Sabah holds first summit on Sustainable Devt Goals
KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysia Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit 2024 Sabah Region, organised by Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA) on January 25, was the first summit on SDG of its kind to be held in Sabah.
The event recorded over 2,000 participants, in the form of summit delegates, exhibition and YouthJoy programme participants, as well as job seekers.
In the official statement to the media, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor welcomed the holding of a summit of this kind in the state.
“For the State Government, I am pleased that this summit provided an avenue for State agencies to present some of the initiatives that had been implemented, including biodiversity and forest ecosystem protection efforts, as well as the conservation and management of fisheries sources through the Tagal method,” he stated.
The event witnessed several topics presented by various speakers representing key stakeholders relating to the coordination of SDG with local economic development efforts, be they by the public or private sectors.
Apart from the plenary, keynote and sharing sessions, there was plenty of supporting activities for all participants, including the exhibition section, the YouthJoy programme, and even career opportunities for the youth.
An informative and comprehensive selection of topics were presented from the start of the event to the very end, with a focus mainly on five different aspects which are Driving Sustainable Development; Ensuring Inclusive Development; Preserving Biodiversity and Protecting the Forest Ecosystem in Sabah; Leading the Drone Industry; and Driving Cooperation for Sustainable Development in Sabah.
Additionally, four plenary sessions had been conducted involving collaboration between government agencies, the private sector, industry players and institutional bodies, thus resulting in a comprehensive effort that successfully touched on every aspect of each panel members’ expertise Furthermore, the exhibition area had received favourable response from attendees, with the participation of 40 bodies involving collaboration between State and Federal Government agencies, GLCs, NGOs, local entrepreneurs, and the private sector, including the State Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK), the Sabah Tourism Exploration Association, NK Robotics, Desa Group of Companies, and many more.
For the younger audiences, the one-day summit was supported by the simultaneously held YouthJoy programme, an ambitious effort to raise awareness among the youth and teenagers of the role of SDG in improving development within Sabah.
The content of the YouthJoy programme consisted of pocket talks by experts related to development, environmental topics, and the empowerment of rural communities.
This entire event is a part of the larger Malaysia SDG Summit 2023-2024 series, which is a programme by the Ministry of Economy to be held across five regions throughout Malaysia.
The Ministry of Economy plans for the Malaysia SDG Summit 2023-2024 to be coordinated in each region by respective Economic Corridor authorities, through collaboration with the
State Governments and local authorities.
SDG is an agenda introduced by the United Nations (UN) since 2015 and comprises of 17 goals towards achieving a shared goal by all 193 UN Member States, known as “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. SDG is further broken down into 169 various targets towards achieving the 17 goals, and addresses social and economic development issues.
As the organiser for the Sabah region, SEDIA is the statutory body entrusted to serve as the one-stop authority driving forward Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) programmes and initiatives.
SDC is one of Malaysia’s five economic regions, currently guided by the SDC Blueprint 2.0 (2021–2030) to enhance the quality of life of the people by accelerating the growth of Sabah’s economy, promoting regional balance and bridging the rural-urban divide while ensuring sustainable management of the state’s resources.
In line with Malaysia’s commitments as a responsible global citizen, the SDC Blueprint 2.0 also provides an opportunity to connect with SDG.