Distinguished members,Dear colleagues,
On behalf of Secretary-General António Guterres, it is a pleasure to welcome you today.
As you know, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) co-chairs the UN interagency task team on science, technology and innovation for the SDGs, and it is also my pleasure to welcome you in my capacity as USG of DESA.
Let me also warmly welcome colleagues from the former 10-Member Group. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support to the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM).
Distinguished members,I was pleased to know of your first virtual meeting last month, and appreciate your eagerness to contribute to the work of this group.
I am happy that you are finally meeting here face-to-face.
It is especially timely, as the 3rd session of the UN global Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs -- the STI Forum – will take place starting tomorrow.
You will all have important roles to play at the Forum.
The Forum is a key component of the TFM, central to the success of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
The Forum is a venue for strengthening the dialogue between policy-makers, scientists, innovators and other actors, so as to find ways to support each other in making faster progress towards the SDGs.
These findings will help inform national level decisions, as well as deliberations between Member States as they are now reviewing their progress towards the SDGs.
The STI Forum is also a venue for facilitating interaction, matchmaking and the establishment of networks as well as for identifying and examining technology needs and gaps.
The Forum seeks to help facilitate development, transfer and dissemination of relevant technologies for the SDGs.
Developed and developing countries alike have very high expectations for this Technology Facilitation Mechanism.
They have emphasized repeatedly that the STI Forum needs to be innovative and interactive, and should focus on practical, win-win solutions for the SDGs, engaging all stakeholders.
We look forward to your insightful moderating of the panels at the Forum to help drive towards these conclusions.
We also look forward to your insights from your own experience – as well as from your participation in the exhibition and other events – to help take forward the work of the TFM.
Apart from the STI Forum, there are other work streams that will benefit from your guidance:
I trust that you will be able to have in-depth discussions on all of these issues.I am also pleased that we will continue to draw from the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of the members of the previous 10 member group in this regard as well.
Given the amount of expertise that is gathered in this room, I am confident that the transition from this previous group will be seamless, and you will be able to shoulder this important responsibility very ably.
Dear Colleagues,
Together, we have embarked on an important and difficult mission.
Going forward, I hope that this meeting opens a fruitful, continuing conversation among us.
We need your input and guidance.
We hope that this new institutional arrangement in support of technology will be a great success. I am sure that you will all do the utmost to make the best out of it.
Once again, I thank you, and I look forward to seeing the results of this meeting.
On behalf of Secretary-General António Guterres, it is a pleasure to welcome you today.
As you know, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) co-chairs the UN interagency task team on science, technology and innovation for the SDGs, and it is also my pleasure to welcome you in my capacity as USG of DESA.
Let me also warmly welcome colleagues from the former 10-Member Group. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support to the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM).
Distinguished members,I was pleased to know of your first virtual meeting last month, and appreciate your eagerness to contribute to the work of this group.
I am happy that you are finally meeting here face-to-face.
It is especially timely, as the 3rd session of the UN global Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs -- the STI Forum – will take place starting tomorrow.
You will all have important roles to play at the Forum.
The Forum is a key component of the TFM, central to the success of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
The Forum is a venue for strengthening the dialogue between policy-makers, scientists, innovators and other actors, so as to find ways to support each other in making faster progress towards the SDGs.
These findings will help inform national level decisions, as well as deliberations between Member States as they are now reviewing their progress towards the SDGs.
The STI Forum is also a venue for facilitating interaction, matchmaking and the establishment of networks as well as for identifying and examining technology needs and gaps.
The Forum seeks to help facilitate development, transfer and dissemination of relevant technologies for the SDGs.
Developed and developing countries alike have very high expectations for this Technology Facilitation Mechanism.
They have emphasized repeatedly that the STI Forum needs to be innovative and interactive, and should focus on practical, win-win solutions for the SDGs, engaging all stakeholders.
We look forward to your insightful moderating of the panels at the Forum to help drive towards these conclusions.
We also look forward to your insights from your own experience – as well as from your participation in the exhibition and other events – to help take forward the work of the TFM.
Apart from the STI Forum, there are other work streams that will benefit from your guidance:
- the online platform for technology sharing,
- the work on national STI roadmaps and capacity building,
- on rapid technological change,
- on gender and STI,
I trust that you will be able to have in-depth discussions on all of these issues.I am also pleased that we will continue to draw from the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of the members of the previous 10 member group in this regard as well.
Given the amount of expertise that is gathered in this room, I am confident that the transition from this previous group will be seamless, and you will be able to shoulder this important responsibility very ably.
Dear Colleagues,
Together, we have embarked on an important and difficult mission.
Going forward, I hope that this meeting opens a fruitful, continuing conversation among us.
We need your input and guidance.
We hope that this new institutional arrangement in support of technology will be a great success. I am sure that you will all do the utmost to make the best out of it.
Once again, I thank you, and I look forward to seeing the results of this meeting.
File date:
Monday, June 4, 2018