Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Statement to Session 15 at HLPF (15th July 2016)
From inspiration to action: Multi-stakeholder engagement for implementation
Uchita de Zoysa (Chief Negotiator for Sri Lanka to HLPF 2016 / Sustainable Development
Advisor of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife Sri Lanka)
Madam moderator,
1. Firstly, I must state that the inspiration must be drawn from the fact that the 2030 Agenda
is centrally about transformation and we must engage in a profound discourse of
transforming the way we make decisions that affects others.
2. Therefore, stakeholder engagement must not be limited to mere consultation and we
should not be complacent by simply providing a space for constituency statements.
3. Also, stakeholder engagement must not be duplicated with public private partnerships
which has another important but different role to play.
4. If sustainable development is to be truly the transformatory agenda of the world, then all
the stakeholder and the public must a have a sense of ownership.
5. How can SDGs capture the imagination all people in a way that they actively engage in the
transformation, as transformation will not merely come through policy processes.
6. Recognizing that engaging stakeholders must essentially be facilitated as a deliberate act, In
Sri Lanka, the Ministry of sustainable development and wildlife as the focal agency for
driving the 2030 agenda, has taken a strategic move to evolving a “National Sustainable
Development Roadmap” through a process we call “Planning for an Inclusive
Transformation”.
7. We have already launched the “National Sustainable Development Engagement Platform”
and held the first “Provincial SD Engagement Platform” and brought together
representation from political, administrative, local government, civil society, academia,
business and development agencies operating and youth and women in the country”.
8. We are drawing experience from all these different constituencies to help us evolve visions
and pathways towards transitioning to sustainable development.
9. There are no blueprints that can easily be adopted and we are in search of a new way of
planning the future collectively.
10. It may not be in the comfort zones of conventional planning fraternities, but business as
usual cannot advance the transformation.
Thank you!
From inspiration to action: Multi-stakeholder engagement for implementation
Uchita de Zoysa (Chief Negotiator for Sri Lanka to HLPF 2016 / Sustainable Development
Advisor of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife Sri Lanka)
Madam moderator,
1. Firstly, I must state that the inspiration must be drawn from the fact that the 2030 Agenda
is centrally about transformation and we must engage in a profound discourse of
transforming the way we make decisions that affects others.
2. Therefore, stakeholder engagement must not be limited to mere consultation and we
should not be complacent by simply providing a space for constituency statements.
3. Also, stakeholder engagement must not be duplicated with public private partnerships
which has another important but different role to play.
4. If sustainable development is to be truly the transformatory agenda of the world, then all
the stakeholder and the public must a have a sense of ownership.
5. How can SDGs capture the imagination all people in a way that they actively engage in the
transformation, as transformation will not merely come through policy processes.
6. Recognizing that engaging stakeholders must essentially be facilitated as a deliberate act, In
Sri Lanka, the Ministry of sustainable development and wildlife as the focal agency for
driving the 2030 agenda, has taken a strategic move to evolving a “National Sustainable
Development Roadmap” through a process we call “Planning for an Inclusive
Transformation”.
7. We have already launched the “National Sustainable Development Engagement Platform”
and held the first “Provincial SD Engagement Platform” and brought together
representation from political, administrative, local government, civil society, academia,
business and development agencies operating and youth and women in the country”.
8. We are drawing experience from all these different constituencies to help us evolve visions
and pathways towards transitioning to sustainable development.
9. There are no blueprints that can easily be adopted and we are in search of a new way of
planning the future collectively.
10. It may not be in the comfort zones of conventional planning fraternities, but business as
usual cannot advance the transformation.
Thank you!
Stakeholders