The Context:
The India Office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is working with several civil society partners to promote sustainable development in India through dialogue and capacity building. One of its important activities is the capacity building of a select group of organizations which is now known as Joint Staff Development Programme (JSDP).
The JSDP-KAS Partner Network consists of partners of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung which basically focus on development related issues, primarily on the grassroots level and with whom KAS started working from 1968 onwards. The following organizations are members of the JSDP-KAS Partner Network: All India Santal Welfare and Cultural Society (AISWACS), Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship and Technical Education (CREATE), Joint Forest Management Ramakrishna Mission Lokasiksha Parishad, Institute of Youth and Development (IYD), Indian Institute of Youth Welfare (IIYW), Madras Management Association (MMA), PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) / KALYAN, Society for Sustainable Development (SSD), , Vishwa Yuvak Kendra (VYK), Yuvak Vikas Trust (YVT) and now Council for Social Development (CSD). These partners work on a wide range of areas, including educational programs, skill development, social welfare, healthcare, and environmental conservation, all of which form part of crucial SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). They have indeed structured their initiatives in alignment with the national priorities such as health, education, skill development, clean drinking water & sanitation. Some of them also work in the fields of digital financial literacy. They have the potential to bridge the societal gaps and provide benefits to major segments of the population in the country in terms of improved quality of healthcare, education etc.
Given that these partner institutions are the catalysts which have the ability to help India reach new developmental heights, the Council for Social Development (CSD) in partnership with the India Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) along with the JSDP, curated a Training Manual on SDGs for NGOs that was launched on 30th March 2022. The launch event witnessed participation from various members of the European diplomatic community, Indian NGOs- as well as think tank leaders, scholars and policy makers. The manual which can be used as a toolkit on how NGOs can work with different target groups in improving the situation on the ground, covers the generic and cross-cutting issues and includes five specific training modules covering SDG 3 (Good health and well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation), and SDG 13 (Climate Action) in detail.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
The Launch of the “Training Manual on SDGs for NGOs” presented a key networking as well as dissemination event aimed at introducing the manual to a broad audience of the European diplomatic community, policy makers, NGO representatives and Think Tank leaders.
- The Training manual covers the following SDGs:
- SDG 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages)
- SDG 4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all)
- SDG 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls)
- SDG 6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all)
- SDG 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts)
- The Covid-19 Pandemic affected the areas of the SDGs in a negative way.
- Mr. Pankaj Madan, Deputy Head- India Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung pointed out that the Training manual will be instrumental for a better understanding and implementation of the SDGs on the ground.
- Mr. Peter Rimmele, Resident Representative to India, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, explained that the India office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung deliberately opted for its extensive NGO network as it is essential in the Indian context to support the contribution of NGOs as they are the sole interlocutors for the people who often remain completely unreachable by government institutions especially in rural areas.
- In his presentation, Dr. Nitya Nanda, Director of Council for Social Development, enunciated that the overall goal of the training manual is capacity building for as many regional NGOs working at the grassroots level as possible.
- The manual highlights the role of NGOs on the SDGs and suggests how multiple problems can be addressed simultaneously.
- Furthermore, the manual provides a unique plan, for the covered SDGs, indicating at which point and in which way NGOs are able to intervene and it, additionally, maps government programmes and budget allocation to SDG indicators.
- Another aspect of the manual is that it is compiling recent problems across the country for the respective SDGs.
- Amb. Lakshmi Puri, Former Assistant Secretary General, United Nations and DED, UNWOMEN, said that the world needs India’s effort in order to achieve the SDGs; without India those goals could not be realized.
- With references to the urgency for the planet of achieving the SDGs, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, mentioned that actions are necessary and therefore the manual is a huge step forward. Moreover, he stated that in order to achieve the Agenda 2030, governments need the support of the civil society. Furthermore, he suggested to think about the need for and strategies to bring about behavioral changes at the grassroots level and to cover other SDGs. He also recommended that the manual should be translated in different languages because the majority of the population does not speak English.
- Prof. Muchkund Dubey, President, Council for Social Development described NGOs as a dominant force in the sphere of development issues. Furthermore, he mentioned the importance and determining factor of NGOs in the operation of democracy in the development level.
- The event concluded that NGOs can help to raise the level of awareness and also the understanding of the SDGs in communities.
To view the Training Manual on SDGs for NGOs, click here.