How to supercharge collective, contagious action at UNGA and beyond

By Kate Olsen

September might mean back to school season for many, but for changemakers, it’s global development season as world leaders descend on New York City for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). One thing is certain: the news surrounding the 79th session echoes the complexity of this era, characterized by pressing, interrelated and shared challenges. This is a timely, critical moment for global actors to recommit to a cooperative roadmap to close the development gap widened by the pandemic — and to unlock the resourcing and innovation that leads to scalable, equitable and lasting solutions.

The Paris Olympics reminded us of how contagious a collective global moment can be as we followed the trials and triumphs and watched what persistence, hope and ingenuity can deliver. Now we’ll see if that spirit can carry forward to infuse the U.N. negotiations with clarity of purpose and practical collaborative approaches to supercharge progress ahead of mid-century deadlines.

Historically, cooperation and collaboration — across borders, across cultures, across sectors — have been the keys to tackling global development challenges. However, this approach is being tested by the current polycrisis, rapid disruption, and a growing protectionist mindset around the world. Two main forces are reshaping the power dynamics for sustainable global change for people and planet:

An increasing skepticism towards a global, multilateral approach to development, fueled by an erosion of democratic values and norms worldwide.
The politicization of corporate efforts towards social and environmental impact, and a rollback of corporate advocacy and investment in sustainability and social justice.

This situation presents an opportunity for trusted civil society organizations and philanthropic funders to step forward. They have the capacity to clarify the agenda across sectors, champion solutions to our most pressing challenges communities face and rally the resources to deliver impact — and they can do so without the constraints faced by public and private sectors.

To maximize this potential, we need to address three primary tensions:

Broad Agenda vs. Urgent Priorities. While the SDGs codified a wide range of global development goals, the post-pandemic world demands prioritizing certain first order issues like climate change that complicate or negate a whole host of second order problems if they aren’t addressed and solved at scale. Civil society can leverage its influence in a way private and public sector actors can’t to advocate for a more focused set of priorities with clear roles for all sectors.
Frontline Realities vs. Polarizing Rhetoric. Civil society organizations are on the frontlines of development work and understand the pressures, nuances and complexities in ways that are often overlooked in mainstream media narratives about the issues of the day. Further, they can credibly counter mis/disinformation and polarizing rhetoric that undermine progress.
Global Strategies vs. Local Resilience. Fostering a more informed conversation about problems and solutions depends on closing the gap between top-down strategies and resource deployment and bottom-up expertise and knowhow about how problems impact real people in real community contexts. Foundations and funders can play a key role in connecting and translating between business leaders, policymakers, grass-tops influencers and grassroots changemakers.

In a complex media ecosystem, breaking through with credible messages and trusted voices requires new tools and tactics but is ultimately about knowing audiences as people and connecting with their values.

Savvy and strategic communications and stakeholder engagement are essential to navigate these tensions and transform uncertainty into action that generates lasting impact. In a complex media ecosystem, breaking through with credible messages and trusted voices requires new tools and tactics but is ultimately about knowing audiences as people and connecting with their values. Civil society organizations can advance their mission-driven leadership through a four-step process:

Embrace the nexus points to position priorities in a bigger intersectional context to unlock more powerful collaborations and solutions.
Shape a resilient narrative and a data-informed, human-led platform for engagement designed to reinforce credible and resonant messages and voices.
Engage through storydoing to build surround-sound for key strategies and messages by creating stories that travel in today’s media landscape to engage stakeholders where they are.
Elevate innovative solutions that focus on progress, optimism and what is possible by moving beyond tensions to scalable collective and fit-for-purpose approaches.

In these ways, civil society leaders can convene stakeholders in a more constructive dialogue about the pathways forward and the brave, creative and lasting solutions other sectors can champion to fuel faster positive change. The world is counting on it.

Author

KATE OLSEN

Kate specializes in developing strategies and integrated engagement campaigns that help purpose-driven clients build brands and advance sustainable development.

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