Key words: Award Gala, category, winner, first runners up, second runners up, SDGs
The 2020 Multi-Stakeholders’ Conference held at the Sarova Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya came to a successful end on 16th December 2020, with a lovely Award Gala ceremony, that was graced by beautiful and elegantly dressed members and partners participating in the Conference.
The mood was set by an acoustic band serenading the audience with local African music, great food served courtesy of Sarova Hotel and drinks flowed to quench the thirst of the cheerful night. Everyone held up their glasses to toast to a successful conference, the launch of the Multi Stakeholder Engagement Framework, advanced partnership and coalitions by the existing and new partners in advocating for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and lastly the core principle of Leaving No One Behind at the request of Ms. Katherine Muoki; Director of Economic Planning from the State Department for Planning.
There were seven overall categories to be awarded namely; The National Government, County Government, Media, Private Sector, Youth, Civil Society Organizations and Parliament. Ms. Katherine Muoki presented the four main criteria used in selecting the competitive nominated organizations to be; The extent of impact felt by the community in regard to the programs and initiatives spearheaded by the respective organizations, the ability of the organization to scale up sensitization of SDGs and achieving the 2030 Agenda, demonstration of commitment and consistency and lastly a recognizable effort in implementation of the SDGs.
In the National Government category, Mrs. Faith Alubbe, CEO of National Alliance got the honor of awarding the nominees. The State Department of Labor and Social Protection seized the first runners up position, the State Department for Energy was second runners up and Anti- Female Genital Mutilation Board bagged the winning award in the category.
The nominees under the County Government category were selected based on the effective yet appropriate financial support and taskforce formulation for the implementation of the SDGs and mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda in their respective Counties. For the third time in a row Makueni County retained the winning position, while Kakamega County and Kwale County contested took the first and second runners up positions respectively.
Organizations in the Media category were chosen based on stories published and reported that streamlined the monitoring and review of the SDGs. Hon. Sabina Chege awarded this category with Standard Media Group Limited securing the second runners up position, Nation Media Group as the first runners up and Royal Media Services emerging the winner and taking home the winner award.
The Private sector was a very competitive category, the nominees had to demonstrate continuous mainstreaming and incorporation of SDGs in their business models, as they penetrate the market. East African Breweries Limited (EABL), the beverage mogul scooped the winning award, while Kenya Commercial Bank Group and Safaricom PLC were awarded second and first runners up positions respectively.
Organization of African Youth, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and Youth Agenda were up in the Youth category. They were nominated based on incorporation of the youth in Sustainable Development all the way to the grass root levels of the community set-up. In this category Organization of African Youth - Kenya held on to the second runners up position, while Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) was awarded first runners up. The Youth Agenda proved to have achieved its mandate by taking home the winning award.
The Civil Society Organizations category, Indigenous Livelihood Enhancement Partners (ILEPA) surprised many by taking home the winning award, while Article 19 and Mind me International were awarded second and first runners up positions respectively.
Lastly, the honorable category of Members of Parliament whose voices are continuously being heard in pushing the SDGs agenda in parliament was contested by two vocal women and one courageous gentleman: Hon. Makali Mulu; M.P for Kitui Central and Former radio presenter, who won the second runner’s up. Murang’a County Women Representative; Hon Sabina Chege clinched the first runners up award whereas Adopt a Light founder and Nairobi County Women Representative Hon. Esther Passaris bagged the winning award.
The Award Gala was the perfect way to end the formal two-day Multi-stakeholders’ Conference, strengthen the bond between the partners and release the tension in the air.
The Annual Multistakeholder Forum 2020 was supported through a basket fund by State Department of Planning, SDGs Kenya Forum, GIZ Good Governance Programme & Sightsavers.
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Hash tags; #TwendeKaziNaSDGs #DecadeOfActionOnSDGs #LeaveNoOneBehind #TheKenyaWeWant #SDGsKenyaAwards2020