innovation

The SDG realization: Mobilizing science, technology and innovation and strengthening the science-policy-society interface

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Earlier this month, an informal meeting of the High-Level Political Forum 2021 explored the challenges and opportunities for mobilizing science, technology and innovation (STI) and strengthening the science-policy-society interface to support the implementation of SDGs.

STI: The benefits and the risks

The global progress of STI has been revolutionary, promising tremendous benefits to the societies, which have been even more evident in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state-of-the-art technologies in vaccine development have provided powerful means to fight and eradicate the disease; meanwhile, the advancement of ICT allows people to work remotely, resume economic activities and build social connections across the world. On the other hand, the discoveries of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and 5G networks are expected to be the backbones of our societies for the next decade, advancing global economic, social and environmental development to an unprecedented extent. Despite the immense potential for STI in SDGs realization, challenges abound. Around half of the world’s population remains digitally unconnected, creating a digital divide that hinders numerous lives in the enjoyment of STI services. The weak alignment between current STI and SDGs has also exacerbated inequalities in vulnerable communities including women and indigenous people, undermining the global achievements of the 2030 Agenda.

Sustainable and transformative STI pathways towards SDG realization

To ensure effective mobilization of STI in SDG realization, a better science-policy-society interface is utterly needed. Policymakers should focus on enhancing the availability of open data for STI in tackling social issues, while ensuring the nature of these STI are in alignment with the sustainable development principles. Moreover, multi-stakeholder partnerships in scientific research, open innovation and youth nurturement should be further strengthened for global digital transformation. To address the global digital divide, inclusiveness should be put in the utmost priority of STI advancement. It includes strengthening the participation of women and indigenous communities in the sector, who are often underrepresented; as well as providing universal STI services through provision of digital infrastructures, affordable Internet, and digital literacy skills for the unconnected people. It is also important to build public trust in STI related to all areas of sustainable development, and it is policymakers’ and companies’ responsibility to prevent exacerbation of violence, hate and inequalities in such means.

Advances in STI should be harnessed to enhance equal opportunities and access to basic services so no one is left behind. Governments and the international community have a central role in providing directionality to innovation activities to ensure STI is driven by considerations of inclusiveness and sustainability. The pandemic is a wake-up call for effective bilateral and multilateral cooperation to collectively address the sustainability challenges and accelerate the global progress of SDGs through the means of STI.

Resource:

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=20000&nr=7188&menu=2993

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/TFM/STIForum2017

Meeting Title: 2021 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF 2021), 11th Informal Meeting

Date/Location: Friday, 9 July 2021; 11:15-13:15; The meeting was held virtually

Speaker:

Mr. Sergiy Kyslytsya (Ukraine), Vice President of ECOSOC;

Mr. Mohammad Koba, Co-Chair of the 2021 STI Forum, Ambassador and Charge d’Affaires of the Permanent Mission of Indonesia to the United Nations;

Mr. Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU);

Mr. Andrejs Pildegovičs, Co-Chair of the 2021 STI Forum, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations;

Ms. Cherry Murray, Co-Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s 10 Member Group to Support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, Professor of Physics and Deputy Director for Research, Biosphere 2, University of Arizona; etc.

Written by: WIT-UN Representative Iris Sit

Putting People First in AI – High Level Presentation of the OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence

