Representatives of regional governments, prefectures, civil society and the private sector, have participated in several regional workshops to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Deal in the context of the country's National Plan for Economic and Social Development (PNDES) [1] and the Vision Guinea 2040.

The first workshop (Kindia, 13 and 14 June) was aimed at actors from the regions of the Middle and Lower Guinea, while the second workshop (N'Zerekoré 13 and 14 October), was attended by actors from local development from Upper Guinea and Guinea Forestry.

These meetings are part of a larger campaign for the SDGs, promoted by the Government of Guinea in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and whose priority objectives are:

• Exchange perspectives and knowledge about the SDGs, as well as raise awareness among local and regional stakeholders about the problems and challenges related to their implementation, the New Deal and the results of the assessment report on the country's fragility.

• Identify the best strategies as a framework for integrating the SDGs and the results of the assessment of fragility in the regional development plans;

• Sharing of the action plans of the Non-Governmental Organizations, in order to facilitate their integration and active participation in the process of raising awareness and implementing the SDGs and the New Deal in the territory.

"The objective of this workshop is to ensure the appropriation of the objectives of sustainable development and the New Deal by all development actors and the beneficiary populations of Upper Guinea and Guinea their well-being ." Ibrahima Sory Touré, representative of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.

The integration of the SDGs within the framework of the National Development Plan of the Country 2016-2020, as well as Vision 2040, is a renewed source of energy for local actors, who highlighted the opportunity offered by the 2030 agenda to reverse the trend negative that Guinea has presented during the last years in relation to the Human Development Index. [2]

As conclusions of the workshops, participants highlighted the need for the creation of a national platform of Civil Society Organizations to facilitate the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs, support for civil society initiatives in awareness-raising tasks, as well as facilitating the participation of local actors of the interior prefectures in the implementation of the PNDES and the SDGs.

[1] National Plan for Economic and Social Development 2016-2020

[2] Annex countries by Human Development index