Dialogue for the Future 2020

Online Networking Conference

About the Conference

“Dialogue for the Future” is an annual international networking conference that provides a forum for ideas and exchange between civil society actors and experts on sustainability and digitalisation. It is a place where changemakers from 10 countries meet to network and brainstorm how to implement innovative international projects and start a successful cross-border cooperation. By taking part in workshops and discussions, participants learn about current debates and trends in social entrepreneurship. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 circumstances, the conference was held online, thus responding to actual digital transformation challenges and the upcoming need to develop new forms of collaboration and engagement.

Who Can Participate

Civil society actors from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, France, Georgia, Germany, Moldova, Poland, Russia and Ukraine who are working within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and who are ready to find an international partner-organisation and implement a cross-border project together.

Why Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) form a strategical foundation for political, social, and economic transformation in the world. As a call for action, they offer directions on how to develop green and sustainable solutions. NGOs mobilise around SDGs and play a crucial role in their implementation.
The discussion in 2020 was defined by the goals 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 17 addressing the demand to establish a civil society dialogue on topics such as non-formal education, sustainable economic development and mobility, climate activism and community resilience.

Main Dialogues

DIGITAL SOLUTIONS

UN SDG 4, 9, 11, 13, 17
Within this topic cluster, the discussion is focused on how the non-profit sector can leverage technologies and go digital, how technological innovations impact its work, how to work with data collectively and how to prevent a data breach.

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

UN SDG 8, 9, 11, 12
Emboldening the communities to become resilient and self-reliant, NGOs contribute to their sustainable development. Therefore, economic sustainability lies at the core of the NGOs’ principles that involve practices of sustainable economy to foster communities’ capability for self-reliance.

GREEN TRANSFORMATION

UN SDG: 7, 9, 13, 17
During this conference track, some of the trends in the climate justice movements and their actual framing power for the work of NGOs on the international level are explored. Participants gain insight into how to make an ecological initiative go viral and how to create enabling spaces for civil society.

COMPETENCIES FOR THE FUTURE

UN SDG 4, 9, 17
Quality education is a fundamental value and a defining component necessary for effective change. During this dialogue, we touch upon the topics of cross-cultural competences, productive collaboration within a digital environment, the transmission of green values and the importance of teaching sustainability.