NEW YORK — How do you get from the talking to the doing?
This is something every event organizer asks themselves, particularly when it comes to events aimed at generating impact on issues as complex as the Sustainable Development Goals.
Devex caught up with Marilia Bezerra, managing partner at CARE Enterprises, during the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit this week. This is the first year since 2006 that she has not spent September in the halls of the Sheraton Hotel in New York City, where the Clinton Global Initiative set the tradition of U.N. General Assembly side events in motion. Bezerra was formerly the commitments director at CGI, which announced last year they would not be continuing — leading to movement from the World Economic Forum, Concordia, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and others to fill the void.
She offered some advice on how to convene for impact, including moving from an event-oriented model to a community-oriented model, facilitating partnerships between meetings. Additionally, Bezerra said, panelists should talk about challenges and failures, in order to have honest conversations about the systemic changes needed to achieve the SDGs.
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About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
