Hannah-Lea Braun: New generations of local and regional leaders are at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals
CEMR and PLATFORMA were present at last month’s High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), a key event dedicated to sustainable development held every year at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The delegation was made up of some twenty representatives of national associations of local and regional government and partners, including Hannah-Lea Braun, local councillor for Maichingen (Sindelfingen, Germany) and member of the Committee of Young European Local Authorities.
Together, delegate members expressed the voice of European territories to the local and regional government sessions. These focused on the issues posed by the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the wake of the global pandemic, including those related to access to quality education (SDG4), gender equality (SDG5) and partnerships for the global goals (SDG17).
On the occasion of the Local and Regional Government Day and Forum (11-12 July), Hannah-Lea Braun highlighted the crucial role of local and regional governments in building a more sustainable, inclusive and egalitarian society, starting with gender equality, a topic at the heart of CEMR’s work.
The spotlight was also put on youth during a meeting with Olof Skoog, the European Union’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. This year 2022 having been declared “European Year of Youth” by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Hannah-Lea Braun reminded the audience of the crucial importance of taking into consideration the expectations of European youth. This entails giving the means necessary for the new generations of citizens and local elected representatives to take part in the decision-making process and in the deployment of public policies implementing the SDGs.
The presence of PLATFORMA and CEMR’s members and partners was also an opportunity to highlight the work done to localise the SDGs, documented notably in their recent annual report on the topic.
Advisor – Young Elected and Partners Engagement