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Pic of AI presentation

Source

This meeting of the Slovak Republic/OECD: Putting People First in AI was convened to discuss OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence. Representatives from around the world gathered to discuss how we should act in this digital era.
First, H.E. Mr. Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen said that OECD has launched an AI policy that provides an online hub for open dialogue that implements AI principles. It is opened to any interested countries beyond OECD members. H.E. Darja Bavda Kuret, an Ambassador of Slovenia, said that digitalization like the Internet of Things, machine learning and AI transforms our economy. However, there is a huge gap since some people do not even have any access to the internet while big companies utilize AI. She asked, “How are we going to investigate that no one is behind?” Furthermore, H.E. Mr. Lazarous Kapambwe from Zambia asked, “How do we handle the inequality of social opportunities?”
Consequently, Knudsen answered the questions by saying that it is through accountability and transparency. He further questioned, “Who owns the data of this world? Is it an individual or the state or the party?” He said that it is a huge problem and we need a harmonization. Not only that, we need to care about AI and climate change. It is impossible to reduce CO2 without science, technology, and innovation. We should utilize AI to protect humanity from climate change.
Moreover, a representative from Canada said consumer protection is important. We need public education and should be responsible for innovation. We also need government funding for this. A representative from Columbia said that the government should commit this 4th industrial revolution. We should reduce inequality in this digital economy, and we should include trust and security.
Robert from UNDP said that development is redefined by technology. How to democratize technology such as big data, blockchain and IoT is important. We need a new business model that is more accessible to any income level. He emphasized that data is so important that the system gets more efficient with more data. Also, Steven from UNICEF said there should be human-centered AI. Nudsen concluded that the ethical issue is so important. Transparency is about consumers; consumers should know what they are consuming with a computer. Also, we need to share the data to become successful.

Meeting Title: Slovak Republic/OECD: Putting People First in AI

Date/Location: Thursday, 7 November, 2019; 13:15-14:30; Conference Room 12; United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY

Speakers:

H.E. Darja Bavda Kuret, Ambassador of Slovenia;

H.E. Mr. Lazarous Kapambwe, Permanent Representative of Zambia to the UN;

H.E. Mr. Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, Deputy Secretary General, OECD;

A Representative from Canada;

A Representative from Columbia;

Robert from UNDP;

Steven from UNICEF

Written by: WIT Representative, Won Ah Oh

Launch of UN SDG: Learn

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SDGS

(Source: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf/2019/SDGsLearning)

Organized by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), UN partners met today to celebrate the launch of the UN SDG: Learn, which is an online knowledge platform for stakeholders to learn more about each of the sustainable development goal.

Having been devoting to delivering innovative training for all to increase the capacity of global community in responding to ever-changing international challenges, the UN SDG: Learn aims to optimize each individual’s learning experience through allowing the user to Continue reading →

Leveraging innovative partnerships with higher education institutions towards sustainable and resilient societies

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Partnerships are increasingly being valued when it comes to realizing SDGs across the globe. By leveraging partnerships networks, not only can it capture the benefits resulted from synergy effects, but it can also provide more opportunities for different parties to interact with each other. Thus, this meeting focused on case studies on partnerships, especially programs with higher education institutions.

Ms Carpentier first introduced the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) as a recent program jointly launched by various UN agencies to synergize with higher education institutions for advocating SDGs from an educational perspective with students as key players. The representative of Harvard University shared the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure that offers indicators and tools for sustainable infrastructure. An envision rating system, including measurement for leadership, resource allocation and quality of life, is incorporated to reflect the effectiveness of infrastructures as enablers to achieve SDGs.

Ms Thoresen presented an overview on projects of the organization, Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living. She highlighted the importance of addressing pedagogical learning process, government education policies as well as interdisciplinary research when it comes to connecting teaching and learning with SDGs. Mr Howard, representing the University of Oxford, illustrated a lifelong learning programme offered by the University, the Sustainable Urban Development Programme, as an example of partnerships with NGOs, professionals and the academia to empower more individuals on understanding SDGs.

The meeting was concluded by a discussion on the current extent of students’ engagement in formal education setting, such as schools, regarding SDGs implementation at local level. Ms Thoresen pointed out that a revamp of school curriculum is possibly needed to better equip students to face upcoming challenges as future generations. Professor Iglecias suggested that a bottom-up approach should be promoted to facilitate students to initiate ideas for realizing SDGs more effectively.

