Background:
The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) is dedicated to fostering collaboration among nations of the global South, ensuring it reflects their needs and priorities. The UNOSSC Strategic Framework 2022-2025 seeks to develop a biennial global report on South-South and triangular cooperation, reflecting key issues and trends in South-South knowledge exchange, technology transfer, and capacity-building. It should also analyze the role of South-South and triangular cooperation in preparing developing countries for global transformations, including COVID-19 recovery, digitalization, and climate change. The report aims to provide a comprehensive knowledge base on South-South and triangular cooperation, present critical topics relevant to scholarship and policy discussions, and serve as a valuable resource for policymakers, development practitioners, and other stakeholders. Ultimately, the report will inform region and country-specific initiatives to expand policy solutions, examining their implementation and impact.
To ensure the report's relevance, effectiveness, and inclusivity, UNOSSC will adopt a consultative and participatory approach in its preparation with the key stakeholders. To kick off the consultative process, an e-discussion is being organized to engage think tanks and research institutions in delineating the report's scope.
To this end, UNOSSC is pleased to extend this invitation to think tanks, research institutions, and academia to partake in an e-discussion hosted on the South-South Global Thinkers Platform. The discussion aims to elicit insights on the report's scope, gathering a diverse array of perspectives to inform its development. By aligning with the priorities and perspectives of the global South, this initiative seeks to ensure the report resonates with and addresses the needs of its intended audience. Some of the guiding questions include:
Guiding Questions for the e-Discussion:
What are the most pressing challenges and priorities facing the global South today in development, sustainability, and resilience-building? What effective entry points for South-South Cooperation exist to address these challenges and priorities?
What are some of the key areas where SSC can promote knowledge exchange and capacity-building among countries of the Global South from a Global South perspective, fostering learning and collaboration for mutual benefit? Can you highlight some of the emerging opportunities and future trends in South-South Cooperation and how stakeholders can prepare and capitalize on them effectively?
How can South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation complement each other in achieving common development goals? What are the key success factors and challenges in promoting effective triangular cooperation?
How does the UN system contribute to operationalizing south-south cooperation, and what are the key challenges and opportunities it faces in this role?
Can you provide insights into the diverse groupings and their unique needs within the global south, such as Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Middle-Income Countries (MICs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDs), and how these differences impact their engagement in international cooperation efforts?
How do you see the role of various groups in the global south, such as the G77, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), G20, and other regional groupings, play in promoting and facilitating south-south cooperation?
Expected Outputs:
Provide insights and recommendations on the scope of the Global Report on South-South and triangular cooperation.
Identification of potential synergies and partnerships for data collection, analysis, and dissemination.
Reflect on emerging trends and challenges in South-South cooperation.
Materials Contribution:
We encourage you to share relevant materials, publications, and data enriching the report's development. Your contributions will strengthen its foundation and ensure a holistic understanding of South-South Cooperation's multifaceted global transformation impacts.
Duration of e-Discussion:
The e-discussion will be open from Friday, 15 March to Monday, 27 May 2024, moderated by Mr. Adel Abdellatif, the lead author for the report, and facilitated by Mr. Dumitru, Research Specialist, UNOSSC, and Naveeda Nazir KM Coordinator, UNOSSC.
We look forward to a fruitful e-discussion and valuable contributions to shaping the report's development.