Good Practices of South-South Cooperation for Implementation of the SDGs: Development through Transformation

 

Short Summary

South-South cooperation is one of the cooperation mechanisms that both the Turkic Council and the UNDP value in their activities. Including its triangular aspects, this cooperation constitutes a dynamic tool to address today’s development challenges that are more interlinked and require more innovative remedies. In this regard, the Solution Forum entitled ”Good Practices of South-South Cooperation for Implementation of SDGs: Development Through Transformation” to be organized by the Turkic Council in partnership with UNDP aims at showcasing successful South-South cooperation examples from the Eurasian region making a transformative impact on the achievement of the SDGs. The Forum also targets to be instrumental in paving the way for new opportunities of South-South cooperation based on the successful models from the region.

The best practices to be touched upon in the Forum will present the cases that have already left a mark or have potential to make a change in Eurasia through the use of South-South cooperation means. One of the main thematic focuses of the Forum will be the development of the public delivery service where the South-South cooperation yield successful models in Eurasia through the means of knowledge, experience and technical know-how sharing as well as capacity building. Thus, any improvement in this sector that has a wide scope from public administration, e-governance to transportation produces positive outcomes for the materialization of all 17 SDGs.

The presentations to be made by the panelists are expected to focus on a specific experience which has contributed to the achievement of the SDGs in Eurasia through transformative inputs with the use of above-mentioned means of South-South Cooperation. In this regard, they are awaited to dwell on the knowledge, skills, expertise, resources and/or technical know-how they have adopted from their partners, or they are willing to share with their counterparts in the region or beyond in this direction. Meanwhile, they are also expected to concretely put forward to which SDG(s) their models address and what kind of contribution these models provide for the attainment of these Global Goals.

 

Introduction

South-South cooperation is one of the cooperation mechanisms that both the Turkic Council and the UNDP value in their activities. Including its triangular aspects, this cooperation constitutes a dynamic tool to address today’s development challenges that are more interlinked and require more innovative remedies. With its complementary nature to North-South cooperation, South-South cooperation provides an ample opportunity to address root-cause of these challenges by providing home or region-grown solutions to them, leaving no one behind. Utilizing this cooperation process, countries of the Global South finds a robust way to strengthen their capacity in their development ecosystem with the engagement of relevant stakeholders involving governments, regional organizations, civil society, academia and the private sector. Through exchanges of knowledge, skills, resources and technical know-how, these countries learn from each other and this interactive collaboration paves way for finding long lasting solutions to similar development needs that they share.

This South-South cooperation mindset has a central role within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the UN Member States in September 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) embedded in the 2030 Agenda present a concrete plan of action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Each of 17 SDGs targeting a specific area has significant room for implementation of tailor-made projects on South-South cooperation. In this regard, knowledge, experience and technical know-how sharing as well as capacity building present the key instruments in the toolbox of South-South cooperation. Thus, these instruments own a significant share to overcome the implementation shortfalls on different sectors across all 17 SDGs.

Triangular cooperation that is an inseparable part of South-South collaboration refer to the increasing role of development partners and multilateral organizations in facilitating South-South initiatives through the provision of training, management and technological systems as well as other forms of support. This role provides a significant contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the SDGs. In this regard, the potential that the regional organizations assume to ensure sustainable development at regional and global levels generates an important fact in today’s circumstances that needs to be further tapped.

 

Objectives and Thematic Focus

The Solution Forum entitled ”Good Practices of South-South Cooperation for Implementation of SDGs: Development Through Transformation” to be organized by the Turkic Council in partnership with UNDP aims at showcasing successful South-South cooperation examples from the Eurasian region making a transformative impact on the achievement of the SDGs. The Forum also targets to be instrumental in paving the way for new opportunities of South-South cooperation based on the successful models from the region.

In this regard, the best practices to be touched upon in the Forum will present the cases that have already left a mark or have potential to make a change in Eurasia through the use of South-South cooperation means. One of the main thematic focuses of the Forum will be the development of the public delivery service where the South-South cooperation yield successful models in Eurasia through the means of knowledge, experience and technical know-how sharing as well as capacity building. Thus, any improvement in this sector that has a wide scope from public administration, e-governance to transportation produces positive outcomes for the materialization of all 17 SDGs.

The presentations to be made by the panelists are expected to focus on a specific experience which has contributed to the achievement of the SDGs in Eurasia through transformative inputs with the use of above-mentioned means of South-South Cooperation. In this regard, they are awaited to dwell on the knowledge, skills, expertise, resources and/or technical know-how they have adopted from their partners, or they are willing to share with their counterparts in the region or beyond in this direction. Meanwhile, they are also expected to concretely put forward to which SDG(s) their models address and what kind of contribution these models provide for the attainment of these Global Goals, while specifying the tools that have been used in this direction. In this regard, the following questions are expected to be answered by each panelist:

  • What is the theme of good practice that they present with regard to South-South cooperation?
  • Who are/will be the actors involved in their model of the South-South cooperation?
  • Which other stakeholders are/will be taking part in their practice of South-South cooperation?
  • Which tools of South-South cooperation are/will be used in the framework of South-South cooperation in the materialization of their model?
  • What are/will be the transformative inputs that their model provide for sustainable development?
  • What is/will be the correlations between the outcomes of their model and the SDGs?
  • On which SDG(s) (together their name(s) and number(s), their model makes/will make a concrete impact within the implementation process of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?

