Professor Dima Jamali delivered the first lecture of FAFS Lecture Series, following her election as a parliamentarian: “The UN 2030 Agenda and the Role of the Private Sector in Lebanon” (May 28). Professor Jamali began with a brief overview of the UN 2030 SDGs Agenda and went on to discuss her recent assignment to establish the Global Compact Network Lebanon (GCNL), which calls on the private sector to design its strategies and operations in alignment with the principles of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption, and to take actions that advance societal goals.
Dr. Jamali elaborated on the governance role and aim of the GCNL: to become one of 70 local networks of the UN Global Compact spanning the globe as a learning platform that facilitates heightened awareness, exchange of expert knowledge, and policy dialogue on sustainability and the 17 SDGs, with the ultimate goal of mobilizing a movement of sustainable companies and stakeholders to create a better Lebanon.
She reported that, this year, GCNL will contribute a section of the Voluntary National Report (VNR) pertaining to private sector contributions to the SDGs and reflecting the GCNL’s record of successful experience in dealing with the private sector in relation to the SDGs. She also mentioned that GCNL, working closely with UNDP, will report on the significant progress made in recent years in terms of growth, engagement and scaling up business contributions toward local implementation of the SDGs, and identification of those SDGs for which there were visible and positive contributions from the business sector and those for which there are potential lingering gaps and challenges.
