Leveraging Science, Technology Critical for Achieving Sustainable Development, Speakers Say, as Economic and Social Council Opens Multi-Stakeholder Forum
Progress in science, technology and innovation would be key to delivering the Sustainable Development Goals, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said today at the opening of the United Nations first annual multi-stakeholder forum on the topic.
Convened by the President of the Economic and Social Council, the forum is intended to facilitate interaction, matchmaking and the establishment of networks so as to identify and examine technology needs and gaps while making it easier to develop, transfer and disseminate relevant technologies for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“This multi-stakeholder forum, which will take place each year until 2030, will pool ideas, and find ways to incentivize, scale up and adopt breakthrough solutions,” said Mr. Ban, adding that he hoped it would be “a new way of doing things at the United Nations”.
While innovation was embedded in the 2030 Agenda as Goal 17, it — together with science and technology — cut across all the Goals as an important part of implementation, he said, emphasizing how progress would be critical for delivering on all the Goals, from poverty eradication to food security and climate change.
“Linking science, technology and innovation with progress in sustainable development at the ground level is the greatest challenge. That is the gap this forum is expected to close,” he stressed.
Oh Joon (Republic of Korea), President of the Economic and Social Council, recalling how world leaders in 2015 had decided to take joint action to leverage technology for a better and sustainable life for all, underscored the role of the United Nations Technology Facilitation Mechanism, calling it a key instrument for the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda as well as the Paris Agreement on climate change. He said the forum could help the international community to identify practical means and solutions to foster science, technology and innovation in all countries, while providing an opportunity to strengthen dialogue between stakeholders and promote the sharing of ideas and success stories.
Kairat Abdrakhmanov (Kazakhstan), Vice-President of the General Assembly, speaking on behalf of the President of the General Assembly, stressed the “undeniable” potential of science, technology and innovation to drive implementation of the Goals, adding, however, that much needed to be done to address such concerns as the technological divide between countries. He cited three crucial areas in which the forum could add value: leadership, inclusiveness, and partnership and collaboration.
In a morning panel discussion, titled “the power of science, technology and innovation”, three experts discussed disruptive changes crucial for the Sustainable Development Goals, agreeing that people, money and timeframes mattered.
Dean Kamen, President, DEKA Research and Development and Founder of FIRST, said the most important thing was creating the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators. Quoting United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he emphasized that the future could not always be built for youth, but youth could be built for the future. He then presented three short videos about FIRST’s activities, stressing that the organization had been established to make science and engineering as exciting as sports and entertainment.
Dick Co, Managing Director of Solar Fuels Institute and Research Associate Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University, emphasizing that progress was possible only with the collective work of Governments, academia and the private sector, said the path towards 2030 was full of opportunities and unprecedented challenges. Scientific advancements were taking place all around the world, providing opportunities to leverage intellectual power into modern technologies. For their part, scientists shared their discoveries through publications and presentations, placing them in the public domain with the support of Governments.
Komal Ahmad, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, COPIA, described addressing hunger through the use of technology as her personal mission. Every day, 365 million pounds of perfectly edible food was wasted, yet in a world with so much talent and innovation, many went without food. Her organization grew out of a student-powered food recovery unit as a means of instantly connecting those in need of food with those who had it in an efficient and fluid way. To date, it had recovered over 800,000 pounds of food and fed over 700,000 people. Stressing that it was time for humanitarianism to meet modern technology, she said COPIA had been approached by a handful of European countries to help feed refugees. By succeeding in the United States today, the organization could be brought anywhere in the world tomorrow, she said, urging participants to adopt policies and initiatives that made the redistribution of food easier.
The Council then held a second panel discussion on enabling environment for science, technology and innovation, which examined related activities and policies that could support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Deputy Executive Director of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), said science, technology and innovation were central to human development, providing a unique opportunity to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Stressing the importance of creating an enabling environment, he noted that the international community must work together to develop national and international action plans and road maps. While doing so, it was crucial to ensure input and participation from all sectors of society, harness knowledge, insights and advice from all sectors, and assure periodic feedback and evaluation.
Gillian Marcelle, Executive Director of the University of the Virgin Islands Research and Technology Park, delivered a presentation, focusing on key ideas, pillars of change and recommended action. The forum came at a time when the international community needed to disrupt the status que to achieve inclusive development. If the world was to avoid the mistakes of the past, it would have to take a different approach in using existing resources. Meaningful participation by the financial sector and the reconceptualization of innovation to generate value were critically important.
