28
Jan

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are global development goals proposed by the United Nations and adopted by 193 member states in 2015, with a period of implementation between 2016-2030. The SDGs are a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and consist of 17 goals and 169 targets covering dimensions of People (society), Prosperity (economy), and Planet (environment) connected by dimensions of Peace and Partnership. Thailand is one of 193 countries that endorses the Sustainable Development Agenda. The United Nations has designated 2021 as the beginning of the "Decade of Action" (2021-2030) in the official implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Thailand’s plan to drive the SDGs (Thailand SDGs Roadmap) covers 6 areas of operations: raising awareness, linking the SDGs to the country's three-tier national plan, mechanisms to drive SDGs, actions to achieve SDGs, developmental partners, and monitoring and evaluation of SDGs implementations. However, Thailand still faces many challenges in implementing the SDGs in accordance to its rationales and targets, such as integration across government agencies, cross-sector and cross-disciplinary integration, which affects the success of works of sustainable development; this includes the promotion, creation, and management of academic knowledge, which are crucial for understanding contexts and situations and identifying problems and developing future action plans.

A forum for cross-sectoral knowledge exchange regarding sustainable development in Thailand has been proposed as a prong under the project to "Accelerate the Achievement of Thailand's Sustainable Development Goals on Health and Well-being" as a way to utilize information in setting policy agendas and priorities through the creation and use of empirical evidence in informing the situation, status and gaps in the implementation of SDGs in Thailand. The forum also fosters a network and collaboration of academics and other sectors through cross-disciplinary integration and instills a commitment to accelerate the achievement of Thailand's SDGs by 2030 according to prioritized agendas and issues.

The forum is intended to occur annually and interconnect with the Sustainable Development Committee and the main agencies in Thailand driving the SDGs, namely, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) and important policy driving mechanisms such as the National Health Assembly. Activities do not have to be limited to just the main discussion forum, but can include pre- and post-main seminar, and are planned year-round, such as producing academic information, making policy recommendations, and organising workshops to promote and support the academic and multi-sectoral thematic networking and collaboration to achieve SDGs in Thailand