 

Format and Concrete Outcomes

The presentations are planned to last around 7 minutes, and will be followed by a discussion session facilitated by the moderator, aiming to result in 2-3 key areas for future cooperation in the region.

Each presentation will provide an evolution of the concerned case in terms of its contribution to the attainment of the SDGs to be referred in the relevant reports of the Turkic Council, UNOSSC and UNDP.

 

 

Moderator

 

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Mr. Ömer Kocaman, Phd

Deputy Secretary General, Turkic Council

Dr. Kocaman was born in 1975, in Alanya. He obtained his degree in International Relations from Bilkent University and a postgraduate degree in the same field from Moscow State International Relations University.

During 1998-2000, Dr. Kocaman served as Research Assistant at Bilkent University. He was Assistant to the Secretary General of the Russian-Turkish Businessmen Union in Moscow during 2002-2004.

In the period from 2004 to January 2006, Dr. Kocaman worked as Expert at Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), and later as Deputy Programme Coordinator at TİKA Programme Coordination Office in Tashkent.

From 2007 till 2008, Dr. Kocaman was seconded by TIKA to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Between 2008 and 2015, Dr. Kocaman continued his work at TIKA as Program Coordinator for Kazakhstan, Kenya and later for East African Countries.

Dr. Kocaman was appointed as Deputy Secretary General of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) by the decision of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey at the Fifth Summit of the Turkic Council.

 

Panelists

 

alikhan_baimenov

Dr. Alikhan Baimenov

Chairman, Steering Committee of the Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan

Dr. Alikhan Baimenov, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana, is a distinguished public figure, who held leading public posts in the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Dr. Baimenov in his political career has served as the Head of the Administration of the President, Head of the Office of the Prime-Minister, Chairman of the Agency for Civil Service Affairs, Minister of Labour and Social Protection, and the member of the Parliament of Kazakhstan.

The Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana was founded in March 2013 by 25 countries and 5 international organizations, which Dr. Baimenov steers, by initiative of the Government of Kazakhstan and the United Nations Development Programme. Currently, the Hub has 38 participating countries and about 30 institutional partners.

Dr. Baimenov graduated from the Karaganda Technical Institute (1981) and did post-graduate study at the Moscow Motor-Road Institute (1985-1988). He holds PhD in Technical Sciences.

 

sesili_verdzadze

Ms. Sesili Verdzadze

Head of Innovations at ServiceLab, Public Service Development Agency, Ministry of Justice, Georgia

Master of Public Administration and Management by training (University College London UCL), since 2014 Sesili is Leading the single government innovation laboratory – ServiceLab – in Georgia, under the Public Service Development Agency, Ministry of Justice. Her work focuses on bring the user-centered design in public service development and delivery, by incorporating innovative methodologies like Design Thinking, Behavioral Insights, Foresight and others into policy making.

 

kabira_mammadova

Mrs. Kabira Mammadova

Deputy Director of the Department of International Relations, State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations (ASAN) under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Mrs. Kabira Mammadova is Deputy Director of the Department of International Relations in the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

ASAN Service aims to establish a user-friendly, citizen-oriented, responsive and digitally advanced public service delivery system for efficient and transparent access to public and private services.

She received his Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Master’s degree in Economics from the Baku State Economic University in 2008 and 2011, respectively.

Mrs. Mammadova has about 8 years of diplomatic career, which started in 2008 in the Department of Economic Cooperation and Development in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Before working at the State Agency, she was senior specialist for international cooperation at the Strategic Services Department of the Financial Market Supervisory Authority of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

 

irakli_kotetishvili

Mr. Irakli Kotetishvili

Policy Specialist, Anti-Corruption and Public Administration, UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub

Mr. Irakli Kotetishvili is an anti-corruption and public administration specialist at the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub. Before joining UNDP, Irakli worked as an international anti-corruption consultant for the World Bank, OSCE and DFID in countries including Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia and Chile. Mr. Kotetishvili also served in the Georgian civil service in the capacity of Director of the Civil Service Coordination Agency, which, under his leadership, was awarded with the United Nations Public Service Award in 2013. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Oxford and LL.M. from the University of Sussex. Irakli has completed his BA degree in Law at the Tbilisi State University in 2005.

