The Pact for the Future Summit at the UN New York: Insights for Community Development
by Anthony Ssembatya Kimbowa - IACD Representative at the UN
Between 20th to 23rd of October 2024, State Parties and select Civil Society Organizations converged at the UN Headquarters for the monumental Summit for the Future. This week coincided with the annual United Nations General Assembly. Two days prior to the Summit itself, were the Summit for the Future Action Days between 20th and 21st October. These Days were mainly filled with Youth led initiative activities on the first day and the second day focused on three priority themes – digital and technology, peace and security, and sustainable development and financing. Specific attention was placed on multi-stakeholder partnership and action – paving a way towards a next chapter of multilateralism that is more inclusive and networked. Therefore, multilateralism includes and implies participating not only of Governments or Member States but also of Civil Society, vitally highlighting the renewed relevance of the role of Community Development and the future possibilities.
The Summit of the Future itself was held on 22nd October and 23rd October 2024, culminating in the signing of the Pact for the Future where State Parties voted in favor of this pact. Key areas of the pact include and not limited to, peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, and the transformation of global governance. During the Summit it was emphasized that we as a Global Community, work towards a future that is; RESILIENT, INCLUSIVE, AND SUSTAINABLE.
I wish to highlight key thematic areas in the Pact for the Future that are particular to Community Development. While the Pact highlights, 56 Courses of Action, these below are critical to Community development:
"Action 1. We will take bold, ambitious, accelerated, just and transformative actions to implement the 2030 Agenda, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and leave no one behind, both in practice and academia.
Action 6. We will invest in people to end poverty and strengthen trust and social cohesion.
Action 7. We will strengthen our efforts to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels and uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Action 8. We will achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls as a crucial contribution to progress across all the Sustainable Development Goals and targets.
Action 32. We will protect, build on and complement Indigenous, traditional and local knowledge.
Action 34. We will invest in the social and economic development of children and young people so that they can reach their full potential.”1
In conclusion therefore, the Pact for the Future, will require an inclusive participation of not only Member States but other stakeholders too, and in this case Communities from the local, regional to the Global level. The debate on financing, implementation and stakeholder participation are crucial to realize the key areas of the Pact.
The declaration is a clear signal from all actors of the challenges the world continues to face today, from Hunger, to Conflict and Gender Disparities, among others. Therefore, a need to urgently address the existing challenges as a measure to pave way for shaping the future in a more cohesive way. For this to happen and to enable a more functional multilateral approach, community development, remains central both in practice and in academic discourse. I left the summit with a renewed HOPE for a better world for our children, grandchildren and the generations to come much longer after us. However, we the existing generation remain with a huge task to pave this way.
1 https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sotf-pact_for_the_future_adopted.pdf
