Contributions from societal groups

The Interministerial Conference on Sustainable Development (IMCSD) decided to involve civil society groups in the preparation of the Voluntary National Review from the outset.

From July 2022, the various governments and civil society actors received a request for contributions. In this regard so, the Federal Council for Sustainable Development sought input from members of the main advisory councils. It also took into account the 'Leave No One Behind' principle and contacted a specific list of organizations representing the most vulnerable social groups.

During the SDG Forum[1], which took place on 4 October 2022, these contributions were finalised. As the first multi-stakeholder forum on the SDGs in the Benelux, the SDG Forum got as many sectors as possible involved and offered a wide range of workshops, plenary sessions and panel debates.

These contributions have since been published on the website www.sdgs.be and summarised in a draft report. The contributions of the organized civil society groups are an integral part of the Voluntary National Review, in addition to the contributions of the governments, and a clear distinction is made in the text in this regard.

In early 2023, we submitted the draft report to the main advisory councils of civil society. At the request of the Interministerial Conference on Sustainable Development, the Federal Council for Sustainable Development drafted joint recommendations with other advisory councils. In May 2023, the conference considered the final approval of the VNR.
 

Civil society groups

To simplify their contribution to the VNR, the Federal Council for Sustainable Development (FRDO-CFDD) summarized the contributions per societal group. You will find these syntheses on the website of the FRDO-CFDD.

All contributions from organizations that wished to contribute to the process are available on the FRDO-CFDD website.
 

Joint recommendations of the advisory councils

The IMCSD also asked the FRDO-CFDD to coordinate joint recommendations with the advisory councils of the federated entities on a draft version of the report. The Minaraad, SERV, CESE Wallonie, Brupartners and der Wirtschafts- und Sozialrat submitted joint recommendations on 13 April 2023. These were taken into account in the final version of the VNR and gave rise to a dialogue on 14 June 2023 between representatives of the IMCSD and the advisory councils.

You can find the joint recommendations of the advisory councils on the FRDO-CFDD website.