On 11 December, Cooperatives Europe, with President Jean-Louis Bancel, participated in the high-level launch of the first Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) training certificate, hosted by Sciences Po university - School of Public Affairs - in Paris.
The Make It Work event took place within the framework of One Planet Summit, an initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron to bring together leaders and those working in public and private finance to discuss how they can support and accelerate global efforts to fight climate change.
The training certificate is the first ever official programme on the SDGs, created by seven prestigious universities worldwide, including the Hertie School of governance in Berlin or Colombia SIPA in New York.
Cooperatives Europe is pleased to actively contribute to the implementation of the programme that has been set up in partnership with governments, international organisations, the private sector as well as civil society.
Taking part in the round table with notable speakers – including UN Human Rights Prize and Sakharov Prize winner Denis Mukwege – Mr Bancel emphasised the importance of integrating the SDGs into the mindsets of future leaders so that they can contribute to their implementations. He added that “co-operators are locally anchored, but they are also citizens of the world – Cooperatives Europe is therefore very happy to support this initiative.”
Cooperatives Europe works on the implementation of Agenda 2030 – the action programme behind the SDGs – in particular through the ICA-EU Partnership (#coops4dev), promoting co-operatives as key actors in driving sustainable development across the world. The expertise of Cooperatives Europe will be made available to the programme through its European and global networks, extending the co-operative added value within SDGs and their objectives beyond the international development frames.
Cooperatives Europe says it welcomes the programme, which will create the next generation of SDG experts, and looks forward to advancing education on building a better world through democratically owned and managed co-operative enterprises.
