Conscious about the essential role that the citizenship have in ensuring the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Madrid´s NGOs network and the Regional Federation of Neighborhood Associations ( A.A.V.V), supported by the town hall of Madrid, have launched an initiative to raise awareness and encourage a joint work of all Madrid´s neighborhoods to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Towards this end, the coalition of partners has supported the organization of various workshops around several neighborhoods of Madrid:

1. Villaverde Neighborhood Workshop, which was held on April 20^th, was focused on SDG 8 (decent work) and SDG 11 (sustainable cities). The purpose of this first workshop was to identify common practices and reflections for the implementation of these selected SDGs from the local level with a global approach. This activity took place in the framework of the Forum "Madrid, Capital of Peace", also promoted by the Municipality of Madrid together with several other partners.

2. Vallecas Neighborhood Workshop which was carried out on June 8^th. In this occasion, the workshop was devoted to SDG12 (Sustainable production and consumption). The session, as in the case of the first workshop, was interactive to facilitate a dynamic exchange and sharing of experiences among the members of the neighborhood associations and representatives of international development cooperation NGOs. For example, Vallecas presented its waste reduction initiative and some of the international NGO shared the communal gardens initiatives implemented in Kenya and Cabo Verde, among others.

3. The third one was conducted in the Tetuán Neighborhood on October 8th. The main topic was SDG 1 and 10.

While this initiative offers a first glimpse of Madrid’s efforts towards the localization of the SDGs, the city’s activity to support the achievement of the SDGS goes well beyond.  For instance, Madrid has become the first Spanish city with an Strategic Human Rights Plan, approved on February, 27th 2017 that will run until the year 2020.  The Plan includes a total of 22 goals or rights, grouped in 5 sections. While the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs served as an inspirational source to develop the Plan, an entire goal (number 20) is also devoted to the SDGs, confirming Madrid’s commitment to the global agenda and its conviction that Madrid can play a leading role to localize the SDGs in its territory.