WCCD & OECD Launch New Partnership in New York - Supporting Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities Worldwide
July 19, 2019
New York, New York
On July 18th, at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, the WCCD President and CEO, Dr. Patricia McCarney, and the OECD Deputy Secretary-General, Mr. Masamichi Kono launched a new partnership between the two organizations. The event was hosted by Ambassador Louise Blais, Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations with special responsibility for Agenda 2030 and Development.
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| From L to R: Ms. Catherine Adam, Senior ADM, Employment and Social Development Canada, Head of Canadian Delegation; Dr. Patricia McCarney, WCCD President &CEO; Mr. Masamichi Kono, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD
This WCCD-OECD partnership is born out of a shared recognition of the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but moreover, a very critical recognition of the need to effectively localize the Goals if the targets are to be achieved by 2030. The success of each of the 17 SDGs rests with cities and regions where these goals and targets are truly being operationalized. City leaders, city planners, city designers, developers, city budget chiefs, mayors and citizens alike are on the front line of sustainability agendas and are operationalizing these goals “on the street” each and every day. Cities are leading – both in localizing the goals and in operationalizing them.
According to Mr. Kono: “Partnerships are key to deliver on the SDGs. This is particularly important for measuring progress, where several institutions are already working and developing indicators for SDGs. This is why we decided to join forces with the World Council on City Data, to better support cities - in OECD countries and beyond – to monitor progress on SDGs, to use data as a tool for policy dialogue and, ultimately, to improve their policies.”
The central need for high calibre and globally comparable data to measure progress on the SDGs and drive informed investment and policy to ensure the 2030 Agenda is within reach is a shared vision of the WCCD and OECD and a core value in this new partnership announced today in New York. City and regional-level data to drive this progress is the starting point for the concrete next steps for
which the partners are planning. With just ten years to reach the SDG targets, partnerships like this one, designed to support localizing and operationalizing the SDGs in cities, are vital to success.
“From SDG localization, to driving public and private investment in cities worldwide, the WCCD-OECD partnership is truly a win-win,” stated Dr. McCarney. “ While our partnership initially focuses on the 2030 Agenda to localize and operationalize the SDGs in city halls across the world, it is even more ambitious. This WCCD-OECD partnership will be based on the centrality and importance of high-calibre, globally comparable and harmonised city-level data to support smart, sustainable and resilient city development worldwide.”
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