Grassroots organizations

The objectives of the Stakeholders Roundtable are to:

- Demonstrate the contributions of key organized global grassroots networks to implementing the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals at the local, national, regional and global levels, discuss lessons learned and identify needs and opportunities to scale up;

- Share and cross-fertilize monitoring mechanisms championed by grassroots organization for the Agenda 2030 monitoring and their impact on policy-making and bettering of lives in communities;

- Discuss win-win partnership strategies between grassroots, governments and other stakeholders for successful implementation of the New Urban Agenda

Translating global policy into real implementation requires substantial institutional shifts and new partnerships on all levels. Already, the recognition of the role of organized urban poor communities and their representative movements has amplified their ability to plan, implement, and monitor development programs that affect their lives and to increase the impact of this work on their communities and cities. The Habitat III process has recognized the role of the grassroots constituency in delivering sustainable urban development. The creation of the Grassroots Partner Constituent Group of the General Assembly of Partners and the continued support from UN-Habitat through the institutionalization of the inaugural Grassroots Assembly at the Ninth session of the World Urban Forum are clear indications that this stakeholder group is a critical element of the success of the New Urban Agenda.
The Grassroots Roundtable will feature achievements, lessons learned, and recommendations for continued effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda by grassroots networks and their partners and allies within the context of sustainable and inclusive urban development. Representatives of grassroots networks, government officials, and leading development agencies and foundations will bring their innovative tools and methodologies already bearing fruit in exciting impacts and successes and explore further synergies and common challenges. It will evaluate potential added collaborations and identify ways to scale up implementation of the New Urban Agenda together. A series of solidified and actionable commitments and recommendations between grassroots stakeholders and local and national government actors will be introduced to this end.

Q1: What strategies have organized grassroots groups and networks developed to implement the New Urban Agenda to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in their local contexts?

Q2: What have been most effective strategies and tools, and what and how can be improved?

Q3: What are the necessary components of win-win partnerships between grassroots groups, governments, the private sector and other development stakeholders?

Q4: What opportunities exist for bringing the community-driven sustainable development practices to scale? What challenges prevail?

Q5: How do we ensure that the systems in place that guide the global development agenda align with and support the rhetoric of inclusivity and participation in order to achieve greater transformative change?