The European Sustainable Development Network (ESDN) Conference 2018 was held on 1-2 October 2018 in Vienna as an official event of the Austrian EU Presidency. The Institute for Managing Sustainability at WU Wien, which manages the ESDN Office, was responsible for the content design and organization of the conference. A total of 120 participants from 27 countries attended the conference with the topic "Stakeholder-Policy Cooperation in the Age of the SDGs: What new approaches are required to be successful?".

The participants were representatives of national and sub-national government ministries, academia, the business sector, international organizations, and NGOs. The participants discussed at the event various concepts and practical experiences in the cooperation between policy and stakeholders in implementation processes for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). André Martinuzzi, head of the Institute for Managing Sustainability, held a keynote presentation about the most important approaches and experiences in the cooperation between policymakers and stakeholders in the 2030 Agenda /SDG implementation.

The conference identified several crucial aspects for the successful cooperation, including, for instance, clear structures, definition of responsibilities, transparency, trust, clear management of goals and expectations, etc. The participants agreed that the implementation of a complex and global policy strategy like the 2030 Agenda and SDGs can only be achieved by including all stakeholders. In addition, it became clear that an effective cooperation, which reveals different approaches and conflicts, and uses them proactively, will be a decisive success factor.

You can find more information about event here.