Pamela McCauley, Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems at the University of Central Florida, discussed her research at the United States Department of State regarding innovation opportunities in HIV/AIDS health-care service delivery. She stressed the importance of taking a systems approach and having a good understanding of the environment when integrating technology of innovation.
Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General of the Indian Research and Information System for Developing Countries, discussed the Technology Facilitation Mechanism and the importance of enabling conditions, knowledge-sharing and interconnections.
The focus of the first panel in the afternoon was realizing the potential of science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals. Panellists examined opportunities and challenges at policy, organizational and individual levels. They also discussed how to incentivize the uptake of existing knowledge, innovative solutions and technologies and make them more readily available.
Xiaolan Fu, Director of the Technology and Management Centre for Development at Oxford University, participating as moderator, drew attention to uneven technological capabilities between developed and developing countries, and underscored the need for Governments, international organizations, the private sector and academia to work together in order to identify needs of the marginalized.
William Colglazier, Co-Chair of the 10-member group of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, said it focused on actions that strengthened science, technology, and innovation capabilities, and built human capacity at the individual, organizational and political levels in every country. It also provided a platform for sharing information on relevant policies, partnerships, technologies and research outcomes. Turning to the group’s recommendations, he underscored the important role of the private sector and partnership of multi-stakeholders, as well as integrated assessments linked to transparency and accountability. He also stressed the need to provide support for those left behind and strengthen the science-policy interface in countries.
Solomon Assefa, Director of IBM Research Africa, noted how “massive” Government and private-sector investment had led to technology that today was taken for granted. “We have to be very careful about re-inventing the wheel because it will take a long time and a lot of resources,” he said. With regard to the Goals, he asked how current technology could be used to imagine solutions to bigger challenges. He described IBM Research Africa’s development of systems that helped doctors and farmers to make better decisions and how it was actively promoting knowledge transfers, including through internships and “citizen science” using cloud technology. Emphasizing the importance of a global science network, he underscored the need to encourage open data and open innovation, while also developing intellectual property frameworks that made a lot of sense to everyone involved. He also saw a need for a framework to address the funding of science, and the importance of a proactive approach to involve the private sector.
Nicola Bettio, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology, said that, since 2011, there had been a decline in investment in clean technology. Only a few “clean tech” companies were going public today, while bankruptcies were keeping investors away. Saudi Arabia was poised to become one of the world’s heaviest users of solar energy, he explained, noting how the demand for energy in the country was growing so fast that it would potentially become a net importer of oil. Very often, sustainable development was linked to philanthropy, but today it was becoming profitable as well, he said, emphasizing how it was increasing to speak to the wallets of investors.
The day’s final session tackled the question of transformative technologies for the Goals, with innovators presenting examples of applied science, technology and innovations which helped to shape human interaction in a number of areas and which could play an essential role in implementing the 2030 Agenda. Moderated by Nick Perkins, Director, SciDev.Net, it featured Cynthia Breazeal, founder and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab’s Personal Robots Group; Arjoon Suddhoo, Executive Director, Mauritius Research Council; and Carlos Morel, Director, Brazilian National Institute of Science and Technology for Innovation in Neglected Diseases.
Ms. Breazeal spoke about the latest trends in digital space such as intelligent digital assistance, personalization, and cloud connected devices. As achieving universal literacy by 2030 was a process, it was essential to provide better and effective responses, tailored to each country. “In order to address the world’s education problem, we need to learn from each other,” she said, underscoring the need to focus on content customization, educational research and data driven innovation.
Mr. Suddhoo said the innovation within the public and private sectors was different. “There is no better time to innovate, when the need is there,” he said, drawing attention to challenges that the world was facing today. Citing an example, he noted that the ocean could provide a sustainable solution for Mauritius, through improving energy and food security and providing a place for leisure and medicinal resources. While providing unique opportunities, innovation required adequate financial resources, he said, stressing the need for collaborative efforts.
Mr. Morel said innovation was not only technological, but also social and financial. Referring to Goal 3, he described how scientists at his Institute had developed a helmet-like device called the Baby-Thermocrown to treat children at risk of neonatal encephalopathy. Unlike conventional devices, the Baby-Thermocrown was very light and portable. It did not require electricity to operate and it could be used outside a medical facility. It could also be manufactured for less than $300 per unit. A cylinder of carbon gas provided the cooling effect, keeping the baby’s head at around 33 to 34°C, with electrodes within the device making it possible to monitor the child’s condition in real time.