Meeting: HLPF 2018 – Leveraging innovative partnerships with higher education institutions towards sustainable and resilient societies

Date/Location: Conference Room 5, UNHQ NYC; 10:00-11:45; July 11th 2018

Speakers: Ms. Chantal line Carpentier (Chief of UNCTAD New York Office), Ms. Cristina Contreras, (Representative of Harvard University), Ms. Victoria W. Thoresen (Representative of Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living [PERL]), Mr. Jakob Grandin (Representative of University of Bergen, Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation), Mr. David Howard (Representative of University of Oxford), Professor Patrícia Iglecias (Head of Environmental Affairs, University of Sao Paulo)

Written By: WIT representative, Rosalind Cheung

Effective tools employed by Major Groups and other Stakeholders in the 2030 Agenda implementation, follow-up and review

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The meeting focused on discussing and reviewing various tools employed by organisations to implement the 2030 agenda. An array of strategies was exemplified by panellists when it comes to awareness-raising and capacity building across sectors in society.

Ms Luthra, representative of the Women’s Health and Education Center, introduced an online platform, named WHEC Global Health Line. It is an E-Platform aiming to serve health providers across the globe by providing health resources, especially for women. Mr Luthra emphasized the importance of securing inclusive societies and ensuring health well-being of individuals. She highlighted a number of features of the platform, including subject-specific gateway, internet-search-strategy and impact factor analysis.

Ms Weber, leading a few organizations from the State of Parana in Brazil, shared experiences from different aspects to implement SDG at a local level. The Institute of Social and Economic Development, for example, evaluates public policies of the state and offers feedbacks in terms of SDG alignment. However, it is challenging to obtain comprehensive datasets due to unavailability of disaggregated data by location. The Bureau of Information technology of the State of Parana showed a mobile application on SDG as a tool to make the concept of 2030 agenda available to all localities. The Parana State Urban Development mentioned the need of strengthening partnerships while the department has been financing cities through providing loans on investments of social infrastructures.

Dr. Harrington, representing CISDL, presented innovations particularly on SDG 6 and SDG 15. On achieving clean water and sanitation for all people, trans-boundary environmental impact assessments were introduced by the “Espoo Convention”. Regarding SDG 15, “Life on Land”, it is observed that there is an increase of state effort to restrict or ban poaching and related products, especially in United Kingdom and China where new laws were enacted.

Meeting: High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2018 – Effective tools employed by Major Groups and other Stakeholders in the 2030 Agenda implementation, follow-up and review

Date/Location: Conference Room 5, UNHQ NYC; 10:00-13:00; July 10th 2018

Speakers: Ms. Rosemary Olive Mbone (Abibimman Foundation), Ms. Rita Luthra (Women’s Health and Education Center), Ms. Deisi Noeli Weber (World Family Organization and UNAPMIF), Mr. William E. Kelly (World Federation of Engineering Organizations), Dr. Alexandra Harrington (Centre for International Sustainable Development Law [CISDL))

Written By: WIT representative, Rosalind Cheung

The Role of Technology: Implementing the New Urban Agenda to Achieve Sustainable Development

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SDGs

With the advancement of technology nowadays, the role of science and innovation is increasingly valued when it comes to realizing sustainable development goals. The meeting focused specifically on SDG 11(Sustainable Cities and Communities) on implementing new urban agenda with the aid of technology.

The meeting began with a series of opening speeches delivered by distinguished guests. Mr Elefante first illustrated the significance of digital design making tools, such as information modelling, to foster innovation on building and designing cities. Dr Abu-Ghazaleh mentioned that technology acts as driver for everyday life in modern age and brings people and issues to a single community. Mr Guier provided certain examples that highlighted the importance of connecting technology to data on sustainability, including automated waste collection programs and driverless car schemes. Ms Sherif, the Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Habitat, added that climate change also posed challenges in promoting inclusive and sustainable growth of cities. Dr. Lubin described the linkage between corporates, cities and sustainability by the business sustainability maturity curve.

