São Paulo City Hall promoted the webinar "Municipal 2030 Agenda: Localizing SDOs in São Paulo" to discuss the advances in localizing the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDOs) on Tuesday morning (04th). The online event also marked the launch of the publication made by the City Hall's technical team under the Integral Cooperation Program of the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI) network and the inauguration ceremony of the Municipal Commission for Sustainable Development.

In order to promote the exchange of good practices between civil society and the municipal government, the event presented public policies and initiatives related to the implementation of 2030 Agenda in the city of São Paulo and shared the results obtained by the cooperation with Mexico City and UCCI. Over 170 people attended the webinar, which included three round tables on SDOs and the implementation of 2030 Agenda in the cities.

The opening table had the participation of the International Relations’ Secretary, Luiz Alvaro Salles Aguiar de Menezes, the Director of the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, Elkin Velásquez, the representative of the Solidarity League and Advisor to the Municipal Commission for SDO, Marlene Ferreira da Rocha, and the Deputy Director General of UCCI, Fernando Rocafull. Participants commented on how cities can act to overcome global challenges. "The international action of the São Paulo City Hall has been guided by the engagement in international commitments important to the cities’ agenda and involve the principles of sustainability, equity, accessibility and resilience," said Secretary Luiz Alvaro. In his speech, Elkin Velásquez highlighted the importance of reconciling SDO’s to people’s demands in situations of social vulnerability in municipalities: "It is essential that, when placing the prospects for implementing SDO’s, we are aware of the need for actions more focused on vulnerable populations," he said.

The debate continued with the solemn inauguration of the Municipal Commission for Sustainable Development, formed by the Executive Secretary for Strategic Project Management of São Paulo’s City Hall, Alexis Vargas, the Municipal Secretary for “Green” and Environment, Eduardo de Castro, and the representative of the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB) and the Advisor of the Municipal Commission for SDO, Kaísa Isabel Santos. Secretary Alexis Varga, who is the President of the Commission, pointed out that the efforts for the Municipal 2030 Agenda elaboration will be focused on adapting the SDO to the context of the city of São Paulo. "The role of the Commission is to work for the integration of public policy instruments and make the Municipal 2030 Agenda a State commitment," said Vargas.

The practical experiences in localizing the SDOs were theme of the last discussion, which had the participation of the: Coordinator of Multilateral Affairs and Networks of Cities of the City of São Paulo, Marina Morais, the Executive Director of Institutional Representation of the General Coordination of Advisors and International Affairs of Mexico City, Mariana Flores, Researcher of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) network, Ainara Fernández, Project Advisor of the National Front of Mayors (FNP), Larissa Cervi, representative of the United Metropolitan Colleges and member of the Municipal Commission for ODS, Rita de Cássia Borges Ribas, and UCCI Cooperation and Network Advisor, Braulio Diaz. Coordinator Marina Morais presented the "Report on the Location of Sustainable Development Objectives in the City of São Paulo", explaining the history and content covered in the publication and emphasized that the material is the result of an intersecretarial work, which consolidated a diagnosis on the progress of SDOs implementation in the
municipality. For Executive Director Mariana Flores, the experience of localizing SDOs in Mexico City showed the correlation of social inclusion with environmental and innovation guidelines. "There can be no peace without sustainable development," said Flores.

The report was considered by the participants as an innovative action of São Paulo’s City Hall. "The preparation of the report is significantly important because it reveals the importance of SDO’s for public policies and highlights how local governments respond to global problems," concluded Braulio Diaz.
International Cooperation
In July 2019, the UCCI Integral Cooperation program selected the city of São Paulo, through the project "Strategy for the implementation of 2030 Agenda and the location of Sustainable Development Goals", to develop a series of actions related to the location of SDO in the municipality. In addition to the seminar to share the publication, the project conducted technical visits between São Paulo and Mexico City to exchange experiences among municipal officials.

The Commission

Provided for in the Municipal Law No. 16,817/18, the Municipal Commission for Sustainable Development has equal composition between government and civil society and advisory and deliberative character in municipal public policies related to 2030 Agenda. The main attribution is the elaboration of the "Action Plan for the Implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

The Local Voluntary Review

The "Report on the Location of Sustainable Development Objectives in the City of São Paulo" is the first Local Voluntary Review of the city of São Paulo, which addresses the institutionalization of 2030 Agenda in the City Hall of São Paulo, shares the public policy initiatives with the corresponding ODS seal and also on the actions related to the confrontation of Covid-19. Produced with the support of the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI) network, the document will be sent to the UN later this month.