Business Impact for the Decade of Action) talks about how we can scale up our efforts to achieve the SDGs, as we are not on track to achieve the goals by 2030. The second panel (Urgent Action to Combat Climate Change) focuses on the pressing needs for state and non-state actor to take more ambitions climate action. And the last panel (Inclusive Social Recovery) explores the significance of the recovery from the pandemic without leaving anyone behind.

The 2030 Agenda has gained even more relevance during the pandemic; with the emergence of new challenges, we must prepare specific strategies to achieve the ambitious goals agreed upon by all UN Member States. Both state and non-state actor have made enormous efforts to mitigate the impacts of the crisis. Having discussion among leaders from the public and private sectors is one of the avenues to build and strengthen partnerships to recover better.

The forum is closed with two special agenda. The first is the launch of IGCN's newest publication titled 'Responsible Business for the Future'. This publication contains a number of examples of responsible business practices in implementing the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in advancing the Global Goals.

These showcases are compiled into this publication as a series of reports of Filantropi Bisnis Indonesia for Sustainable Development Goals (FBI4SDGs) Members to supplement Voluntary National Reporting (VNR). The second agenda is The SDG Ambition Acknowledgement where IGCN acknowledges a number of United Nations Global Compact members who are committed to develop and implement innovative business strategies that significantly increase their positive impact on the SDGs, led by Josephine Satyono, Executive Director of IGCN. (OL-10)