JAKARTA – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) joins forces with one of Indonesia’s leading universities, Universitas Padjadjaran (UNPAD) to foster progress towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indonesia. The partnership was formalized through the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today. The purpose of this MoU is to create a joint platform for knowledge exchange in terms of research and data related to the implementation of SDGs.

UNPAD is leading the academe in achieving the SDGs by establishing the first-of-its-kind, Center for Sustainable Development Goals Studies (SDGs Center) back in May 2016. Rector of UNPAD, Prof. Dr. med. Tri Hanggono Achmad, dr. said “The SDGs Center is a venue for multi-disciplinary research related to SDGs at the global, national and local scale. It serves to facilitate sharing of SDGs-related research findings from both the university and its partners. It also facilitates capacity building to enhance the analytical capacity of academic community and policy makers from national and local level to conduct SDGs related analysis.”

Meanwhile, Christophe Bahuet, UNDP Country Director said “Research and data are essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals as they help plan actions and monitor progress at national and local levels. UNDP therefore believes that academic institutions can make most valuable contributions to achieve the Goals. Our new partnership with Universitas Padjadjaran will generate and disseminate knowledge that we hope will be of value to everyone supporting the SDGs in Indonesia.”

The partnership will encompass several activities combining the expertise and experience of UNDP and UNPAD’s SDGs Center, such as developing a baseline analysis on the SDGs indicators in the roll-out of the SDGs Localization at provincial and/or district level. The first collaboration would be to develop the platform for five local governments in Lampung Province. In addition, the partnership will also consider ways in mainstreaming SDGs into research and policies and to the general public by utilizing social media and joint campaigns.

SDGs, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. These 17 Goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals, while including new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among other priorities. UNDP Indonesia together with government, academe, private sector, civil society and citizens are committed to achieve the goals by 2030.