The conference followed by two dialogue sessions conducted by different representatives. The first focuses on the emergence of technology where speakers presented various types of information technologies that are incorporated in daily lives. For example, robotics, big data and artificial intelligence. In order to achieve a unified vision on the use of technology to develop sustainable cities, panellists agreed that accountability, public will and team environment are critical elements to be facilitated. The second session concerns the Network 11 Initiative in the Arab region that outlined the challenges of operating in (post-) conflict urban context as well as difficulties in addressing the gap between humanitarian aid and development.

Meeting: United Nations Human Settlements Programme: The Role of Technology: Implementing the New Urban Agenda to Achieve Sustainable Development

Date/Location: Conference Room 2, UNHQ NYC; 10:00-13:00; June 20th 2018

Speakers: Ms Maimunah Mohd Sherif (UN Under Secretary General and Executive Director, UN Habitat)

Mr. Carl Elefante (FAIA, President, American Institute of Architects)

Mr Guy Gier (FAIA, President, American Institute of Architects of New York)

Dr. David A. Lubin (Co-Chairman and Managing Director, Constellation Research and Technology, Inc.)

Mr Michal Mlynar (Permanent Representative of Slovak Republic to the United Nations)

Professor Urs Gauchat (CSU, Dean Emeritus of the College of Architecture and Design)

Mr. John Paul Farner (Director of Technology and Civic Innovation, Microsoft)

Mr Jason Whittet (Associate Director in Innovation in Urban Data and Technology, Rockefeller Foundation)

Professor Sarah Williams (Director, Civic Data Design Lab, MIT School of Architecture and Planning)

Professor Mahesh Daas (Ed.D, DPACSA, ACSA Distinguished Professor, Dean, School of Architecture and Design, University of Kansas)

Mr. Phillip G. Bernstein (FAIA RIBA LEED APM Associate Dean and Senior Lecturer Yale School of Architecture)

Dr Talal Abu-Ghazaleh (PhD, CEO, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization, Senator)

Professor Lance Jay Brown (FAIA, CSU, ACSA Distinguished Professor, CCNY Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture)

Ms Zena Ali-Ahed (Director, Regional Office for Arab States, UN-Habitat)

Written By: WIT representative, Rosalind Cheung

NGO Committee on Sustainable Development: Leveraging Innovative Technologies for the SDGs & Inclusive Economic Growth

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The panel discussion, organized by the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development, explored the role of innovative technologies for achieving SDGs and inclusive economic growth from various perspectives. Mr. Sanchez, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN began by stating that technology is placed as the core priority of the Mexican government in order to advocate economic growth with leading standards. He emphasized that how advancement of technology could positively accelerate the progress of achieving SDGs in the 2030 agenda. Partnerships between different stakeholders, such as the government, private sector, particularly, micro, small and medium enterprises, as well as civil societies, are pivotal to address the opportunities posed by technological development.

Ms Moliner, representing the UN women, highlighted the current gender gap in terms of technology production and consumption. She exemplified the current situation by illustrating the under-representation of women as innovators and entrepreneurs, limited market awareness and gender-blind approach to innovation, and inadequate investment in innovations that meet needs of women. Being the founder of an NGO that enhances global technology business ecosystems, Ms Schlegel mentioned a number of examples which utilized technology to improve inclusiveness in start-up industry.

Afterwards, Mr Chuter underscored the importance of expressing gratitude to foster communication and conversation, as well as collaboration and cooperation by bringing charities together to initiate campaigns. The Chairman of Quantum Media Group, Mr. Zoldan, explained how technology, especially block chain, could realize SDGs. With the use of block chain, transactions could be verified and recorded without a local bank, thus eradicating possible fraud potentially. Ms. Zfat, a social media entrepreneur, shared her experience in forming partnerships, for instance, with Samsung and the Council for Economic Education, to amplify impact by minimal resources via social media platforms.

