2025 HIGHLIGHTS

Season's greetings from the SIDA team!

It's that time of year already! Wishing you all a restful break when the time comes. As 2025 draws to a close and activity winds down over the next few weeks, we thought we'd take a look back at some of the highlights of the year.

It has been a tough year internationally, with budget cuts, ongoing crises, climate shocks and stalled peace talks making for disappointing news and a dire reality for millions of people across the world. 

However, it's important that we take some time to celebrate the wins, and remind ourselves of the power of collective action, particularly in such times where civil society is under threat.

Spring Conference 

Following the UK government's announcement of significant cuts to the ODA budget, we gathered with members and friends to explore avenues for boosting engagement and collaboration. Together we asked: how we can make limited funding go further and continue to make impact where it matters most, despite major global challenges? Find out more about the day's discussions here. 

Unity is Strength Multicultural festival

In May, SIDA's Diaspora Group for Global Citizenship held a multicultural festival, where people from across Scotland came together to celebrate Scotland's cultural diversity—bringing together diverse communities, generations, and lived experiences to explore the true meaning of global justice and how we can work together to achieve it. 

Financing for development Seville 

Heading into summer, leaders and organisations from around the world, including several SIDA members, gathered in Seville for the UN’s Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) to discuss financial challenges preventing urgently needed investment for the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Annual Conference 

Come autumn, we put our heads together at our annual conference to discuss what's next for aid and development. We explored alternative funding models, innovation, and effective power shifting/ partnership work in development, and considered the role Scotland can play in responding to these global challenges with a view to 2026 Holyrood elections.

COP30

In November, climate took centre stage as COP arrived in Belem, Brazil. Some SIDA members were present at the conference, and shared their experiences with the Cross Party Group on International Development at the Scottish Parliament. We also shared a bumper edition of our monthly newsletter highlighting some key themes that emerged from the weeks' discussions.

Image: Youth Protesters at COP30, Belem, Brazil, courtesy of UNFCCC flickr

LOOKING BACK: 25 YEARS OF SIDA

LOOKING FORWARD

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