Professor participates in Arab Forum, shares 2030 experience & reviews progress

Jihad Al Ayaseh, director of Birzeit University’s master’s program in government and local governance, represented Birzeit University in the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development (AFSD) held in Beirut, Lebanon, and organized by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) from April 9 to 11, 2019.

The three-day forum focused on “Empowering People and Ensuring Inclusiveness and Equality in the Arab Region” and featured numerous plenaries involving a wide range of international experts. It discussed issues related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals 2015-2030 (SDGs) such as governance, economic development and poverty, the sustainable management of resources, social development, gender equality, peace, reconstruction after wars and conflicts, and the environment.

Presenting a paper at the conference, Al Ayaseh highlighted that institutions of higher education play a significant role in supporting UN efforts to achieve the development goals by the year 2030; he stressed that universities, including Birzeit University, must play their part in ascertaining practical solutions to the challenges that impede the implementation of the SDGs.

Al Ayaseh noted that Birzeit University is rising to the challenge and has recently held an international conference themed “Sustainable Development under Crisis and Conflict Conditions,” organized by the Faculty of Law and Public Administration with support from ESCWA, UNDP and the Office of the Palestinian Prime Minister. This conference, he explained, was in partial fulfillment of the university’s commitment towards providing policy makers with opportunities to share thoughts and experiences and to evaluate, analyze and develop policies and plans to implement the 2030 goals.

The Arab Forum Development is an annual regional platform that promotes the discussion of coordination pathways for the implementation and revision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Arab region.