OCIC’s AGM & Symposium 2015 was an important opportunity for participants to root themselves as a community in understanding the implications of and possibilities within a new, universal and transformative global agenda for sustainable development. During the AGM members ratified and formally welcomed new Organizational and Associate Members and elected a new Board of Directors.

The Symposium helped to increase our collective understanding of the final processes leading up to the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the implications of and possibilities within them, as a new, universal and transformative global agenda. Through plenary and breakout sessions intended to help catalyze learning on issues of inequality and human rights, climate change and the environment, and women’s rights and gender equality as universally applicable issues, participants had the opportunity to reflect on ways to take individual, organizational and increased collective action.

Within Canada there was tremendous opportunity and space for rigorous dialogue and reflection on the ways we can use this moment to do better in our domestic context and globally. 2015 was a critical year for this, for at least four significant reasons: the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) challenged the world to do better on urgent global issues; world leaders were working to forge a universal, legally-binding climate deal intended to avert global environmental catastrophe; the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on Women’s Rights were to be reviewed and governments called upon to recommit to its full implementation; and Canadians were set to go to the polls in a federal election.

For the participant package, click here

For event related background documents, see:

The Post-2015 Development Framework: International Process and Canadian Priorities

We Can Do Better