Meeting:  NGO Committee on Sustainable Development: Leveraging Innovative Technologies for the SDGs & Inclusive Economic Growth

Date/Location: 2nd Floor Conference Room, Church Center for the UN; 15:00-18:00; June 20th 2018

Speakers: Ms Margo LaZaro (NGOCSD-NY Executive Board)

Mr Bruno Rios Sanchez (First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN)

Ms Helene Moliner (Senior Policy Advisor on Innovation, Leading the Innovation and Technology Facility of UN Women)

Ms. Mahrinah von Schlegel (Founder of VIAE Global Executive Director of Embassy 2.0

Mr. Mike Chuter (Co-founder of Thankful & Thankful Organization)

Mr. Ari Zoldan (Chairman of Quantum Media Group, CMO of Optherium Labs)

Ms Natalie Zfat (Social Media Entrepreneur)

Written By: WIT representative, Rosalind Cheung

Third-annual multi-stakeholder High-Level forum on Science,Technology and Innovation

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This forum was attended by member states, nonmember states, and stakeholders. The forum began with representatives from Ghana, Jamaica, and Japan expressing the state-specific problems that need to be addressed to establish STI roadmaps that further SDGs. For example, the Jamaican representative recognized the small size of Jamaica as well as the Caribbean, calling for a competitive and comparative advantage take with STI as this allows for stronger integration with the rest of the world. The financial sector speakers called for investing in STI partnerships and capacities and working with private tech partners.

The next session focused on the evident potential indigenous knowledge that can fulfill SDGs. Speakers from indigenous populations stressed that traditional knowledge needs to be viewed as equal to technology, or categorized as a “specific knowledge system.”  A final proposal of engagement with indigenous populations in order to reach SDG goals through science, innovation, and technology of indigenous people was stated.

The final discussion raised the question of how to effectively facilitate the TFM or the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, a method of sharing information, practices, and policies across  Member States, stakeholders, the private sector, and other entities. There is a gap between the solutions and the ability to “deploy” solutions. All speakers agree that improvement and collaboration is needed to have a successful TFM.  Technology is an underrepresented crucial factor in reaching the SDGs and more needs to be done.

Meeting​:  Third-annual multi-stakeholder Science,Technology and Innovation high level forum focusing on Sustainable Development Goals 6,7,11,12, and 15

Date/Location​: Wednesday  6th June 2018; 10:00 to 13:00; Conference Room 4, United

Nations Headquarters, New York, NY

Speakers​:

H.E. Ms. Patricia Apiagyei,the Deputy Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation

Mr. Teruo Kishi, Science and Technology Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs

Ms. Aisha Jones, Director of Research, National Commission on Science and Technology

Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, the World Bank Group

Ms. Minnie Degawan, Director, Indigenous and traditional peoples programme in D.C

Mr. Joel Heath, Executive Director, The Arctic Eider Society

Mr. Mulubrhan Gebremikael, UNEP-IEMP (International Ecosystem Management Program)

Ms. Jozelin Soto, Milpa Maguey Tierno de la Mujer Sss

Mr. Alfred Watkins, Chair, Global Solutions Summit, USA

Ms. Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

Ms.Veerle Vandeweerd  Policy Director for G-STIC

Mr. Rafat Al-Akhal, Secretary for Pathways for Prosperity

Written By​: WIT Representative Mariam Elsaker

Global Symposium on the role of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

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The meeting explores the role of innovation and technology when it comes to facilitating MSMEs’ growth, exemplified by different national case practices.

Mr, Agnaldo De Almeida Dantas shared the Brazilian project, SEBRAE, which aims to simplify the sophisticated process and relationship for MSMEs to access to technologies. He also illustrated the critical factor of establishing partnership with other organizations in order to attain the expected outcomes. Ms Riefqah then focused on how does science, technology and innovation enable inclusive growth of MSMEs from a people-centric approach. Using projects like Trade Facilitation in Kenya as example, Ms Jappie described how does the International Trade Centre foster transparency and comparability of nations’ foreign trade.

