Since the very beginning, the national government of Tunisia confirmed its strong commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indeed, already in 2015 its Ministry of Development, Investment and International Cooperation elaborated a five-year national socio-economic development plan that refers explicitly to the SDGs as an “analysis framework” that can guide the road ahead.

But to make the SDGs a reality at local level, the action of the national government alone is not enough. This is why, with the support of UNDP, nine cities – representing 10% of the Tunisian population have embarked on a process comprising several strategic actions to localize the SDGs. For instance, through the elaboration of strategic documents, each city has determined the most strategic goals and targets that need to be prioritized according to their local context and needs.

These efforts have also been accompanied by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which has extended advocacy, strategic support and capacity building for key actors, including women and men from key institutions and civil society, for the integration of the SDGs into regional and municipal planning processes. The region of Medenine, for instance, has been supported in promoting a participatory process to elaborate a guiding framework for the localization of the SDGs in the region. Additionally, in the context of the Madinatouna project, the nine cities working on SDG localization have been supported in their local planning processes.

Further information on Tunisian efforts for SDGs localization and an upcoming new integrated area based development programme contributing to SDG localization can be found on UNDP Tunisia website: http://www.tn.undp.org/