South-South Cooperation on Leveraging Knowledge and Good Practice Sharing for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development

Event for International Poverty Eradication Day

Concept Note

Co-organized by: United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)
Time: 7:00-9:00 am, 21 October, 2021(New York Time)
Venue: Conference Center, Beijing International Hotel
UN Web TV broadcast: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1x/k1xga5p816
Language: Multi-lingual, English, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, French

Theme and purpose

This event, co-organized by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)  and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), focuses on “South-South cooperation on leveraging knowledge and good practices sharing for poverty eradication and sustainable development”. By bringing together think tanks and relevant United Nation agencies, this webinar provides a platform of sharing knowledge and good practice on poverty eradication and sustainable development. At this event, a network of global think tanks, with majority of them coming from the global South, on the theme “Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development”, chaired by CASS, will join the South-South Global Thinkers, the global coalition of think tank networks for South-South Cooperation, initiated by UNOSSC and UNDP.

Background

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development acknowledges that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development[1]. Despite significant progress made in poverty reduction, today there were still more than 700 million people, about 10 per cent of the world population, living in extreme poverty, struggling to fulfil the most basic needs[2]. Particularly in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), poverty is still a serious constraint and multidimensional, limiting people benefit from economic growth[3]. The COVID-19 pandemic also risks reversing decades of progress in the fight against poverty[4]. 

This situation calls for further strengthening global partnership, multilateralism, and multi-stakeholder approach. Member States reaffirmed the important role and contribution of South-South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) to the implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, at the Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (BAPA+40) convened in 2019. The outcome document of BAPA+40, recognized that “South-South and triangular cooperation contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieving the overarching goals of eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions.” Poverty reduction policies, strategies and solutions of nations and peoples of the South have enabled some developing countries to lift millions of people out of extreme poverty. China, for example, has recently declared poverty eradication nationwide. The global South not only benefits from knowledge and good practice sharing, but also provides knowledge and home-grown solutions.

Sharing of knowledge and solutions is an increasingly important pillar of South-South cooperation. Think tanks provide thought leadership on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), informing policymakers and development practitioners with knowledge, research findings and solutions to SDGs. However, there is still a significant knowledge gap impeding informed decision-making on agenda relevant to SDGs. The network of think tanks globally will help reduce such knowledge gaps, and build more connections and dialogues between think tanks and international development agencies. Against these background and vision, UNOSSC with UNDP jointly established the South-South Global Thinkers-Global Coalition of Think Tank Networks for South-South Cooperation. The South-South Global Thinkers is a community where think tank networks from the global South and North can come together and engage in policy dialogues and share knowledge and Southern perspectives.

This proposed event provides a platform of knowledge sharing on SDG 1, and builds a network of think tanks on “Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development” to join the South-South Global Thinkers. This network of think tanks will provide a platform to enable joint research and knowledge sharing that aim to inform policy dialogues and agenda setting on South-South Cooperation on poverty eradication and sustainable development, and increase visibility of the research community of the South in international development.

Partner institution background: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is the premier academic organization and comprehensive research center in the field of philosophy and social sciences in China, composing of 41 research institutes and 179 research centers across 300 sub-disciplines. In 2020, CASS accomplished nation-wide “Case Studies of Targeted Poverty Reduction and Alleviation in 100 Villages” based on a multi-year program, producing one comprehensive report on poverty eradication and 78 reports based on village-level field work.

Objective of the event:

Sharing knowledge and good practices on poverty eradication

Building a network of global think tanks, from both the South and the North, on Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development

Brokering South-South and triangular partnership to advance poverty eradication

AGENDA

[1] https://sdgs.un.org/topics/poverty-eradication.

[2] https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/poverty/.

[3] Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020, http://unohrlls.org/UserFiles/File/IPoA.pdf.

[4] https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sg_report_socio-economic_impact_of_covid19.pdf.