The 2018 GSSD Expo is taking place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 28 to 30 November 2018. The GSSD Expo is an annual event organized by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) in its capacity as the UN General-Assembly mandated UN system-wide and global coordinator for South-South and triangular cooperation. The GSSD Expo engages all development actors, including member states governments, UN agencies, IGOs, CSOs, the private sector, academic and philanthropic organizations, to strategically showcase and scale up concrete Southern-grown development solutions and initiatives for sustainable development.
The 2018 GSSD Expo will be one of the last major opportunities for stakeholders to come up with evidence-based policy dialogues and knowledge discussions before the Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (BAPA+40) scheduled to take place in Buenos Aries March 2019. The theme of the 2018 GSSD Expo is “Showcasing Institutions Supporting South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Preparation for BAPA+40”. Thematic discussions of 2018 GSSD Expo will include South-South Cooperation in poverty eradication, livelihood recovery, youth entrepreneurship, innovative financing mechanisms, peace and development, health, green growth, sustainable cities, impact assessment, private sector investments and etc.
The High-level Panel on Youth Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development through South-South Cooperation at the GSSD Expo 2018 aims to showcase achievements and good practices of the partners in promoting youth entrepreneurship for sustainable societies, resilient and safe communities. It will also create a space for new/innovative partnership initiatives and ideas supporting entrepreneurship opportunities among youth on global, regional and national levels. Ministerial panelists from SSTC partnering countries will share multi-stakeholder partnership initiatives and led by countries and supported UN agencies, IGOs and private sector partners.
With 5,422 onsite UN Volunteers coming from the Global South (83 per cent of the total), the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme provides its Member States and UN partners an excellent tool to promote and support South-South Cooperation through volunteerism. Additionally, UNV’s Online Volunteering Platform facilitates partnerships between volunteers and organizations from the Global South and contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in an innovative, inclusive and effective manner.
Moreover, UNV and its volunteers support several activities that directly contribute to South-South Cooperation. Examples include:
- An agreement between UNV and the King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in Thailand which enables students to be deployed as University Volunteers in projects throughout the region;
- Technical assistance UNV provided to initiate and strengthen volunteer infrastructure of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteer Programme (EVP), promoting youth volunteerism in sectors such as education and health.
- UNV’s partnership with the Government of Cambodia to implement a project funded by the India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA Fund) that aims at reducing poverty among youth in Cambodia by developing youth volunteers’ skill sets for increased employability.
Don’t miss the opportunity to attend the 2018 GSSD Expo and witness one of the largest showcases of South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives! Connect with hundreds of delegates, UN specialists, national policy makers, civil society and private sector. Many other UNV related activities will be highlighted at the EXPO.
For logistic information, please following this link: http://www.expo.unsouthsouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/GSSD-Expo-2018-Logistics-Note.pdf
For all the latest information about panelists, forums and side events please visit http://www.expo.unsouthsouth.org or contact the GSSD Expo Secretariat at gssdexpo.secretariat@unossc.org