A fruitful regional workshop on “Building National and Local Capacity on Measuring SETI (Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation) for SDGs in the Asia-Pacific Region” was held in Sultan Hotel Jakarta, on 17-19 June 2019. It was a joint undertaking by the UNESCO Office Jakarta, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia and the Maritime Local Government Network. The workshop aimed to encourage the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through increasing national and local capacity in countries across the Asia-Pacific, especially Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) member countries.Over 50 representatives attended from Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Timor-Leste. Participants included representatives from national and local government, civil societies, international organizations and academics. Additionally, a number of local government leaders and high-ranking officials from across Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines attended the workshop.

The Malaysia-UNESCO Cooperation Programme (MUCP) through the Facilitate in Accelerating Science and Technology (AP-FAST) project supported this regional workshop. The AP-FAST project aims to enable the achievement of the SDGs and related targets at regional and national levels, and increase cooperation between national and global development plans.

The discussion sessions on the Integration of SDGs to National and Local Development Programs were preceded by the presentation of UNESCO projects such as the Asia Pacific Facility for Accelerating Science and Technology (AP-FAST), the UN Decade on Ocean Science for Sustainability, and SETI in Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and SDGs. The session on Integration of SDGs to Local Development Programs showcased the experiences of Pasangkayu Regency, Corcuera Municipality, Baubau City and Alotau Urban Local Level Government in integrating the SDGs into their development programs.

The SETI scorecard was conducted on the second day. The SETI scorecard is a tool to assess, monitor and review project’s contributions to the SDGs and related targets. Participants were expected to use SETI to measure the performance of targets and SDG indicators in each region and work unit.

On the final day of the workshop a field visit to the Center for Marine and Fisheries Research and Human Resources for the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia was held. The chairman of the center, Mr. Sjarief Widjaja, delivered a presentation on the implementation of SDG 14, “Life Below Water”, in Indonesia which focused on Indonesia’s marine and fisheries industries. In appreciation for hosting the field visit, Prof. Shahbaz Khan of UNESCO handed Mr. Widjaja a SETI Scorecard Guide which will be translated into the languages of particular Coral Triangle nations.