International Cooperation Comes to Kamloops!

The BC Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC) warmly has extended an invitation to attend the BC 2030 Meeting on November 21st in Kamloops. The meeting will discuss how the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) link to the work going on in communities across BC, and the opportunities that the SDGs present for political engagement.

 Over the past year, BCCIC has held roundtable discussions in 29 communities throughout the province (including Kamloops), meeting with groups working on sustainable development issues to discuss the SDGs, how they relate to the work of local organizations, and what opportunities they present. The information gathered during these roundtables has been transformed into an online map as well as a summary report,The Invisible Mosaic, which reveals the work being done by groups throughout BC, and shares their recommendations for how the SDGs can be used to strengthen their efforts and make BC a leader in sustainable development both at home and abroad.  

One of the main opportunities that participants identified in the SDG framework was the potential for greater political engagement and more support from all tiers of government. In order to take advantage of this opportunity participants recommended more advocacy around the SDGs, including educating and engaging with local MLAs and MPs and generating more political awareness and buy-in around them. Building on these recommendations, the upcoming BC 2030 Meeting will discuss the potential for holding a non-partisan candidate meeting in Kamloops on the SDGs, and will look at what topics or questions candidates could respond to.

The BC 2030 meeting will last two hours, with refreshments provided, and will cover:

• The key findings from the SDG roundtable meetings held over the past year.

• BC 2030 – The idea of a non-partisan political campaign to generate support for the SDGs and the groups working on them across BC.

• The possibility of holding a non-partisan all candidates meeting in Kamloops and the local topics and questions that candidates could respond to.

Anyone interested in attending, or in learning more, may contact Dan Harris, at dan@bccica.ca.