Austria's Commitment to the 2030 Agenda

VORREITER
IM DIALOG MIT DER POLITIK
Carmen Jeitler-Cincelli
© Julius Hirtzberger
Member of the National Council and Deputy Secretary
General of the Austrian Business Federation
Implementation of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) in the Austrian
National Council: A pioneering initiative
for a sustainable future
As a member of the National Council and
as a mother of three children, shaping a
sustainable future is very close to my heart.
As elected representatives, we also have
a responsibility to integrate the SDGs into
our national policies.
That is why, as SDG spokesperson for the
People’s Party within the Austrian Parliament,
I initiated this joint project of all
political groups.
At the beginning of dealing with the
complex of topics, it quickly became clear
to our small core team that there was very
little knowledge about the goals of the 2030
Agenda within the parliamentarians. The
first step should therefore be to provide
broad information and education.
To this end, we put together SDG ambassador
teams from our parliamentary
groups, who then jointly organised a goal
through a mini-expo with information
booths on each of the monthly plenary
days, with strong support from Uninetz.
In the meantime, these pop-up booths are
well frequented and a permanent component
of our plenary weeks.
The implementation of the SDGs in the
Austrian National Council is of great importance.
On the one hand, it sends a clear
signal to the public that we are honestly
committed to a sustainable future. By
establishing our working group, we demonstrate
our non-partisan commitment and
create a platform for the exchange of ideas
and awareness for broad target groups.
Second, integrating the SDGs into the policy-making
process allows us to advance
sustainable development at all levels. By
incorporating the SDGs as guiding principles
in our legislative work and policy
agenda, we can ensure that the goals for
poverty reduction, education, gender
equality, climate action and other areas
are at the heart of our policy priorities.
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