Background
Odisha is endowed with rich natural resources and glorious cultural heritage. The long term stability in the Government over more than a decade in the State provides great opportunity for structural changes. A plethora of programmes and schemes have come out in recent years to address the issues of the poor and the vulnerable communities. However, the real and sustainable development of Odisha continues to remain elusive in spite of the economic growth rate of more than 6% during the last few years.
It is evident that, development challenges in Odisha are a ‘many hands problem’ and need a multi stakeholder approach. For too long the Government, the social sector and the private sector have been operating in isolation from each other with different priorities and agenda. Whilst it cannot be denied that the social sector and the private sector play a vital role in the growth and development of Odisha, there is a pressing need for this growth and development to be more inclusive and be an effective vehicle of development for all.
The Core Thematic Areas proposed for Discussion/Deliberation in the Conclave are:
- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
- Health & Wellness
- Food and Nutrition Security
- School Education and Quality Learning
- Tribal Empowerment and Development
- Rainfed Agriculture
- Rural Employment, and Migration
- Green Skill & Entrepreneurship Development
- Towards Resilient Odisha
- Inclusive Governance, Fiscal Management & Social Accountability
- Social Exclusion and Inequality
- Forests and Non-forest Commons
- River Ecology
- Democratizing Urban Governance
- Panchayati Raj
- Corporate Sector in Localizing SDGs
- University Community Linkage
- Child Rights
- Women & Violence
The proposed initiative would facilitate larger participation of different stakeholders in the development process, inform people about the innovations & best practices, and influence the policies and programmes so as to achieve the goals as reflected in the SDGs.
- Stimulating public debate and creating an informed discourse around Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 for Odisha;
- Articulation of a clear road map for addressing the development challenges;
- Building an effective Collaborative framework to reach the SDGs;
- Creation of an Institutional mechanism for follow-up;
- Devising an independent monitoring mechanism through the Odisha Development Report (beginning 2017).
Odisha Development Conclave will create opportunities for meaningful collaboration and synergy building among the Government, Civil Society Organizations, Corporate Houses, Research Institutions and Donor Communities to have dialogue on the developmental challenges and collectively agree upon a common agenda to strategically overcome those challenges in the State.
