The second meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development began on 18 April 2018 at ECLAC’s headquarters in Santiago, Chile with a call to all stakeholders – governments, civil society, international bodies, the private and public sectors – to join forces for the region to advance on compliance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a roadmap approved by the United Nations to achieve more inclusive, sustainable and egalitarian societies. On 20 April, UNV will host a side event on the importance of integrating volunteering data in the Voluntary National Reviews of Latin American and the Caribbean countries.
The side event will provide guidance on how Member States can work to strengthen their analysis and reporting under SDG17 through the integration of national data on volunteerism. In particular to:
- Include qualitative and quantitative data on volunteer efforts in their countries in general, and under specific thematic goals and where possible, to provide estimates of economic value.
- Share best examples and experience of Member States and civil society around voluntary citizen engagement to provide a narrative on social inclusion and leaving the furthest behind first under specific SDG goals and targets.
Research and evidence on volunteerism is an excellent source of information that can be used by countries to show a ‘whole of society approach’ within their Voluntary National Reviews, and to move beyond purely financial resource considerations in terms of the efforts that their own governments have made in the implementation of the SDGs.