UNDP and The University of The Gambia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in The Gambia, project design, piloting and scaling, and the implementation of the Gender Equality Seal, UNDP said in a statement on Monday.
The statement said: “The thematic areas of mutual interest include SDG tracking, Curriculum Development, case studies and research on SDG baseline information and SDG Lecture Series.
“The purpose of this MoU is to provide a framework of cooperation and facilitate and strengthen collaboration between the Parties on a non-exclusive basis, in order to forge a meaningful partnership. This will include the UNDP Accelerator Lab (AccLabGM) established in 2019 to support the development of innovative solutions for the attainment of the SDGs in country with a three-year mandate. As part of its gradual phasing, AccLabGM by extension of UNDP, will support and co-host activities with UTG to strengthen its standing as the national partner in the Lab handover framework.
“Through this partnership, UTG will conduct academic research on gender and women’s empowerment and changing organizational culture through the Gender Equality Seal and feeding this knowledge to organizations and policy makers through the development of knowledge products and publications.
“In collaborating with UNDP The Gambia, all the Schools within UTG will select a particular SDG or SDGs that is or are in line with their mandate to deliver to The Gambian public.
“The UTG will establish a Centre for Sustainable Development and Policy Studies (UTG-Think Tank) as a hub for learning, policy analysis, debate, and to coordinate the overall implementation of this collaboration.
“In the spirit of this collaboration, UNDP The Gambia will help UTG mobilize resources to facilitate and enhance the overall implementation of this collaboration.
“UTG as the premier public institution of higher learning in The Gambia, is key in collaborating with UNDP The Gambia to implement the SDGs in the country. The University is already contributing towards the implementation of SDG 4 which is Quality Education. Another step taken by UTG is the implementation of SDG 17 which is Partnerships to Achieve the Goals – by partnering with many institutions like UNDP in realizing the SDGs for The Gambia.”
