WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17,2018

Freetown, Sierra Leone – From October 7 to October 10, 2018, over 180 representatives from 35 countries gathered in Freetown, Sierra Leone, for the second 16+ Forum Annual Showcase ever to be held, and the first in Africa. 

The Sierra Leone Annual Showcase focused on lessons learned, solutions, and challenges in advancing peaceful, just, and inclusive societies. In addition to a national and local focus, this Annual Showcase brought in regional dimensions, highlighting the work of regional and sub-regional organizations in advancing peace, prevention, and sustainable development.

With the breadth of SDG 16+ addressed throughout, from capacity-building workshops to field visits, and plenary to breakout sessions, “peaceful societies” provided the flagship theme of this year’s Annual Showcase. Given its relevance to Sierra Leone’s national context, and its links to Sustaining Peace, discussions around the policy and practice of prevention, addressing root causes, and strengthening local resilience provided a fruitful opening for additional, in-depth exchanges on inclusion, accountable institutions, and access to justice across national contexts. 

With an eye to the High-level Political Forum in July 2019 and the SDG Summit in September, this Annual Showcase provided additional impetus and energy for the movement behind SDG 16+ and for multi-stakeholder inclusion in process and product. As a catalytic component of an integrated and indivisible agenda, interlinkages across the 2030 agenda also featured in discussions, as well as the myriad of stakeholders required to realize its full implementation.

To see pictures from the event, click here.