Reaction Paper Sample 1 Development

Introduction

The “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” plan is a crucial component of the Sustainable Development Summit because its main objective is to make sure that all the countries are committed to having sustainable development. The meeting is not like an ordinary discussion but it has been considered to be a “moment of hope” that can bring about positive change in the nations. The fundamental purpose of the Summit is to provide an opportunity to “reflect on the elements for future success”.

Various phases were involved in the Summit so that the sense of universal ownership of goals and targets could be introduced that could strengthen the overall sustainability of nations. The Opening working Group (OWG) was highly praised for its vast experience and exceptional leadership in the specific setting.

Key theme

The key theme that governs the “Sustainable Development Summit” is the intention to help the countries to experience sustainable development in the near future. The OWG makes a sincere attempt to offer constructive guidance and support to the involved stakeholders. During the summit, the key focus was to collectively achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the “New Agenda” (Actionaid.org, 2018). A number of sustainable development initiatives have been introduced in place so that no nation would be left behind in the process. The main highlights of the Agenda include the robust follow-up model and the review mechanism. The 2030 Agenda has outlined the modalities concerning the follow-up and review at the regional, national and global levels. The current objective of the meeting is somewhat holistic in nature and needs to be further clarified so that its overall effectiveness can be increased (Iisd.org, 2018). The fundamental intention of the Summit is to make sure that all the nations are on the same page and no particular nation is lagging behind in terms of development and growth. It would strengthen the overall sustainability of the countries so that their respective citizens could lead a proper life.

Identification of Strengths and Weakness

The UN Sustainable Development Summit is like a breath of fresh air that would solve a number of issues that are currently faced by different nations all around the globe. Currently, there are a number of issues that nations face such as the high level of poverty, lack of sustainable growth and development, inequality of women and girls, and many other issues. Thus this Summit could bring about a major change in the global setting and make sure that nations get a chance to have sustainable development in the highly dynamic environment. A number of strengths and weaknesses of the meeting have been identified (Iisd.org, 2018).

The core strengths include the focus on sustainable growth and development of the nations by adopting a robust follow-up and monitoring mechanism. It could create high value for the nations in the long run because the change could bring about positive transformation in the lives of the people. A major highlight is that the implementation of the SDG has already begun and it could have a positive outcome on the involved stakeholder nations.

Some of the main weaknesses that have been identified include the determination of the effectiveness of the “indicators”. In order to measure and verify the 17 goals and 169 targets of the meeting, the functional aspects of the indicators are highly crucial because it would make sure that the SDGs help nations to have sustainable growth (Actionaid.org, 2018). The other major limitation that has been identified relates to the open ends of the review mechanism at the national global and regional levels. These discussions are yet to be conducted by the members. Until the discussion is held the effectiveness of the review mechanism cannot be ascertained completely.

Major questions that need to be answered

There are a number of questions that need to be answered in order to understand how effective the Summit would be for the participant nations. A clear idea about the identified indicators is necessary because it would at as a major tool to determine the overall achievement of the set goals and targets. Similarly, the members need to ensure that all the meetings and discussions relating to the follow-up model and the monitoring model must be finished off in advance (Actionaid.org, 2018). The key details that would be covered in the upcoming meeting must be decided in advance so that all the open ends can be addressed in the best way possible by OWG. These questions need to be addressed in order to strengthen the effectiveness of the Sustainable Development Summit for the member countries.