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Mandaluyong City, Philippines – The Junior Chamber International (JCI) Manila and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Philippines entered into a new partnership to support sustainable development initiatives in the Philippines.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by JCI Manila President Jan Adrian Padiernos and UNDP Philippines Resident Representative Dr. Selva Ramachandran officially launched the partnership between JCI Manila and UNDP Philippines to promote programs that will help accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country.
In 2015, the UN member states adopted the SDGs, with the aim of creating a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world by 2030. The private sector plays a vital role in the path towards transformational change because sustainable development can only be achieved through multi-stakeholder collaboration. The agreement set out the areas of cooperation between UNDP and JCI Manila, including initiatives related to climate action, youth engagement, and digitalization, to support the overall progress of the SDGs in the Philippines.
In his message, UNDP Philippines Resident Representative Dr. Selva Ramachandran highlighted that UNDP “strongly believes that the private sector plays a pivotal role in accelerating progress towards the SDGs in the Philippines.” Dr. Ramachandran also shared that “working with JCI Manila, whose mission is to provide leadership opportunities that empower young leaders so they can create positive change, aligns with the ambition of encouraging the private sector to embrace, promote, and invest in the SDGs”.
Globally, UNDP’s strategy for private sector engagement is to make markets work for the SDGs by assisting countries in aligning private sector activities and investments with the 2030 Agenda. The vision is to make the SDG framework as the business sector's guiding principle for their strategies and operations
JCI Manila President Jan Adrian Padiernos expressed that this partnership “gives us confidence that we are able to partner with global institutions like [UNDP Philippines] that allow us to understand what’s being done out there in the world and put that into the Philippine context, and that can advance what we’re trying to do here in the Philippines. We have groups that are focused on community development [and] pushing for the 17 SDGs”.
As part of the agreement, JCI Manila and UNDP will collaborate in co-designing joint initiatives that promote economic growth, good governance, and sustainable development in the country, especially in the last-mile areas. The partnership will also support the promotion of SDGs in the country through partnerships with JCI Manila’s stakeholders as well as joint exercises including building awareness, increasing knowledge, capacities, and developing uptake for action on the SDGs.
