JP Activate! – Knowledge Event

Dear UN colleagues, dear partners - governments and experts,

Firstly, I would like to express gratitude for the possibility to open an event on a cross-border and inter-agency knowledge exchange. This confirms the relevance of the Joint SDG Fund and it’s investments in the social protection across the world. The power of learning from each other and sharing knowledge to tackle the global problems is the paramount in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. There is even a specific SDG that speaks about the value of partnerships.

Joint UN Programmes are envisaged to use innovation as a change strategy, and I am pleased that we have a possibility to share innovations and the lessons we learned across our teams. I hope the event today will contribute to conceptualizing and implementing a holistic support for the ones who are the furthest behind. We have the imperative to reach them first.

Complementarities between the two programmes are evident - in Montenegro, the UN worked on mobilizing vulnerable youth and enhancing social protection through policy simulations, while in Albania, the UN engaged with the integrated service delivery. Both of these interventions are contributing to better social protection that is essential for leaving no one behind.

The results show that the interventions were timely. In Montenegro, the implementation of JP Activate! was very important when it started, and it remains relevant as the programme is coming to an end. Multi-layered, but also well synchronized programme, proved to be a very functional concept of convening national actors in a common platform of support for those who are on the margins, with an aim of their active inclusion in the labor market. Policy forecast, on the other hand, appeared as potentially critical tool for efficient planning of social policies.

I wish to thank our colleagues from UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women for their openness to share experiences inside the UN family. I have high expectations that today will be experts playground, to discuss in-depth how to combine experiences to catalyze for results.

Finally, I would like to recognize the importance of partnerships that were built and strengthened through this intervention – national partners who are the primary beneficiary and propeller of these interventions, and the Joint SDG Fund who recognized the innovation and vision that these teams had.

Let me conclude with what is the key point – the programme ACTIVATE! managed to reach and activate precisely those who are in need of that kind of support. But the job is not done with this program. On the contrary, it has only just begun. Through this initiative, we have jointly pointed out to potentials, but also to the systemic shortcomings, and I sincerely hope that the ACTIVATE! program will be an incentive for our national and international partners for future initiatives aimed at activating those who are on the margins.

I am looking forward to the rest of the meeting and I would now like to give the floor to Mr. Nenad Rava, Head of Programme, SDG Fund.