UN in Turkmenistan and the Government of Turkmenistan kicked off series of workshops to develop a new United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for the period 2021-2025.
The opening workshop introduced long-term thinking, a foresight approach, and visioning for UN support in the country. Representatives of all national ministries, local NGO’s, the private sector, youth, and UN Agencies took part in the session. Participants were introduced to the key concepts of foresight and how this approach has been used within the UN system, specifically toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr. John A. Sweeney, an international expert based in Almaty, Kazakhstan where he serves as the Director of the Qazaq Research Institute for Futures Studies at Narxoz University, facilitated session, which featured examples from his previous work across the UN system. The workshop featured scenarios and visioning exercises, which are useful tools to implement at the start of the strategic planning process.
“A vision of the future is made up of many possibilities. Using assumptions and actions that are identified we can come to a desired future based on the developed vision, priority areas, possible risks, available resources and relationships”, noted Ms. Elena Panova, UN Resident Coordinator.
The session connected to UNESCO’s “futures literacy” work and highlighted how the UN system is “using the future” in order to create more forward-looking approaches to planning.