Following the success of the previous editions, and five years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, the yearly Sustainable Development Festival returns with its fourth edition. In light of the health emergency that is affecting the world, the 2020 edition of the Festival, originally planned for May-June, will take place from September 22nd to October 8th. This decision, in line with the Government's recommendations, was taken to preserve the spirit of the Festival, which stems from the mobilization of people and the exchange of ideas and best practices on the 2030 Agenda.

In its 2020 edition, the Festival expands its reach beyond Italy: ASviS invites everyone around the world to organize events in the context of the Sustainable Development Festival. All countries are called to contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda: submit your local event here (to organize an event we suggest to consult the Guidelines for the organization of events).

The next edition of the Italian Sustainable Development Festival will represent an important chapter in the path to achieving the 2030 Agenda. The year 2020 will mark five years since the adoption of the global agreement by 193 UN members, as well as the beginning of the “decade of action” launched by the UN General Assembly in September 2019 to deliver the SDGs and it is also the year by which 21 of the 169 Targets of the Agenda are due. The year 2020 will also be the fifth anniversary of the COP21 Conference, which saw the adoption of the Paris Agreement, and the Addis Ababa Conference on financing development. It will also be five years since the publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato si’”, known worldwide for its suggestion of a shared ethic for human development and environmental safeguard.

In the past years, there have been several encouraging developments at the national and international levels with respect to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The new European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, boldly responded to the requests that have come from the EU Parliament, the Council and European civil society, with an action plan that revolves around a vision in which economic, social and environmental policies appear coherently oriented towards the objective of making the European Union the “world champion of sustainable development”, as stated in the title of the opening event of the 2019 Italian Sustainable Development Festival.

With the inauguration of the new Government in 2019, sustainable development has also clearly entered the Italian political agenda, and one can notice the change that is occurring in the business world and in public opinion, underscoring the need for a different development model, a change aided by the mobilization of millions of young people that have drawn everyone’s attention to the climate emergency.

Compared to the previous editions, the 2020 Festival will therefore build on wider support for bold actions from citizens, businesses, labor unions, civil society and public opinion. Nonetheless, the world does not seem to be getting closer to a condition of sustainability. The situation calls for a deep reflection on our way of seeing things, an inquiry into the existence of shared values and ethics for sustainable development.

The Festival will also include three conferences organized by ASviS' Secretariat:

Furthermore, ASviS’ working groups will organize 16 large-scale conferences, that will each draw attention to a specific Sustainable Development Goal and cross-cutting issues, highlighting ongoing trends and the most pressing matters on the subject. Adding to all this, hundreds of other events will tell stories of sustainability, share ideas and best practices to respond to the questions launched by the Festival.