The representative from China, Professor Zeng, pointed out the importance of greening MSMEs in the supply chain towards SDGs. He added that scientific innovation could be adopted for e-waste regulation. Dr. Iris introduced an array of projects and partnership initiated by the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada relevant to MSMEs. International collaboration and innovative holistic approach in engaging women are particularly highlighted.

Ms. Memedovic first explained the drivers of the 4th industrial revolution, such as artificial intelligence and block chains, which facilitate the emergence of smart tools nowadays. Opportunities, challenges and critical issues for SMEs are then presented. Ms. Anna addressed the worsening inequality faced by women, especially with the prevalence of digital divide.

Meeting: Global Symposium on the role of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

Date/Location: Friday; 8th June 2018; 10:00-13:00; Conference Room 12, United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY.

Speakers:

Mr Shantanu Mukherjee (Chief, Policy and Analysis Branch, Division for Sustainable Development Goals, Department of Economic and Social Affairs)

Mr Agnaldo De Almeida Dantas (Analyst, Access to Innovation, Technology and Sustainability Unit, SEBRAW-Brazillian Micro and Small Business Support Service)

Ms Riefqah Jappie (ITC Representative to the UN)

Prof. Zeng Xianlai (Tsinghua University, China)

Dr. Iris Jin (Senior Programme Manager, Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada

Ms Olga Memedovic (Deputy Director, Department of Trade, Investment and Innovation, UNIDO)

Ms Anna Falth (Programme Manager, UN Women)

Written By: WIT representative, Rosalind Cheung

Corruption-free Institutions for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

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sdgs_poster_new1

United Nations SDGs

The meeting was jointly organized by the Permanent Missions of Georgia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Qatar, Sierra Leone and Singapore to the United Nations together with the UNDP and the UNODC. These countries came together to share their experience fighting corruption.

The meeting was opened by the participants’ recognition that corruption-free institutions are critical to improving governance and the attainment of the entire 2030 Agenda. All the countries brought attention to the SDG 16, which underpins peaceful, just, and inclusive societies. They place further emphasis on the targets 16.5 and 16.6: substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms, and develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.

Images from http://www.en.wikipedia.org and http://www.masenoteamblogspot.com

The six countries shared how they localized the implementation of the targets. Juan Carlos Mendoza illustrated Costa Rica’s anti-corruption efforts such as its national strategy and public accessible information. Nikolaj Hejberg Peterson from Denmark, the cleanest country according to Transparency International, discussed his country, and that it would host the International Anti-Corruption Conference in 2018. Zurab Sanikidze from Georgia focused on the country’s institutional framework, key anti-corruption reforms, and open government partnership strategies. Abdulrahman Al-Hamadi from Qatar talked about the importance of achieving peaceful, just and inclusive societies to his country, even before the adoption of the SDGs. Felix Alie Koroma from Sierra Leone reported steady progress made in his country. The last panelist Joseph Teo from Singapore highlighted its strict anti-corruption approach. He added that society and culture in Singapore eschew corruption. This cultural aspect was surprisingly not mentioned by other country representatives.

As an important benchmark of anti-corruption efforts, representatives from Georgia, Qatar, Sierra Leone discussed how their countries had already established independent anti-corruption bodies to fight against corruption. Witness protection, intelligence sharing and training for judges are also common.

Meeting: Corruption-free Institutions for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Date/Location: Thursday, April 27, 2017; 11:00-13:00; Conference Room 12, United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY
Speakers:
Juan Carlos Mendoza, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations;
Nikolaj Hejberg Petersen, Director of the Department of Quality Assurance and Financial Management of Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark;
Zurab Sanikidze, Director of the Analytical Department, Ministry of Justice and Secretary of the Anti-Corruption Council of Georgia;
Abdulrahman Al-Hamadi, Deputy Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations;
Felix Alie Koroma, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United Nations;
Joseph Teo, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Singapore to the United Nations

Written By: WIT Representative Jadice Lau

Edited By: Fred Yonghabi.