The Belgrade Open School together with its local partner organization, the Association of Young Researchers Bor, organized a round table in Bor on October 25. The event brought together representatives of civil society and the city administration, in order to identify and discuss key challenges and development priorities, which should be incorporated into the section of the future Local Development Plan of the City of Bor, related to environmental protection.
An expert analysis of the compliance of the local planning documents of the City of Bor in the field of environmental protection with the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, and particularly with the SDGs 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, was presented at the event.
The participants also had an opportunity to comment on challenges and possible solutions related to various areas of environmental protection, covered by the above-mentioned SDGs. For example, during the discussion on the SDG 7, which refers to affordable and renewable energy, the lack of energy efficiency was mentioned as one of the most critical challenges, while the use of waste heat from industrial consumption was mentioned as one of the possible solutions. A similar discussion followed on other SDGs thus aligning local challenges, potentials and solutions to the 2030 Agenda.
Towards the end of the event, the participants shared their visions of the City of Bor in the field of environmental protection until 2028, by when the Local Development Plan is expected to be valid. Most of them stated that they would prefer to live in an economically developed city while respecting the principles of environmental protection; a city with preserved natural resources; a city with an established waste collection and selection system and a city with clean air and water.
Participants’ inputs will be used to draft a Contribution to the Local Development Plan of the City of Bor in the field of environmental protection. This document will be shared with all participants of the first round table for comments during November, thus laying the groundwork for the second round table to be held at the end of the month. The second round table will result in the finalization of the Contribution, which will be shared with the local authorities.
The event was organized within the framework of the Sustainable Development for All Platform, supported by the Governments of Switzerland and Germany, and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The project partners are the Belgrade Open School, Foundation BFPE For a Responsible Society, the Center for Advanced Economic Studies, the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, the Center for Democracy Foundation, the Timoc Youth Cente and Smart Kolektiv..
The Sustainable Development for All Platform implies the establishment of a public dialogue among the most important non-state actors in Serbia, such as civil society, corporate sector, academic and research community, professional associations, media, and citizens, on aligning Serbia’s development priorities with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The idea is to facilitate interaction with decision-makers on aligning Serbia’s development priorities with the goals contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Author of the photo: Belgrade Open School