The Basque Government receives the international award, Catalyst 2030, in London for its contribution to the 2030 Agenda

• The Basque Country has received the award in the category of regional governments; among state governments the winner was the Federal Government of Canada
• The Basque Government was given the award out of the last four finalists from a total of 79 nominations from all over the world
• The jury highlighted the Basque Programme of Priorities of the 2030 Agenda, for its innovative content, governance and the evaluation it promotes
• Jonan Fernandez: “This award, together with the Basque headquarters of the UN’s Local 2030 internationally recognize the commitment of the Basque Country to the SDGs”
• “This Basque leadership responds to a triple commitment to greater institutionalisation, socialisation and personalisation of the 2030 Agenda”
• Catalyst 2030 is a prestigious global movement of people and organisations committed to advancing the SDGs around the world

The Basque Government has received the international award, Catalyst 2030, in the category of awards to regional governments, in a ceremony held last night at Spencer House in London. In the category of state governments, the Federal Government of Canada received the award.

In a first phase, the Basque Government was nominated among the last four finalists out of a total of 79 candidates. The other three finalists nominated were Prospero Portland, Oregon, USA; PEBEC, Nigeria, and AECT, European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Duero-Douro, Spain and Portugal.

The event, held yesterday, also awarded entities such as EY, in the category of Global Corporations; the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), in the category of Bilateral and Multilateral Organisations; the Humanitas 360 Institute (Brazil), Tarsadia Foundation (USA), Asfari Foundation (United Kingdom) or Segal Family Foundation (USA), in the different modalities within the donors category. Special recognition was received by the United Nations Inter-Agency Working Group on Social Economy and Solidarity (UNTFSSE), Samantha Power, USAID and Warby Parker.

At the time of the award ceremony, the jury highlighted the Basque Government's continuous contribution to the formulation of social innovation proposals in terms of social transition and the Agenda 2030. The Basque Programme of Priorities for the 2030 Agenda, the tool that constitutes the action plan of the Basque Government for this legislature in terms of SDGs, obtained an express mention both for combining a joint and coordinated action between departments and institutions around the 2030 Agenda, as well as for contemplating concrete monitoring and evaluation instruments.

After hearing the news of the award, the Secretary General for Social Transition and the 2030 Agenda of the Basque Government, Jonan Fernandez, expressed his gratitude to both Catalyst 2030 and the members of the jury. He stressed that “this award, together with the opening in the Basque Country of the world headquarters of the United Nations Local 2030 coalition, represent recognition of the commitment of the Basque Country and its institutions in relation to sustainable human development”.

“In terms of the 2030 Agenda and at the international level,” Fernandez pointed out, “the Basque Government has a benchmark position among non-state governments. The international recognition of this regional leadership is marked by a model of promotion and governance of the SDGs that responds to three objectives: greater institutionalisation of the 2030 Agenda, with infrastructures that engage in the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals; greater socialisation, with strategies for disseminating the 2030 Agenda; and greater personalisation, proposing the SDGs as a new social contract that also challenges us individually.”

The awards ceremony was led by the renowned journalist Emily Kasriel and by the author, entrepreneur and director of growth at Clearco, Ruma Bose.  In her welcome speech, Jeroo Billimoria, co-founder of Catalyst 2030, recognized the merit of all the finalists and congratulated them because “they actively participate in accelerating the impact of the work of social innovators around the world. This is a celebration of their vision, commitment, success, and impact in the communities they support.”

The work that materially represents the Catalyst has been designed by members of the artisan community in India and bears the name of Sourmandal. It is inspired by the solar system and suggests that the global community requires a similar setup with a renewable energy focus and harmonious articulation. The 2030 Agenda and the SDGs contribute to shaping this system.

Catalyst 2030 is a prestigious global movement of people and organisations committed to advancing the United Nations SDGs by 2030. It is led by entities and individuals that promote entrepreneurship and social innovation by responding to a global call to action on behalf of people and the planet.

It was co-founded in 2019 by a group of social entrepreneurs and collaborating institutions, including Ashoka, Echoing Green, the Schwab Foundation of the World Economic Forum, and the Skoll Foundation. In January 2020, it received a major boost at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The Catalyst 2030 awards the organisations or institutions that are most efficiently promoting co-creative collaborations on the SDGs and for the social, economic and ecological transformation of the global ecosystem.