 

omur_gebes

Mr. Ömür Gebes

General Manager, TOBB-Customs and Tourism Enterprises Co. Inc. (GTI)., Republic of Turkey

Ömür Gebeş was born in İstanbul in 1976. After his primary and high school education in İstanbul, he moved to USA to study. He was graduated from Department of Managment at Kennesaw State University, and he specialised in finance. He started his carrier as a financial analyst at UPS logistics in Atlanta. In 2001, he turned back to Turkey permanently and started to work at Petrol Ofisi A.Ş. as Field Manager. He continued his career Petrol Ofisi A.Ş. as Investment Specialist, Retail Sales Coordinator and Regional Director respectively. He took significant roles at major projects with his high-level administrative experiences at sales, distribution and investmenton oil sector. Since 2009 Ömür Gebeş has been the General Manager of Gümrük ve Turizm İşletmeleri Tic. A.Ş. He is also a board member of GSMİT (Duty Free Store Operators and Suppliers Association in Turkey). Ömür Gebeş speaks English fluently, he is married and father of two children.

 

clare_stark

Ms. Clare Stark

Strategic Planning Specialist, UNESCO

Clare Stark joined UNESCO in 2005. She has 15 years of experience in strategic planning, developing strategic partnerships, international development cooperation and conducting research on sustainable development issues. She is a Strategic Planning Specialist in the Bureau of Strategic Planning and UNESCO’s South-South Cooperation and LDC focal point. She is responsible for developing strategic partnership agreements with UN partners and coordinating UNESCO’s work to promote South-South Cooperation to support countries in achieving the 2030 Agenda, and UNESCO’s implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action for the LDCs. She is also responsible for developing strategic position papers, reports and publications on a range of sustainable development issues, including biotechnology/converging technologies, the green economy, LDCs, sustainable management of the ocean, globalization, and UNESCO’s contribution to the 2030 Agenda and the Financing for Development Report.

In 2013, she was seconded to UNESCO’s New York Liaison Office to support the Secretary General’s Global Education First Initiative, for which UNESCO was the Secretariat. From 2005-2011, she was responsible for coordinating and implementing activities pertaining to the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, 2001-2010, for which UNESCO was the lead agency.

She has organized numerous high-level conferences and exhibitions and managed projects with UN partners, governments, civil society and the private sector. She has also published articles on gender equality and sustainable development issues and coordinated numerous UNESCO publications.

Before joining UNESCO, she worked with nongovernmental organizations in the USA on issues related to environmental conservation and human rights. She holds an MA in international environmental policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (Monterey, California, USA) and a BA in Political Science from the College of Charleston (Charleston, South Carolina, USA).

 

 

Background Information

UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. UNDP helps countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.UNDP generates not only direct development outputs, but also a rich base of collective knowledge.UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS (RBEC) covers 20 countries and territories in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. UNDP’s presence in the region includes country offices, which works directly in the programme countries to address country-specific development challenges and a regional hub in Istanbul, the office space of which is provided by the Government of Turkey.  The Istanbul Regional Hub works within a regional framework through provision of advisory services and technical support to UNDP programme countries and specific regional activities to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge throughout the region.

The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) was established in 2009 with the overarching aim of promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic Speaking States as well as in the region. Its members are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. Turkic Council is an intergovernmental organization committed to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and other universally recognized principles and norms of international law. In this regard, the Council, the Secretariat of which is based in Istanbul, carries out projects in a wide range of areas from economy, transportation, customs, tourism, ICT, alternative energy, education, media  to youth and sports while prevailing the development aspect in each and every field of cooperation. As an observer member to Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Turkic Council attributes utmost importance to further enhancement of its relations with UN and its specialized agencies and offices. Through the implementation of its Memoranda of Understanding with UNDP, UNOSSC, UNWTO and UNAOC as well as with OIC, the Council follows the global agenda and designs its activities accordingly. Meanwhile, the other partners of the Council include OSCE, OIC, BSEC, WCO and CICA.

Through its comprehensive activities, the Council contributes to the diffusion of south-south cooperation in its Member States as well across the region and beyond.  In this regard, the Council priorities experience and knowledge sharing among its Member States on the areas including tourism, customs, diplomacy, youth, sports and education. Thus, the joint report of the Turkic Council-UNOSSC entitled “How a regional organization uses South-South cooperation to promote regional and global development”, summarizes the Council’s activities in this direction. The report that was launched in New York on 25 September 2017 on the margins of the 72nd session of UN General Assembly, is available at https://www.unsouthsouth.org/library/publications/south-south-in-action-series/.

UNDP and Turkic Council already partnered in a number of development priorities of the member countries, and are currently working to expand this partnership in terms of modalities and content.

 

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Focal Point Contact Details

Overall Coordinators: Pelin Musabay Baki, Project Director, Turkic Council (pmusabaybaki@turkkon.org); Berna Bayazıt Baran, Programme Specialist (Partnerships), Istanbul Regional Hub (berna.bayazit@undp.org)

Communications Focal Point: Pelin Musabay Baki, Project Director, Turkic Council (pmusabaybaki@turkkon.org)

Phone: +90 212 283 16 44/121